Opinion ID: 1581877
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Comments, Oral Argument, and Further Refinement by the Court

Text: Comments addressing the various amendments at issue here were filed by the ACR Committee, the CPR Committee, the Special Joint Committee, Florida Media Organizations, [14] the First Amendment Foundation, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the Volusia County, Sarasota County, and Miami-Dade County Clerks of Court, the Florida Public Defender Association, and the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association. The RJA Committee filed comments as well as a response to other comments. The Florida Courts Technology Commission's Subcommittee on Access to Court Records (Access Subcommittee), which is the successor to the Access Committee, [15] also filed a response and comments. In September 2009, after holding separate arguments on each of the major topics at issue here, the Court further revised the pending amendments and sought comments on its revisions from the various committees and those who filed comments. See In re Amends. to Fla. Rule of Jud. Admin. 2.420, No. SC07-2050 (Fla. order filed Sept. 9, 2009). The Court also asked the committees, with input from the clerks of court, to develop a new form to be used with the proposed rule for identifying and designating confidential information. Further comments were received, including comments from The Florida Bar's newly created Consolidated Rules Committee, which submitted the requested new form and suggested additional revisions to the rule. [16] The Access Subcommittee concurs with the majority of the Consolidated Rules Committee's suggested revisions. After considering the various proposals, the numerous comments, and suggested revisions, as well as the issues addressed at oral argument, we amend Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420 and the Rules of Appellate Procedure to provide comprehensive procedures for identifying and segregating confidential information in court records, for sealing and unsealing court records, and for reviewing orders issued under the rule. We discuss the more significant amendments below.