Opinion ID: 874750
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: c.a.r. 32.

Text: 2 Gurney argues that the district court erred in three ways. 1 First, he contends that upon his showing of economic harm, the State was obligated to show that the public interest in disclosure outweighed his interest in concealing his criminal record. Second, he argues that the public’s interest in disclosure diminishes over time and the district court erred by failing to consider this diminution. Third, he argues that the district court erred by analogizing his case to Turpen despite distinguishable facts. We are not persuaded by these arguments. i. The district court did not err when it determined that the public interest in disclosure predominated over Gurney’s privacy interest. Gurney argues that he showed that he had suffered economic harm as a result of public access to his criminal history and, that upon such a showing, the State was obligated to show the public interest in disclosure predominated. He argues that since the State failed to do so, the records of his case should be sealed. The district court did not abuse its discretion because it determined the applicable rule of law, made findings consistent with that rule, and decided the motion by the exercise of reason. The governing rule is I.C.A.R. 32(i), which requires that the district court “hold a hearing on the motion” and “determine and make a finding of fact as to whether the interest in privacy or public disclosure predominates.” The district court did both. Gurney asserts that the district court erred by not shifting the burden of proof to the State after he showed that he had sustained economic harm. Demonstrating the existence of a privacy interest does not shift the burden of proof under I.C.A.R. 32(i). The text of the rule does not place a burden on the State to demonstrate the public interest in disclosure. See I.C.A.R. 32. Rather, the rule itself describes the public’s interest: “The public has a right to examine and copy the judicial department’s declarations of law and public policy and to examine and copy the records of all proceedings open to the public.” Id. The presumptive right of the public to access records of all proceedings open to the public is supported by eleven express policy considerations including that the rule “[p]romotes accessibility to court records,” “[p]romotes 1 He also makes a general fairness argument but does not assign any error to the decision of the lower court on this basis. Regardless of the content of the general fairness argument, the manner in which it was presented to this Court deserves comment. The brief, signed by Gurney’s attorney, contains the following passage: “As one commentator notes, in Idaho we have numerous mechanisms to open databases showing criminal activity, but hardly any to retard or stop the future dissemination of such information. Is My Record Clear Now?, Advocate, Vol. 52, No. 6 (June 2009).” The “one commentator” was none other than Gurney’s attorney, and this “commentary” appeared in the “Reader ViewPoint” section of the cited publication. We find this reference to be, at best, disingenuous. 3 governmental accountability,” and “[m]inimizes reluctance to use the court system.” I.C.A.R. 32(a)(1),(3),(8). The rule does not have a provision under which a showing of economic harm shifts the burden of proof to the State. See I.C.A.R. 32(i). 2 Instead the rule states “the court shall determine and make a finding of fact as to whether the interest in privacy or public disclosure predominates.” Id. Instead of engaging in burden shifting, the district court followed the requirements of Rule 32(i). The district court considered the competing interests and the “traditional legal concepts” as Rule 32(i) requires. It considered the public interest in knowing “what transpired in a given case” in order to foster transparency in the courts. It also considered the economic harm that Gurney suffered as he sought employment and housing. The district court found that the economic harm which Gurney suffered was “onerous.” The district court reasoned that the “economic or financial loss or harm” contemplated by the Rule was related to the “traditional legal concepts in the law of . . . invasion of proprietary business records.” The district court held that Gurney’s harm is distinguishable from the type of harm contemplated by the Rule and, in any case, was predominated by the public interest in disclosure as stated in I.C.A.R. 32(a). The district court complied with the requirement of the rule by issuing a finding of fact that “the public’s right to know predominates over Mr. Gurney’s desire to seal his records.” On this basis, it denied relief under Rule 32(i). As the district court recognized that the decision was committed to its discretion, recognized and applied the applicable legal standard, and did so through the exercise of reason, we are unable to conclude that the decision was an abuse of discretion. ii. Gurney waived the issue of diminution due to the passage of time by failing to support his argument with any authority. 2 The rule does not explicitly state which party bears the burden of proof. It does, however, state that “[i]f the court redacts or seals records to protect predominating privacy interests, it must fashion the least restrictive exception from disclosure….” The district court determined that the burden was upon the party moving for the records to be sealed. It based this conclusion upon a presumption of transparency and openness – non-exempt records are not sealed unless one successfully moves to seal them. Moreover, because the motion is only granted if the privacy interest predominates, the burden most naturally falls upon the moving party. It is also the case that a moving party usually bears the burden of proof. See Brown v. City of Pocatello, 148 Idaho 802, 806, 229 P.3d 1164, 1168 (2010) (holding that the burden for a summary judgment motion is upon the moving party); Ebert v. Newton, 97 Idaho 418, 419, 546 P.2d 64, 65 (1976) (plaintiffs bear the burden of proving each element of their case); Gardner v. Hollifield, 96 Idaho 609, 611, 533 P.2d 730, 732 (1975) (moving party bears the burden of showing the plaintiff failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted). But see In re City of Shelley, 151 Idaho 289, ___, 255 P.3d 1175, 1180 (2011) (“Once jurisdiction has been called into question, the party asserting jurisdiction has the burden of proving jurisdictional facts.”). For these reasons, we agree find that the district court correctly determined that the party moving to seal or redact records bears the burden of proof. 4 Gurney argues that the public interest in disclosure diminishes over time and upon a defendant’s successful completion of a diversionary program. He argues this is true as a matter of law. Gurney cites no authority for the proposition that the district court was obligated to consider diminution of the public interest over time. Therefore, the issue is waived on appeal. State v. Zichko, 129 Idaho 259, 263, 923 P.2d 966, 970 (1996). iii. Gurney has not shown that the district court erred by comparing the facts of Turpen to his case. Gurney assigns error to the district court’s comparing his case to State v. Turpen, 147 Idaho 869, 870, 216 P.3d 627, 628 (2009). The facts of Turpen differ from the facts of the case at bar, in that Turpen was acquitted of a misdemeanor, id., and Gurney pled guilty to a felony before his conviction was dismissed after he successfully completed drug court. The district court made this distinction in its ruling and noted that the distinction was important, although the district court did not explain this distinction further. We can discern no error in the district court’s implicit determination that the public interest in the records of a felony case in which the defendant has pled guilty may be greater than the public interest in a misdemeanor action in which the defendant was found not guilty. More importantly, although Gurney advances the conclusory assertion that the district court erred as a matter of law in this regard, he does not advance legal argument or authority in support of this assertion. Accordingly, this claim is waived. Zichko, 129 Idaho at 263, 923 P.2d at 970. B. Gurney has failed to properly support his claim of error in the denial of his motion to amend the caption. Gurney has not properly supported his claim that the district court erred by denying his motion to amend the caption of this appeal. While he provided argument, he failed to cite to any authority. Such a failure results in the issue being waived on appeal. Zichko, 129 Idaho at 263, 923 P.2d at 970. Moreover, Gurney’s argument is plainly contrary to the relevant law. Rule 6 of the Idaho Appellate Rules governs the titles of cases. “The original title of an action or proceeding, with the names of the parties in the same order, shall be retained on appeal.” I.A.R. 6 (emphasis added). The district court may only “correct the title of an appeal.” Id. There was nothing incorrect in the title of this action. Therefore, Rule 6 did not permit the district court to make the requested change in the title. However, this “Court may amend a title of an appeal or proceeding before it at any time.” Id. Gurney made such a motion to this Court, which was denied. We 5 conclude that Gurney has failed to demonstrate that the district court erred by denying his motion to amend the caption of this appeal.