Boring? Not if you read the list of who benefits from sealed court records.
New rules on court records often ignored Oct. 14, 2007 BY PATRICK DANNER AND DAN CHRISTENSEN MiamiHerald.com | The cases include the divorce of a prominent Broward homicide prosecutor, a defamation suit against a Miami doctor, and a Fort Lauderdale law firm's fee dispute in a probate matter. The Supreme Court unanimously adopted the rules after The Miami Herald reported that hundreds of civil and criminal cases in at least a half dozen counties were hidden from public view. Broward had the most concealed cases, and they often involved the divorces of judges, lawyers, politicians and businessmen. |
Considering that these professions especially, lawyers and doctors, have licensure boards that are hardwired for their own protection, not the protection of civilians, it is amusing to see them seduce the judges in South Florida, thereby inducing court orders for further obscuring and sleight-of-handing that benefits nervous lawyers, doctors et al.
And as the used car salesman says, "It's all perfectly legal."
Maybe.
Maybe not. Danner and Christensen quote another lawyer who smells a rat. "You always have to wonder if there's something more nefarious going on when the rules aren't being followed, and whether judges are ignoring them thinking they can get away with it," said Thomas Julin, an attorney in Miami who defends media organizations against defamation, including the Girls Gone Wild company, MRA Holdings. Hmmmm, another fox guarding another henhouse? Well, this time, I will agree with the counsellor. Keep an eye on those rascally judges!
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