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Court may make it harder to seal cases

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published September 8, 2006

MIAMI - Judges would have to hold a hearing and give advance public notice before sealing a Florida court case from public scrutiny under a proposed rules change.

The Florida Association of Court Clerks and Comptrollers, which drafted the proposal, also recommended that judges explain in writing what information in a sealed court case is being kept from the public.

The proposal, which must be approved by the Florida Supreme Court, follows a series of news reports about the sealing of cases by judges in some parts of Florida, including Broward, Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Palm Beach and Sarasota counties.

In Broward County, more than 400 civil cases and an unknown number of criminal cases have been sealed since 1989, many of them involving political figures, business owners, judges, lawyers and police officers. Under current rules, hearings are not required and public notice is not defined.

More than 200 Pinellas County civil cases had been hidden from the public for years and some were even improperly removed from docket records by clerks, St. Petersburg Times reporters learned in talking to officials in June. Many of those related to sexual violence.

In Hillsborough County, more than a dozen sealed court cases were kept off the computerized public docket.

An audit of files in Pasco County led to the restoration of dozens of civil cases to the public docket.

Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Lewis said justices were astounded when they read news accounts about cases in some counties being kept off the public docket.

"Their chins hit the table," Lewis said. "After another article this month, one justice said to me, 'Did you see that? What are we doing about it?' "

The proposed rules changes were contained in an Aug. 23 letter to Lewis from Kenneth Kent, executive director of the clerks association, who said it was important to "resolve this serious issue on a uniform statewide basis."

Lewis said the court plans to adopt new rules after giving the public a chance to comment.

"We're putting this on the front burner because of the nature of what's happening," Lewis said.

[Last modified September 8, 2006, 05:58:49]