Title: In Re: Amendments to Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: SC14-2434
State: Florida
Issuer: Florida Supreme Court
Date: January 22, 2015

Supreme Court of Florida 
 
 
____________ 
 
No. SC14-2434 
____________ 
 
 
IN RE:  AMENDMENTS TO FLORIDA RULE OF JUDICIAL 
ADMINISTRATION 2.420. 
 
[January 22, 2015] 
 
PER CURIAM. 
 
We have for consideration amendments to Florida Rule of Judicial 
Administration 2.420 (Public Access to Judicial Branch Records) proposed by the 
The Florida Bar’s Rules of Judicial Administration Committee (RJA Committee) 
in its “fast-track” out-of-cycle report.  See Fla. Rule Jud. Admin. 2.140(e). 
We have jurisdiction1 and amend the rule as proposed by the RJA Committee and 
approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors of The Florida 
Bar.    
The amendments to subdivision (d)(1)(B) (Procedures for Determining 
Confidentiality of Court Records) are in response to chapters 2014-67 and 2014-
                                          
 
 
1.  See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const. 
 
 
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174, Laws of Florida, and add two new categories of information in court records 
that the clerks of court must automatically designate and maintain as confidential.  
New subdivision (d)(1)(B)(xxi) adds “[f]orensic behavioral health evaluations 
under chapter 916,” Florida Statutes, to the list of automatically confidential 
information.  See ch. 2014-67, §1, Laws of Fla. (creating § 916.1065, Fla. Stat., 
effective July 1, 2014).  New subdivision (d)(1)(B)(xxii) adds “[e]ligibility 
screening, substance abuse screening, behavioral health evaluations, and treatment 
status reports for defendants referred to or considered for referral to a drug court 
program” to the list of automatically confidential information.  See ch. 2014-174, 
§1, Laws of Fla. (creating § 397.334(10)(a), Fla. Stat., effective June 20, 2014).  
The amendment to subdivision (d)(1)(B)(iv) corrects a statutory reference.   
Accordingly, the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration are amended as 
reflected in the appendix to this opinion.  New language is indicated by 
underscoring; deletions are indicated by struck-through type.  The amendments 
shall become effective immediately upon the release of this opinion. Because the 
amendments were not published for comment prior to their adoption, interested 
persons shall have sixty days from the date of this opinion in which to file 
comments with the Court.2 
                                          
 
 
2.  All comments must be filed with the Court on or before March 23, 2015, 
with a certificate of service verifying that a copy has been served on the 
Committee Chair, Murray B. Silverstein, 625 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 100, Tampa, 
 
 
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It is so ordered. 
LABARGA, C.J., and PARIENTE, LEWIS, QUINCE, CANADY, POLSTON, 
and PERRY, JJ., concur.  
 
THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER THE 
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THESE AMENDMENTS.  
 
Original Proceedings – Florida Rules of Judicial Administration 
Murray Bruce Silverstein, Chair, Rules of Judicial Administration Committee, 
Greenberg Traurig, P.A., Tampa, Florida; John F. Harkness, Jr., Executive 
Director, and Krys Godwin, Bar Staff Liaison, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, 
Florida,  
 
for Petitioner  
 
 
                                          
 
Florida 33602-3925, silversteinmb@gtlaw.com, and on the Bar Staff Liaison to the 
Committee, Krys Godwin, 651 E. Jefferson Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-
2300, krgodwin@flabar.org, as well as a separate request for oral argument if the 
person filing the comment wishes to participate in oral argument, which may be 
scheduled in this case.  The Committee Chair has until April 13, 2015 to file a 
response to any comments filed with the Court.  If filed by an attorney in good 
standing with The Florida Bar, the comment must be electronically filed via the 
Portal in accordance with In re Electronic Filing in the Supreme Court of Florida 
via the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, Fla. Admin. Order No. AOSC13-7 (Feb. 18, 
2013).  If filed by a nonlawyer or a lawyer not licensed to practice in Florida, the 
comment must be electronically filed via e-mail in accordance with In re 
Mandatory Submission of Electronic Copies of Documents, Fla. Admin. Order No. 
AOSC04-84 (Sept. 13, 2004).  Electronically filed documents must be submitted in 
Microsoft Word 97 or higher.  Any person unable to submit a comment 
electronically must mail or hand-deliver the originally signed comment to the 
Florida Supreme Court, Office of the Clerk, 500 South Duval Street, Tallahassee, 
Florida 32399-1927; no additional copies are required or will be accepted. 
 
 
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APPENDIX 
RULE 2.420. 
PUBLIC ACCESS TO AND PROTECTION OF 
JUDICIAL BRANCH RECORDS 
(a) – (c) 
[No Change] 
(d) 
Procedures for Determining Confidentiality of Court Records. 
(1) 
The clerk of the court shall designate and maintain the 
confidentiality of any information contained within a court record that is described 
in subdivision (d)(1)(A) or (d)(1)(B) of this rule. The following information shall 
be maintained as confidential: 
(A) 
information described by any of subdivisions (c)(1) 
through (c)(6) of this rule; and 
(B) 
except as provided by court order, information subject to 
subdivision (c)(7) or (c)(8) of this rule that is currently confidential or exempt from 
section 119.07, Florida Statutes, and article I, section 24(a) of the Florida 
Constitution as specifically stated in any of the following statutes or as they may 
be amended or renumbered: 
(i) 
Chapter 39 records relating to dependency matters, 
termination of parental rights, guardians ad litem, child abuse, neglect, and 
abandonment. §§ 39.0132(3), 39.0132(4)(a), Fla. Stat. 
(ii) 
Adoption records. § 63.162, Fla. Stat. 
(iii) 
Social Security, bank account, charge, debit, and 
credit card numbers. § 119.0714(1)(i)–(j), (2)(a)–(e), Fla. Stat. (Unless redaction is 
requested pursuant to § 119.0714(2), Fla. Stat., this information is exempt only as 
of January 1, 2012.) 
(iv) 
HIV test results and the identity of any person 
upon whom an HIV test has been performed. § 381.004(32)(e), Fla. Stat. 
(v) 
Records, including test results, held by the 
Department of Health or its authorized representatives relating to sexually 
transmissible diseases. § 384.29, Fla. Stat. 
 
 
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(vi) 
Birth records and portions of death and fetal death 
records. §§ 382.008(6), 382.025(1), Fla. Stat. 
(vii) Information that can be used to identify a minor 
petitioning for a waiver of parental notice when seeking to terminate pregnancy.  
§ 390.01116, Fla. Stat. 
(viii) Clinical records under the Baker Act. 
§ 394.4615(7), Fla. Stat. 
(ix) 
Records of substance abuse service providers 
which pertain to the identity, diagnosis, and prognosis of and service provision to 
individuals. § 397.501(7), Fla. Stat. 
(x) 
Clinical records of criminal defendants found 
incompetent to proceed or acquitted by reason of insanity. § 916.107(8), Fla. Stat. 
(xi) 
Estate inventories and accountings. § 733.604(1), 
Fla. Stat. 
(xii) The victim’s address in a domestic violence action 
on petitioner’s request. § 741.30(3)(b), Fla. Stat. 
(xiii) Protected information regarding victims of child 
abuse or sexual offenses. §§ 119.071(2)(h), 119.0714(1)(h), Fla. Stat. 
(xiv) Gestational surrogacy records. § 742.16(9), Fla. 
Stat. 
(xv) Guardianship reports, orders appointing court 
monitors, and orders relating to findings of no probable cause in guardianship 
cases. §§ 744.1076, 744.3701, Fla. Stat. 
(xvi) Grand jury records. §§ 905.17, 905.28(1), Fla. Stat. 
(xvii) Records acquired by courts and law enforcement 
regarding family services for children. § 984.06(3)–(4), Fla. Stat. 
(xviii) 
  Juvenile delinquency records. §§ 985.04(1), 
985.045(2), Fla. Stat. 
 
 
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(xix) Records disclosing the identity of persons subject 
to tuberculosis proceedings and records held by the Department of Health or its 
authorized representatives relating to known or suspected cases of tuberculosis or 
exposure to tuberculosis. §§ 392.545, 392.65, Fla. Stat. 
(xx) Complete presentence investigation reports. Fla. R. 
Crim. P. 3.712. 
(xxi) Forensic behavioral health evaluations under 
Chapter 916. § 916.1065, Fla. Stat. 
(xxii) Eligibility screening, substance abuse screening, 
behavioral health evaluations, and treatment status reports for defendants referred 
to or considered for referral to a drug court program. § 397.334(10)(a), Fla. Stat.  
(2) – (5) 
[No Change] 
(e) – (m) 
[No Change] 
Committee Note 
[No Change] 
2002 – 2007 Court Commentary 
[No Change] 
2007 Committee Commentary  
[No Change] 
 
APPENDIX TO RULE 2.420 
[No Change] 
 
  
 
 
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