In 2018, two Florida journalists tried to obtain legal filings that had been filed that day in 19 county courthouses across the state. Only 25% of the courthouses they visited could. It could take up to two weeks for journalists to access these public records.
Vital activities like the news cycle, making hiring and rental decisions, and carrying out all kinds of investigation rely on current information regarding persons of interest. If current information is not available because of administrative holdups, it gets overlooked. This can lead to seriously impactful consequences. So, what’s the holdup?
Unlike every other state in the United States with the exception of Vermont, civil court documents filed in Florida were not filed with confidential information like social security numbers and bank account information redacted. In most states, the attorneys and judges who file these documents submit them already redacted. In Florida and Vermont, it has been the job of the Clerk of Courts to redact this information after the documents have been filed before they can enter the public domain in any meaningful way. This holds up the process and hinders the right of journalists, investigators, and the general public to access public records. Until now.
This month, the Florida Supreme Court finalized a new rule to streamline public records access. According to this new rule, the Clerk of Courts is no longer responsible for confidential information redaction in civil court documents.
This is great news for journalists keeping up with the news cycle, employers investigating new hires, landlords looking into new renters, and of course, private investigators carrying out our work.