Small Town News

State attorney declines criminal charges

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In county records case

The State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit has declined to bring criminal charges in relation to a lawsuit filed by citizen Suzanne Harris against the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) and Walton County Clerk of Court. That action, Case No. 09CA000800, was resolved in a stipulated final judgment signed Dec. 28, 2009.

The case, which generated a great deal of publicity, arose out of a public records request made by Harris from the BCC. Harris requested e-mails containing a reported 29 specified words or phrases and covering a 22-month period. Following correspondence and additional requests, it came to light that the county clerk's information technology department did not have software to carry out the requested search. The search request also involved approximately 160,000 e-mails and led to disagreement and negotiations over the burden involved in complying with the request.

The settlement reached provides for continuing jurisdiction by the court to ensure compliance with the request, which has been modified and reduced to some 2,100 emails. The Clerk of Court's Office has also updated its informational software and instituted comprehensive changes in public records policies including oversight and training - to ensure future compliance with records requests. The county was ordered to pay Harris' attorney fees and costs.

A two-page statement issued by the state attorney's office concluded that, in consideration of the settlement of the lawsuit by stipulation and of the county's having made "substantial changes to its public records policies to prevent future violations," that there exists "insufficient evidence to support the filing of criminal charges. For that reason, no further action will be taken by this office in this matter."



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© 2011 The DeFuniak Springs Herald DeFuniak Springs, Florida. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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