Court plans to embrace technological innovations: e-filing and online access are at the top of the agenda.

The Florida Supreme Court has created the Florida Courts Technology Commission and charged it with drawing up a plan to improve the judicial branch's technology operations, including plans that lead to electronic filing of court documents and online access to public court records.

The commission held its first meeting January 30-31 and spent much of the day and a half studying, getting background information, and coming to grips with the challenges it faces.

"The commission's task is to make policy recommendations on various aspects of the use of technology in the court system," said 11th Circuit Court Judge Judith Kreeger, chair of the commission.

"Things like electronic filing. Are we going to have it? If we have it, are we going to require it? And if we require it, lawyers are going to have to learn how to use it, and their staffs are going to have to learn how to use it, and nonlawyer users will have to be taken into account."

Another major component will be addressing online access to court records. "There are policy issues related to remote public assess to the file which the commission is tasked with making recommendations to the court," Kreeger said. "It will dramatically affect the way we do business."

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FCTC spent time at its first meeting discussing implications of such access.

Kreeger said issues to be decided could include whether those electronically accessing court records be required to identify themselves, and whether "data mining" companies should have access to electronic records.

Some members noted that while it's one thing for someone to physically go to a courthouse and request to see a court file, it's another for someone sitting at home at 2 a.m. to access a file, extract and possibly manipulate information, and then use the power of the Internet to literally make it available worldwide.

Aside from sensitive information like Social Security numbers, which could be used in identify theft or financial disclosures in divorce cases, one commission member noted that in domestic violence cases, the complainant is not identified in public records--but the defendant is. Access to that information could easily be used to identify a child who might be involved in the case.

Added commission member Paul Regensdorf: "The court system has zero right to make anything confidential that isn't already made confidential by a Florida statute. We have absolutely no ability."

At the same time, Kreeger noted, "There is...