Redaction—And Other Problems—Cause Delays In Getting Court Files

Redaction—And Other Problems—Cause Delays In Getting Court Files

By Jack Belich, FCI

FALI Secretary

Private investigators have talked about the difficulties of retrieving court records since we have had a court system.  Some days you are able to get the records you need almost immediately.  Other times, court clerks make you wait—sometimes hours or even days or weeks before they release records.  

And every once in a while, you run into a clerk who simply says "no.”

These delays in the release of court files have become increasingly more common in recent months, according to many FALI members.

If you attended the recent FALI Southeastern Super Conference in Orlando, you probably heard Associated Press (AP) reporter Mike Schneider speak on this same subject, during one of our lunch sessions.  You’ll recall that the AP had sent reporters, on the same day in February, to each of Florida’s 67 counties, seeking to determine the ease or difficulty in asking for—and being given access to, both civil and criminal court records.  

The resulting AP story, distributed to newspapers and television stations throughout Florida, caused quite a stir in Florida courthouses.

And complaints about refusal to release court documents—and/or the tardiness of the release of the documents, continue to this day.  In fairness, I must report that most of the delays, according to the clerks of court, revolve about the convoluted methods they are required to use in order to redact certain information that Supreme Court rules do not permit them to release, such as Social Security account numbers, sexual crime victims addresses, witness addresses, bank account numbers, etc.

Shortly after the conference, FALI president Tim O’Rourke appointed a special committee to investigate problems in the release of court records and public records in general, suggest solutions, and take the lead in making certain that all investigators have the access to court and other public records, as defined by Florida statutes.  

O’Rourke also charged the committee with reviewing member complaints regarding refusal or delays in releasing public records, and working closely with the Florida First Amendment Foundation and the two committees set up by the Florida Supreme Court who are concerned with the release of public records and the movement to transition all court records to an electronic format.

FALI Vice President Burt Hodge, FALI Conference Chair Rory McMahon, and I are committee members.

As we began to gather the information we needed to get the committee off the ground, FALI President O’Rourke became aware that the people responsible for court records, the Clerks of Court, had scheduled their summer conference for June 11, 2013 in Wesley Chapel at the Saddlebrook Resort.  Feeling that Florida private investigators ought to be represented at that meeting, President O’Rourke arranged for he and I to be registered for one day of the conference, so we could attend two very important seminars pertaining to court records.

Our report to you is that this conference was an eye-opener for us.  The clerks and their group (Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers) had never had a private investigator attend their meetings.  And they never have had a private investigative professional organization, such as FALI, attend their meetings and express a desire to be involved in their processes.

FALI has pledged to work closely with these groups to find solutions to mutual problems that will result in the needs of the professional investigator being met, as mandated by Florida statutes.  We’ve told them that FALI stands ready to assist in any way possible.

We discovered that there are many problems—problems with the Florida statutes; problems with the administrative rules and orders of the Florida Supreme Court; operational difficulties in the process of redaction of confidential information from the court files prior to release; as well as problems in both attitude and operational efficiency in the various clerk of court offices.  Not to mention staff shortages at various Clerks offices, due to budgetary cut backs.

Best of all, we head various staff members of several Clerk of Court offices, talk about the importance of releasing court information in a fast and efficient manner.  And how it was their duty to get the information released.  And that they were going to continue their efforts to solve their many problems. 

It was very clear that the new FALI committee has a lot of work to do.

But there are some bright spots.  We met three senior management officials from three different, forward-thinking county clerk of court offices, talk about operational and office efficiency; educational efforts that need to be made, both with their staff and the general public;  their obligation to release court documents that meet the mandates of the Florida Open Records law, while serving the public in a timely and efficient manner.

And, are you ready for this ?   These three senior staff members even talked about "customer service” and how they could meet the letter of the Florida statutes while at the same time, properly servicing the needs of their customers (the general public).  They talked about helping the general public learn the vocabulary of the court system and they talked about helping the general public find and retrieve the court records they need.  All in a timely manner.

FALI made a lot of new friends among the large group of attendees and vendors.  We passed out a lot of business cards.   We picked up some good ideas as to how your new FALI committee should proceed. 

We met, spoke with, and made new friends with members of several Florida Supreme Court advisory committees.  We offered FALI’s  assistance and we will be in continuing dialog with these important leaders—after all, these are the folks who will be assisting the Florida Supreme Court, along with the Clerks of Court, in setting policy, recommending legislation, and drafting rules of procedure, as we transition into the digital age.

In short, we made it known that FALI is the professional organization for Florida private investigators and we have pledged our continuing assistance in helping the various stake-holders, along with the Florida Court Clerks organization, as they move towards their goal of improving customer service and expediting public requests for the release of records.  

Editor’s note:  If you have information pertaining to Florida Open Records law or the release of court records to the general public, that you feel the FALI committee ought to be aware of; or if you have had either a particularly good or bad experience with your local Clerk of Court, please let us hear from you.  Please email details to Jack Belich at  jbelich@jbelich.com.