The Tampa Tribune

Celebrating Government In The Sunshine

Today is Florida’s sixth Sunshine Sunday, a day set aside to remember the state’s commitment to government in the sunshine.

Gov. Charlie Crist showed his commitment on his first day in office last January when he created the Office of Open Government to give state agencies “the guidance and tools to serve Florida with integrity and transparency.”

Unfortunately, not all lawmakers share his enthusiasm for openness, but with the legislative session underway, Sunshine Week is a good time to remind them their employers - the voters - demand transparency in government.

The week also comes as the Florida Supreme Court is considering a proposed change in the rule governing judicial records, a rule that if adopted as currently written will not achieve the court’s goal of promoting confidence in the system by protecting the principle of judicial transparency.

The court heard oral arguments last week from lawyers representing the news media, prosecutors, public defenders, court clerks and a judge, each of whom oppose all or part of the changes proposed by a Florida Bar committee.

In general, the proposal would require public notice when court records are sealed so that the public, including the media, would have a chance to seek a hearing to open the records.

Floridians learned last year that hundreds of criminal and civil cases, some involving famous TV personalities and other prominent people, had been improperly sealed and placed on secret dockets in some courts, shielded from public inspection. The parties had agreed to the closure and judges said OK.

Well, it’s not OK for the courts to create separate rules for the privileged. The Florida Bar’s proposal is supposed to keep it from happening again.

At first blush the rule sounds good, but the justices should approve it only if they are assured closure challenges are allowed to come before, not after, records are sealed.

Moreover, the rule should require that court records cannot be sealed absent a true and vigorous testing of the need for closure and an understanding of the length of time the records would be kept from the public. The rule should also prevent court clerks from sealing an entire file merely because a judge orders certain documents or paragraphs hidden from view.

Government should be in the open. Sunshine Week is the opportune time to herald the people’s right to be kept informed.

Reproduced courtesy of The Tampa Tribune.
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