Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/332945
saying Florida's public records law "does not include Federal entities." That was the argu- ment of Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Flynn at a "status conference" on June 12. "Florida's Sunshine Laws have been preempted by federal statute," Flynn told the court during that proceeding. Williams agreed and further said that Jackson's efforts as a special deputy U.S. mar- shal put him outside the Sunshine Laws, too. "Thus the Sunshine Law would not apply to Det. Jackson while operating in his capacity as a sworn federal law enforcement agent," Williams wrote. During the June 12 conference, the judge and Flynn agreed the U.S. government would return to state courts any and all circuit court documents in its possession that sought permission for use of the cellphone signal interception devices. His final order calls for the state documents to go back to the control of circuit court clerks. Mogensen told The Sarasota News Leader that was a "major vic- tory" in the suit, despite the dismissal. "That is huge," she said. Mogensen and Thomas are considering whether they will re-file their complaint by July 7, a deadline Williams set for such a pos- sibility, or appeal his June 18 decision, she added. "That is under discussion." The city turned over 1,900 documents to the plaintiffs the night before the June 12 con- ference. Williams noted in his order that city efforts "are ongoing" to produce more. The documents returned to county clerks all over Florida by the U.S. Attorney's office now fall under the state's Rules of Judicial Administration. Mogensen said all state and local records are presumed public under Florida's Sunshine Laws, but a host of exemptions have been applied over the years. For example, a police request to a judge for a search warrant is a secret document until the warrant has been served. The request then is often "unsealed" and becomes a public record. With the stingray materials out of federal hands, local judges can respond to public records requests on an individual basis. "This was so outside the bounds of normality," noted Mogensen. Williams' order says, "The U.S. Government on or before June 23, 2014 will file with the issuing Florida state court those applications for orders approving the using of stingray devices." % Any Sarasota County records involving cellphone monitoring have been ordered back to the Office of the Clerk of Court and County Comptroller. Photo by Norman Schimmel Sarasota News Leader June 20, 2014 Page 40