Florida Courts Technology Commission: the integral body of which you've never heard.

• Author: Munyon, Lisa
• Position: Special Issue: Technology & the Practice of Law

Mandatory e-filing. Electronic court records. Redaction of confidential information. Anonymous public access to court records over the Internet. Users of our courts may believe that technology has recently invaded the judicial system. However, for the past two decades, the Florida Supreme Court has charted a thoughtful, deliberate path along its journey to provide Floridians increased access to its courts and Florida taxpayers with a judiciary that is a good steward of tax dollars.

On September 8, 1995, the court established the Court Technology User's Committee to assist in its responsibility of adopting policies and plans for the use of information technology resources in Florida's courts. In July 1997, the court issued an administrative order extending the user committee term for two more years, but changed the name of the committee to the Florida Courts Technology Commission (FCTC). In conjunction with the FCTC, the court also formally established three subcommittees: 1) the Appellate Courts Technology Subcommittee; 2) the Electronic Filing Subcommittee; and 3) the Trial Courts Technology Subcommittee. The court established each subcommittee to assist the court, the FCTC, and the Office of the State Courts Administrator in providing advice on technical standards and policies, in reviewing and recommending approval of standards and software to support the needs of appellate and trial courts, and in reviewing and recommending court network interface standards. The court extended the administrative order in two-year terms for several years and continued to focus on the internal use of technology by the courts.

With the increased use of electronic court records, the court recognized the pressing concern about the broad release of sensitive or confidential information contained in court records through electronic media. At the court's direction, the Judicial Management Council studied the issue and made recommendations to the court that resulted in the creation of the Committee on Privacy and Court Records in 2004. As a result of this committee's work, the court adopted changes to court rules that protect necessary confidential and sensitive information in court records by minimizing and eliminating the filing of unnecessary sensitive or confidential information. Additionally, the court adopted rules requiring filers to identify any confidential information within a court filing.

Concurrently with this effort, clerks of court were creating...