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Florida Law
Attorney: Open Government Laws Go Beyond the Computer
Sun Screens: Florida's first Sunshine Law attorney wants public officials to know that open government laws extend beyond the office computer.
 All documents should be public, says Sunshine Law attorney Alexis Lambert, unless they meet a ‘very narrow exemption.’ [Photo: Chris Mallick] |
On the job since June, Alexis Lambert, the attorney general's Sunshine Law attorney, has fielded hundreds of calls from journalists and other citizens, some of whom are relaying suspicions that public officials are using instant or text messages to circumvent open government laws.
According to the law, for example, messages shared between two county commissioners using wireless handheld devices to communicate about public business during public meetings are subject to the same retention and access requirements as any public record.
But it’s not clear that all public officials understand this, perhaps because text and instant messages are not specifically mentioned in the law. As a result, the state’s Commission on Open Government Reform will recommend to Gov. Charlie Crist and state legislative leaders next month that the Sunshine Law be adjusted to “prohibit the use of text and instant messaging technologies during public hearings and/or meetings,” according to Barbara Petersen, the commission’s chairwoman and president of the First Amendment Foundation. The commission will also reiterate that text and instant messages relating to public business are indeed public records subject to the same “disclosure and retention requirements” as any e-mail, document or memo.
The Palin Issue |
While the messages may be public records, recovering them may be another issue. Text messages sent via a BlackBerry or another kind of wireless handheld device typically aren’t retained beyond three to five days. Some service providers, for a fee, offer a service to retain the messages. And many users are unaware if their messages are being saved or not. Such was the case with Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who didn’t know that a series of racy text messages between him and his chief of staff were being saved. Kilpatrick later resigned.
Typically, Lambert’s involvement in a public records case results in quick and cheap access to the records, even in cases where a citizen or journalist was told that getting the documents would take weeks and cost hundreds of dollars in fees. Lambert also helps solve conflicts over whether documents are public or not. Generally, she says, all documents should be public unless they meet a “very narrow exemption,” such as protecting rape or child abuse victims.
Lambert didn’t come to her job with a wealth of experience or expertise in media law. The 29-year-old Palm Beach Gardens native earned her law degree in 2004 from the University of Florida, where she also earned a bachelor’s in Spanish and a master’s in education. While at UF, she was vice president of Florida Blue Key at the same time that Attorney General Bill McCollum was on the organization’s alumni advisory board. The connection led her to work for his campaign for attorney general in 2006. In 2007, he hired her as an assistant attorney general.
“It’s incredibly challenging,” Lambert says. “It’s current. It’s relevant. My father jokes that it’s the perfect job for an old sorority girl — to sit around on the phone and give people advice all day.”
Trying to Broaden the Law
Windermere Mayor Gary Bruhn is gathering support for his initiative to extend the state’s Sunshine Laws to state legislators, who don’t currently have to abide by the same rules that city and county officials do. Legislators, for example, are allowed to meet privately to discuss bills or other state business.
