I’ve posted previously on sealed cases and secret dockets in South Florida and elsewhere in Florida in South Florida Super-Sealing: Secret Dockets Filled with Hidden, Secret Cases and More Sealed South Florida Cases Found Omitted From Public Docket.

Now rules are being proposed, at the request of the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court, to prevent this from happening again in the future.

These proposed rules go to the opposite extreme, requiring a public notice of a public hearing before any motion to seal may be granted.

Under the proposed rules, judges would also have to specify in writing precisely what case records are being sealed.

The rules will not go into effect unless and until approved by the Florida Supreme Court.

Do the proposed rules go too far in requiring a public, publicly-noticed hearing on presumably sensitive information?

Read more in this Bradenton Herald article: Study group urges ban on hidden court cases.