Court Opinion

ID: 9931123
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-02-08 16:04:34.04622+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:16:21.707153
License: Public Domain

Supreme Court of Florida
                             ____________

                          No. SC2024-0059
                            ____________

    IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO FLORIDA RULE OF GENERAL
      PRACTICE AND JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION 2.420.

                          February 8, 2024

PER CURIAM.

     In response to recent legislation, The Florida Bar’s Rules of

General Practice and Judicial Administration Committee

(Committee) has filed a “fast-track” report proposing an amendment

to Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration

2.420 (Public Access to and Protection of Judicial Branch Records).1

The Board of Governors of The Florida Bar unanimously approved

the Committee’s proposal. The Committee did not publish its

proposal before filing it with the Court.

     After considering the Committee’s proposal and the relevant

legislation, we add, as proposed by the Committee, subdivision (xxv)

     1. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const.; see
also Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.140(e).
to rule 2.420(d)(1)(B), providing that petitions, pleadings, and

related documents filed for human trafficking victim expunction

under section 943.0583, Florida Statutes, must be maintained by

the clerk of court as confidential information. The recent statutory

change, effective July 1, 2023, provides that such filings are

confidential and exempt from section 119.07, Florida Statutes, and

article I, section 24(a) of the Florida Constitution. See ch. 2023-84,

§ 1, Laws of Fla.

     In addition, as proposed by the Committee, revisions are made

throughout the subject rule to simplify language consistent with In

re Guidelines for Rules Submissions, Florida Administrative Order

No. AOSC22-78 (Fla. Oct. 24, 2022).

     Accordingly, the Florida Rules of General Practice and 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 take

effect immediately upon the release of this opinion. Because the

amendments were not published for comment prior to their

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adoption, interested persons shall have seventy-five days from the

date of this opinion in which to file comments with the Court. 2

     It is so ordered.

MUÑIZ, C.J., and CANADY, LABARGA, COURIEL, GROSSHANS,
FRANCIS, and SASSO, JJ., concur.

THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER
THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THESE AMENDMENTS.

Original Proceeding – Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial
Administration

Kristin A. Norse, Chair, Rules of General Practice and Judicial
Administration Committee, Tampa, Florida, Joshua E. Doyle,

       2. All comments must be filed with the Court on or before
April 23, 2024, with a certificate of service verifying that a copy has
been served on the Committee Chair, Kristin Ann Norse, Kynes,
Markman & Felman, P.A., P.O. Box 3396, Tampa, Florida 33601-
3396, knorse@kmf-law.com, and on the Bar Staff Liaison to the
Committee, Kelly Noel Smith, 651 East Jefferson Street,
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2300, rules@floridabar.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 May 14, 2024, 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 Florida Courts E-Filing Portal (Portal).
If filed by a nonlawyer or a lawyer not licensed to practice in
Florida, the comment may be, but is not required to be, filed via the
Portal. 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.

                                 -3-
Executive Director, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Florida, and Kelly
Noel Smith, Staff Liaison, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Florida,

     for Petitioner

                                -4-
                              APPENDIX

RULE 2.420. PUBLIC ACCESS TO AND PROTECTION OF
JUDICIAL BRANCH RECORDS

     (a)-(b)    [no change]

     (c)   Confidential and Exempt Records.

           (1)-(8) [no change]

           (9) Any court record determined to be confidential in
case decision or court rule on the grounds that:

                (A)   [no change]

                 (B) the degree, duration, and manner of
confidentiality ordered by the court shallmust be no broader than
necessary to protect the interests set forth in subdivision (c)(9)(A);
and

                (C)   [no change]

           (10) [no change]

    (d) Procedures for Determining Confidentiality of Court
Records.

          (1) Except as provided in this subdivision, the clerk of
the court must designate and maintain the confidentiality of any
information contained within a court record that is described in this
subdivision.

                 (A) The clerk of the court must maintain as
confidential information described by any of subdivisions (c)(1)
through (c)(6) of this rule;.

               (B) Except as provided by court order, the clerk of
the court must maintain as confidential information subject to

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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)-(xxiv) [no change]

                     (xxv) Petitions, pleadings, and related
documents for human trafficking victim expunction. §
943.0583(12)(a), Fla. Stat.

                 (C)   [no change]

           (2)-(5)      [no change]

     (e)-(m)   [no change]

               Committee Note & Court Commentary

                               [no change]

                       Appendix to Rule 2.420
                               [no change]

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