11-32-S IN RE: RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION OF SEALED RECORDS - ORDERED 10/03/2011 BY ALAN A. DICKEY
WHEREAS, Rule 2.430, Florida Rules of Judicial Administration, establishes criteria for the retention of court records, and WHEREAS, Rule 2.430(j) provides that “No record which has been sealed from public examination by order of court shall be destroyed without hearing after such notice as the court shall require“, and WHEREAS, the State of Florida has developed standards for microfilming and destroying records, and WHEREAS, the State of Florida, Division of Library and Information Services has developed records retention schedules and destruction procedures, as well as, standards and requirements for electronic record keeping, which the Clerk of Court must follow, and WHEREAS, the Clerk of Court has developed microfilm processes which comply with the standards set forth in Rule 1B-26.0021 of the Florida Administrative Code, and has developed procedures for conformance with the Division of Library and Information Services rules and regulations, and WHEREAS, the Clerk of Court has numerous sealed records which exceed the standard retention periods for records which are not sealed, and WHEREAS, the Clerk of Court has expressed a desire to dispose of existing sealed records, as well as establishing a procedure for future records which may be sealed by order of the court, and WHEREAS, the following provisions will improve the efficiency of the Clerk of Court’s records management program; It is therefore, ORDERED:
- The Clerk of Court is authorized to microfilm existing sealed records in conformance with Rule 1B-26.0021 of the Florida Administrative Code and to destroy said records in conformance with the State of Florida Division of Library and Information Services rules and regulations provided records have been sealed for three years.
- Court records filed in the office of the Clerk of Court which may be sealed by order of the court are authorized to be microfilmed in conformance with Rule 1B-26.0021 of the Florida Administrative Code, or maintained in an electronic recordkeeping system, as defined by Rule 1-B 26.003 of the Florida Administrative Code.
- Records maintained by the Clerk of Court in conformance with this Administrative Order shall be secured from public inspection.
DONE and ORDERED this 3rd day of October 2011.