The Florida Supreme Court decided July 3, 2006 that further study is needed on the information contained in court records before allowing counties to place information online for public review.

The order stated that "a rush to post Public Records online at all state courthouses could lead to the illegal posting of confidential information that could result in identity theft or other misuses."

The decision from the court came after it received a list of issues from a court-appointed committee that stated the court should resolve certain problems before allowing for the online publication of the state's court records online. Many issues were addressed in the list, including the time frame for placing all of Florida's 67 counties' information online and whether court records should be made available only to registered users who pay a nominal fee for access.

Not everyone thinks electronic access is a good idea. On March 31, 2005, Fifth District Court of Appeal Judge Jacqueline R. Griffin told The Orlando Sentinel the committee would "rue the day" it decided to put court records on the Internet.

The administrative order from the Supreme Court calls for the creation of another committee to determine what records should be open to the public.

"Two competing yet important values must be balanced in any responsible set of policies: openness and transparency in court records, on the one hand, and individual privacy, on the other hand," wrote Barbara Pariente, the chief justice of the court, in the order. "Any viable policy must balance these two vital principles."

"It's cautious," said Jon Kaney, general counsel for the First Amendment Foundation. "And, I think caution is best advised right now."

Until those studies are completed, the Supreme Court will maintain a limited moratorium on what court records can be placed online. The current moratorium allows clerk of courts to place docket information, final orders or judgments in some cases and all documents in cases of "significant public interest" online. It also allows electronic records to be sent by e-mail from the court, so long as the record has been manually inspected by a clerk official to make sure confidential information is not included.

Get the Newsletter - It's FREE