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Escambia Clerk Wins Public Records Ruling
December 5, 2013
The First District Court of Appeal has ruled in favor of Escambia County Clerk of Court Pam Childers. The court’s decision upholds a trial court’s ruling that Childers’ office did not violate the law by refusing to provide names of grand jurors to a public information request.
For more than 10 years, Kevin Wood of Panama City has made requests to various clerks of court offices throughout the state for lists of grand jurors’ names. In January 2013, three weeks after Childers took office, Wood made a public records request for the list of grand jurors’ names of the then-current grand jury.
Citing Florida law, Childers refused to provide the information to Wood because it was confidential. Soon thereafter, Wood filed a lawsuit asking the court to find that the clerk of the court had improperly withheld the information.
The clerk’s general counsel, Susan A. Woolf, successfully argued the matter to the trial court and obtained a favorable ruling . On November 21, 2013, the First District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s decision.
Comments
19 Responses to “Escambia Clerk Wins Public Records Ruling”
which one of you condiming keven wood has tirelessly done godly gutsy deeds. stuck up for a court proven harmless person person who society would reguard as not worth defending in the face of criminal law threats didnt back down why does fla statutes exsist 286 fla sunshine statute…. public records 119 ( which requires all public records be open) except for narrow exemptions sworn under perjury 837 fla statutes which if not done is posible racketeering fs 895 conspiracy 838 to prevent grand juriors from being district atty pupets
Imagine a person before the grand jury saying, “All your names are public record. If you charge me with this crime — which I DID commit, by the way — my friends will torture and kill your children, your spouses, your parents and siblings and your pets.”
Horrible, right?
But what if he simply hints at it or simply does it?
Just something to consider
The Sunshine problem is not about jury identities, it’s about Grand Jury proceedings records.
The problem is with State Attorneys who do a poor job of presenting cases against people their friends and donors want off the hook.
The problem is with State Attorneys who don’t call grand juries when wrongdoing by the powerful is clear.
Records of the proceedings would spotlight the poor job State Attorneys do in presenting or leaving out key evidence.
methinks ye meant commend
I comment MR. Wood for wanting the govt to operate in the SUNSHINE! If a grand Jury can indict and hear and make decisions FOR THE PUBLIC, then there is nothing wrong with us, the public, knowing who they are….There might be a reason she (Childers) doesn’t want the info released….Hummmmmm
As a former juror I would not want my information posted for all to see. Mr. Wood, what is your reason for wanting this information? I see no benifit for someone not affiliated with the courts to NEED this information. I was happy to serve as a juror, and felt it was my responsibility. But I also saw “very bad men” threaten the court and anyone involved with putting them in jail. I would not want that person (or his associates) to know who I am for reasons that should be obvious. So Mr. Wood, what is your reason for wanting this information?
Notice that Mr. Woods has posted twice and has not explained why he needs this info. Or why it should be available upon request.
Everyone can only assume that the info will be used for no good purpose.
Unless he thinks making the names and proceedings public info will insure the legitimacy of the GR process.
i.e. a GR could be loaded only with friends of the SA in order to get the GR to go along with whatever the SA says.
Mr Kevin Wood, stay in your own county and waste thier money; leave ours alone. The citizens of Escambia county want thier tax dollars spent on better things than trying to appease you. What are your intentions? Why do you want these names? The only thing i can think of is that you are trying to get paid through the filing of a lawsuit, by asking for these names, hoping that a clerk nwould refuse so you can file a suit or maybe your looking to intimidate some of these people. I also believe you just want to waste tax payer dollars to no real purpose or cause. like i said stay in your own county and leave ours alone, we dont want you or need you.
Kevin Woods – I think the public is a lot smarter than you give them credit for. I think you may be the ignorant one for wanting to expose the names of people that could eventually be targeted by criminals for their decision. There are some things in the court system that should be kept secret or private. It appears that all you are doing it trying to get a little “15 minutes of fame” for something that you really have no involvement in! I hope the courts continue to give you a big “L” on your side and leave these men and women private. To the greater majority of the public, you are just wasting our tax dollars!
I like the Sunshine Law in Florida as it gives the public access. I think we all should be allowed to see the record and proceedings of a grand jury, but not the names. If Mr. Wood does get the names of the grand jury members at his request and something happens to any of them involving a questionable nature then I think he should be in jail and the warden or sheriff should throw away the key. The names should not be known.
It sounds like you Mr wood has a personal ax to grind mabe to do harn to one or all of thr grand jurys may be you are the one that needs to be investaged I hope the court make you pay for this..
Mr. Wood,
Ms. Childers has this name by marriage so don’t drag her into WD’s mess. We needed new blood for Clerk of Court. I hope she continues to win.
If it is against Florida law, why then do some counties provide the info and some do not?
As Mr. Wood claims.
I applaud Ms Childers. If I was a grand jury member, I would not want my name out to the public. Like Helen said that would make you a target for retribution from criminals. Mr. Wood- stop the nonsense. Don’t you have better things to do?
Kevin Wood it would seem is nothing more than a publicity hound seeking his 15 minutes of fame. I can understand wanting the proceedings of the grand jury, but why on earth would anyone want the names of the jurors. I can think of only one reason and that being for the purpose of intimidation.
According to him, Pam Childers is guilty by association
I say to Pam Childers to have the trial fees (Attorney’s fees etc) to be reimbursed by Mr. Wood. If he is bent on this let him pay instead of me, I didn’t ask for this.
Apparently, Mr. Woods has too much th one on his hands. Who or why would someone feel the need to know the names of grand jurist? Maybe someone needs to take a gander into Mr. Woods. Somethings amis. Stop wasting taxpayers money on your personal vendetta.
It is supposed to be against the law to ask for the names of grand jurors. This was made secret because they were being targeted by criminals. They are the initial start to whether you go to trial or not which translates into the possibility of a guilty verdict. So, if one knows who is on the grand jury, they can scare them into an innocent vote and they do not go to trial. This late in the game, it can be a payback move on this persons part to want to know who was on the grand jury. So, why is this guy not being arrested for seeking this information so aggressively? I am tired of how laws get ignored and people like him get away with things like this. He should have been stopped the first time he requested the information. Instead of wasting tax payers money and the courts time.
The battle is not yet over and the appeal will continue before the Florida and United States Supreme Courts within the time remaining for appeal and petition. The First District Court of Appeals’ (DCA’s) negligence in addressing the issue without any opinion whatsoever will be heard by other superior courts. Ms. Childer’s attempt in delaying the public’s Florida Sunshine right of access to Grand Jury public proceedings and records under the Florida Sunshine law is in fashion with the history of the Childer’s family to thwart public access under the Sunshine law. The infamous W.D. Childers criminal conviction for violation of the Sunshine Law, upheld by the First DCA, again without opinion, is a lesson learned. As a Childer family member, you can run but you cannot hide. As Escambia County prosecutor Bobby Elmore commented, “That made a mockery of the Sunshine Law” referring to W.D. Childer’s criminal offenses. Other counties in Florida allow citizens to have access to (1) Grand Jury Selection and (2) the names and particulars of Grand Jurors selected. It is confident that the Florida and/or U.S. Supreme Courts will agree once the politics of the First DCA is overcome.