Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...s far as the record shows. There is no indication that any grand jury witness' testimony has ever been disclosed. One interest recognized by statute may have been defeated, in the present case, but this interest was a private interest in reputation. Section 905.28, Florida Statutes (1975), forbids disclosure of presentments critical of unindicted persons "until the individual concerned has been furnished a copy ......

...ient. Section 905.24, Florida Statutes (1975), provides: "Grand jury proceedings are secret, and a grand juror shall not disclose the nature of or substance of the deliberations or vote of the grand jury." (Emphasis supplied) *958 On the other hand, Section 905.28(1), Florida Statutes (1975), provides in pertinent part: "No report or presentment of the grand jury relating to an individual which is not accompanied by a true bill or indictment shall be made public or be published until the individ...

...It is apparent that the allegedly offending matters contained in the newspaper report relate only to the report or presentment of the grand jury and not to their deliberations or vote. It is clear from the statutory scheme of Sections 905.24 through 905.28, Florida Statutes (1975), that the several functions of the grand jury system are dealt with separately and explicitly, and varying prohibitions are imposed with respect to each, i.e., deliberations or vote of grand jurors (Section 905.24); te...

...rand jury proceedings prior to the arrest of the person indicted (Section 905.26); disclosure of testimony of any witness examined before the grand jury or other evidence received by it (Section 905.27); and publication of the report or presentment (Section 905.28)....

...Friedrich, West Palm Beach, and John D. O'Donnell of Panza, O'Donnell & Jacobson, Fort Lauderdale, for appellee. ENGLAND, Justice. We have for review by direct appeal a final order entered by the Broward County Circuit Court which initially and directly upheld the validity of Section 905.28(1), Florida Statutes (1975)....

...es in an investigation of the fatal shooting of J.W. Nimmo. Neither patrolman was indicted, but the Report described acts of misconduct by the patrolmen in the performance of their duties and offered apparently critical recommendations. Acting under Section 905.28(1), each patrolman timely filed a motion to repress certain portions of the Report on the ground that the challenged portions were "improper and unlawful"....

...potential harm to public officeholders will be the product of their own conduct, and not the consequence of an unrestrained body of misguided citizens. For these reasons, the order of the trial court is affirmed insofar as it upheld the validity of Section 905.28(1), Florida Statutes (1975); but under the limiting construction given that statute by this decision, that part of the order granting the motion to repress must be reversed....

...The case is remanded to the trial court for further action consistent with this decision. It is so ordered. OVERTON, C.J., and ADKINS, BOYD, SUNDBERG, HATCHETT and KARL, JJ., concur. NOTES [1] Jurisdiction is vested in this Court pursuant to Art. V, § 3(b)(1) of the Florida Constitution. Although subsection 905.28(2) expressly directs review of circuit court rulings under this statute in the district courts of appeal, the constitutional directive for review ("The supreme court: (1) Shall hear appeals from ......

...In August 1985, however, the state grand jury issued a report that identified several instances in *556 which “political favors and game-playing for friends” had infected the City’s process of awarding contracts for professional services. Godbold, McClure, McQuaig, and Greene each waived his right under Fla. Stat. § 905.28 (1) (1985) to suppress the report....

...ct the officer involved. We hold that the portions of the report subject to expunction are those that disclose the substance of witness' testimony before the grand jury. The remainder of the report is not "improper or unlawful" within the meaning of section 905.28(1), Florida Statutes (1995), so it may be made public....

...Barber. (Rep. 4-5)(emphasis supplied). [1] The grand jury recommended additional training for the entire road division of the police department and psychological counseling and community service with teenagers for the officers involved. Pursuant to section 905.28, Officer Barber filed a motion to repress or expunge the following portions of the report: 1) the conclusion underscored above on the basis that it is improper because it is unsupported by the facts in the report and 2) the portions of the report referencing testimony of specific witnesses as violative of section 905.27, Florida Statutes (1995). The trial court denied the motion in its entirety. Under section 905.28(1), where a grand jury report relating to an individual is not accompanied by a true bill or an indictment, the report remains confidential until the individual has been given a copy of the report and a fifteen day grace period to file...

...ll opportunity for public clarification of misleading data and personal vindication through a public trial, no comparable means of vindication exists for one whose character is impugned in a report unaccompanied by indictment. Id. at 520. As used in section 905.28(1) "unlawful" means outside the lawful ambit of the grand jury's authority....

...ractices, procedures, incompetency, inefficiency, mistakes and misconduct involving public offices and monies." In re Presentment of Grand Jury (Freeport School Project), 544 So.2d 1104, 1106 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989); Marko, 352 So.2d at 521, n. 7. Under section 905.28(1), statements in a report are "proper" if they are germane *1185 to the scope of the proceedings for which the grand jury was convened and given investigative authority and if they are supported by facts contained in the report itself....

...1986 Grand Jury Report on Public Housing, 532 So.2d 1103, 1105-06 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); In re Grand Jury investigation of HRS, 659 So.2d at 349; Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. v. Monroe County Grand Jury Report, 558 So.2d 139, 141 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990). As the third district stated in Moore, [section 905.28(1)] was not designed, in any sense, to provide an appellate review of the grand jury's fact-finding functions....

...gation of HRS, 659 So.2d at 350 (employee's failure to advise supervisor of various matters provided factual foundation for conclusion that employee's conduct constituted gross neglect). The grand jury's conclusion was "proper" within the meaning of section 905.28(1)....

...rn no legislative intent in the statute's clear language to carve out any exception for a grand jury report. Because portions of the grand jury report disclose grand jury testimony in violation of section 905.27, they are subject to expunction under section 905.28(1)....

...The six consecutively numbered paragraphs on pages 4-5 shall be edited to read as they do in this opinion. AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED. DELL and SHAHOOD, JJ., concur. NOTES [1] These portions of the grand jury report have been edited in accordance with the second part of this opinion. [2] Section 905.28(1) provides: A report or presentment of the grand jury relating to an individual which is not accompanied by a true bill or indictment is confidential and exempt from the provisions of s....

...State, 306 So.2d 123 (Fla. 1974). Where justice requires it, a member of the grand jury, or the state's attorney, may be required by the court to testify to any fact except the jury members' opinions or votes. Jenkins v. State, 35 Fla. 737, 18 So. 182, 186 (1895). Section 905.28, Florida Statutes (1986), authorizes a motion to repress or expunge a grand jury report, or a portion thereof, which is "improper or unlawful." In Miami Publishing Company v. Marko, 352 So.2d 518 (Fla. 1987), the supreme court defined "lawful" and "proper" in the context of section 905.28 to mean that the report is within the lawful ambit of grand jury authority and that its comments have a factual foundation in, and are germane to, the scope of proceedings for which the grand jury was convened....

...ure of the first grand jury's report significantly infringed on the second grand jury's ability to exercise its independent judgment, or whether its report was supported by independent evidence. JOANOS, WIGGINTON and BARFIELD, JJ., concur. NOTES [1] Section 905.28, Florida Statutes (1987)....

...Charles Hilton, Jr. of Hilton, Hilton, Kolk & Laing, P.A., Panama City, for appellant. Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen. and Edward C. Hill, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, for appellee. ERVIN, Judge. This is an appeal from the denial of a motion brought under Section 905.28, Florida Statutes (1987), by appellant, Hilton Development Company (Hilton), to repress or expunge portions of a grand jury presentment which refer to Hilton....

...Hilton, the general contractor on the project, was necessarily referred to in the presentment, but while the presentment made condemnatory statements regarding Hilton's performance, no indictment charging Hilton accompanied the presentment. [1] Unfortunately, the presentment was prematurely published in violation of section 905.28. [2] Thereafter, Hilton timely filed a motion to expunge or repress portions of the presentment under section 905.28, which motion was denied. *1106 Of the three issues raised by appellant, only two merit discussion. Appellant first asserts that the lower court erred in denying its motion, because the presentment had been made public in violation of section 905.28, and that expunction was required by Philpitt v. Weintraub, 377 So.2d 247 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979) (expunction of all portions of the presentment disparaging to Weintraub was necessary once the state unlawfully released the presentment in violation of section 905.28). In the instant case, although it clearly appears that the contents of the presentment were divulged in violation of section 905.28, the record is unclear concerning who was responsible for the disclosure....

...it mandates expunction of all portions of the presentment relating to Hilton. We do, however, agree with appellant that certain portions of the presentment contain improper and unlawful statements which the lower court erroneously failed to expunge. Section 905.28(1) authorizes expunction or repression of any statements contained in a presentment that are "improper and unlawful." To avoid being "improper," comments in the presentment "must have a factual foundation in, and be germane to, the sco...

...In short, grand jury findings of fact are not subject to reversal. Moore v. 1986 Grand Jury Report on Pub. Hous., 532 So.2d 1103, 1105 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); State *1107 v. Grand Jury, Fall Term 1986, Presentment Dated July 29, 1987, 535 So.2d 696, 697 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988). This is so because section 905.28 was not designed to provide an appellate review of the grand jury's fact-finding functions, but was designed to constitute a brake on wild charges against persons which are either outside the scope of the grand jury's lawful authority or entirely unsupported by any facts....

...the charges were later dismissed, because the allegations in the charging instrument were indefinite, vague, ambiguous and duplicitous, and because they referred to criminal conduct occurring prior to the effective date of the charging statute. [2] Section 905.28(1), Florida Statutes (1987), provides: No report or presentment of the grand jury relating to an individual which is not accompanied by a true bill or indictment shall be made public or be published until the individual concerned has b...

...he foreman, Section 905.08; the court extends the term of the grand jury, Section 905.095; the court charges the grand jurors concerning their duties, Section 905.11 and Section 905.18; or the court considers a motion to expunge a grand jury report, Section 905.28....

...When a witness participates in grand jury proceedings, the reasonable conclusion is that the person knows something relevant, nothing more or less. It is beyond the concern of this Court to attempt to control the public imagination. Further, the Florida Supreme Court has held constitutional Section 905.28(1), permitting repression of certain statements in a grand jury presentment about a person against whom no charges had been voted....

...to file with the circuit court a motion to repress or expunge the report on the ground that it is improper and unlawful. We hold that such a report is subject to expungement as its public release under these circumstances constitutes a violation of Section 905.28(1) Fla....

...Weintraub thereupon filed an action to expunge those portions of the grand jury report critical to him on the ground inter alia that the report was released publicly without first having furnished him with a copy thereof at least 15 days prior to its public release in violation of Section 905.28(1), *248 Florida Statutes (1977)....

...The trial court granted the plaintiff Weintraub's motion for summary judgment and entered a final summary judgment in this cause expunging those portions of the grand jury report relating to Mr. Weintraub. This appeal follows which we have jurisdiction to entertain. § 905.28(2), Fla. Stat. (1977). II The controlling statute in this case is Section 905.28, Florida Statutes (1977), which provides as follows: "905.28 PUBLICATION OF REPORT OR PRESENTMENT: MOTION TO REPRESS....

...tever. The Dade County Grand Jury made a written report which was highly critical of Mr. Weintraub's performance as City Attorney of Opa Locka, but returned no accompanying indictment or true bill against Mr. Weintraub for any crime. In violation of Section 905.28(1), Florida Statutes (1977), the state publicly released this report without first having furnished Mr....

...Siebold, et al, Fla. 48 So.2d 291 (1950). Since a grand jury can issue indictments without the necessity of any `report' or `presentment', it strikes the [c]ourt as clearly a strained and `absurd' interpretation of the statute to suppose that in enacting F.S. § 905.28 the [l]egislature intended that the return of an indictment against one person would allow a grand jury free to unjustifiably criticize or libel an entirely different person by `report' and still leave such person wholly without legal remed...

...ed as the state could with impunity ignore these provisions and furnish the individual involved with a copy of the grand jury report only after the report has been publicly released. We are not authorized to completely ignore the statutory scheme of Section 905.28, Florida Statutes (1977), as suggested by the state, for to do so would entirely defeat the legislative intent behind the passage of this statute....

...to single out either public officials or private citizens and censure or defame them or impugn their motives or, by word, imputation, or innuendo, hold them up to scorn, ridicule or criticism without cause or without an accompanying indictment. [1] Section 905.28(1), Florida Statutes, enacted in 1973, provides: No report or presentment of the grand jury relating to an individual which is not accompanied by a true bill or indictment shall be made public or be published until the individual conce...

...d given fifteen days to file with the circuit court a motion to repress or expunge the report or that portion which is improper and unlawful. In 1977 in Miami Herald Publishing Company v. Marko, 352 So.2d 518 (Fla. 1977), the supreme court construed section 905.28(1), Florida Statutes....

...and an "improper" object of the proper and official concern to the grand jury and the appellee circuit judge was correct in applying a standard of fairness to the grand jury report and in repressing those portions commenting on the private citizen. Section 905.28, Florida Statutes, does not authorize or legitimatize a grand jury making an unfair commentary as to the actions or motives of a purely private citizen and Marko does not so hold....

...Interim Report of Grand Jury, 93 So.2d 99 (Fla.1957). However, that case is of no help here. It concerns the power of a circuit court to suppress derogatory and defamatory portions of a grand jury report upon motion by an individual concerned in *509 the report. See § 905.28, Fla....

...It is sufficient if the grand jury’s comments have a factual foundation in the presentment itself. In other words, the grand jury’s factual findings are not themselves subject to reversal.”). As such, no deference is given to the trial court’s ruling. At issue in this case is the application of section 905.28(1), Florida Statutes (2012), which provides: A report or presentment of the grand jury relating to an individual which is not accompanied by a true bill or indictment is confidential and exempt from *842 the provisions of s....

...cuit court a motion to repress or expunge the report or that portion which is improper and unlawful. As both parties acknowledge, Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Marko, 352 So.2d 518 (Fla.1977), provides important insight into how courts should apply section 905.28. Section 905.28 provides individuals who “may be exposed to criticism, scorn, or recommendations unfavorable to their reputation” a means to prevent publication of a presentment....

...reporting or presenting findings and recommendations as to practices, procedures, incompetency, inefficiency, mistakes and misconduct involving public offices and monies.”), with *843 Kelly v. Sturgis, 453 So.2d 1179, 1182 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984) (“Section 905.28 ......

...,” despite the fact that she “has only been an employee of LPD for just over a year.” 2 Although the trial court pulled the word “unnecessary” from Freeport School Project, necessity is not a precise way to describe the inquiry required by section 905.28(1). The inquiry required by section 905.28(1) requires that statements be germane but not absolutely indispensible, as suggested by use of the word unnecessary....

...Walton, Lantaff, Schroeder & Carson and G. Bart Billbrough, Miami, for appellant. Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Michael J. Neimand, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee. Before NESBITT, BASKIN and FERGUSON, JJ. *140 NESBITT, Judge. This is an appeal taken pursuant to section 905.28, Florida Statutes (1987), from a trial court order denying appellant's motion to repress or expunge certain portions of a Monroe County grand jury report which examined the expenditure of public funds to build a solid waste facility for the City of Key West....

...axpayer money were ill-spent on the incinerator project. However, the grand jury did not indict the corporation. It did recommend that the city consider filing a legal action against the appellant for "questionable advice" and "conflicting reports." Section 905.28(1) provides: No report or presentment of the grand jury relating to an individual which is not accompanied by a true bill or indictment shall be made public or be published until the individual concerned has been furnished a copy there...

...when, as here, certain of those factual findings are challenged on a motion to repress or expunge the grand jury report. Id. at 1105. Based on the above, we do not pass on appellant's contention that the grand jury findings are factually inaccurate. Section 905.28(1) "was not designed, in any sense to provide an appellate review of the grand jury's fact-finding functions." Id....

...not been any investigation of, or charge against, Republic. The presentment was submitted on January 31, 2007, as a confidential document. Two days later, on February 2, the state released the report to the general public without notice to Republic. Section 905.28(1), Florida Statutes, provides: *291 A report or presentment of the grand jury relating to an individual which is not accompanied by a true bill or indictment is confidential and exempt from the provisions of s....

...reof and given 15 days to file with the circuit court a motion to repress or expunge the report or that portion which is improper and unlawful. (Emphasis added) On March 28, 2007, Republic filed a motion to expunge a portion of the presentment under section 905.28, Florida Statutes, seeking to remove all references to Republic from the presentment....

...Project) Winter Term 1988, 544 So.2d 1104, 1107 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989) (emphasis in original)). The basis for the trial court's denial is that Republic lacked standing, as the report did not relate to Republic. In support of the order's conclusions that Republic lacks standing, the state argues that section 905.28 was "not triggered" here and that, as a result, the statute does not apply....

...Urging a narrow interpretation, the state asserts that the phrase "relating to," as used in the statute, requires a more significant association or connection than exists in this case, opining that the grand jury's presentment reflects merely "the nominal use of the name Republic." Section 905.28(1) was enacted to protect those "whose character is impugned in a [grand jury] report unaccompanied by indictment." Miami Herald Pub. Co. v. Marko, 352 So.2d 518, 520 (Fla.1977). This appears to be the statute's purpose. See id. at 520-21 (explaining that section 905.28 was "undoubtedly" enacted because, "while one charged with the commission of a crime as a result of this process has a full opportunity for public clarification of misleading data and personal vindication through a public trial, no com...

...330, 266 N.Y.S. 363, 367 (Sup.Ct.1933)) (emphasis supplied). In Philpitt v. Weintraub, 377 So.2d 247 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979), the Third District was faced with the question of what to do when the state violates the notice and service provisions contained in section 905.28(1)....

...The city attorney was not furnished with a copy of this report prior to its filing and public release. Deprived of opportunity to seek pre-publication judicial review, the city attorney filed a post-publication action to expunge based in part on the state's violation of section 905.28(1)....

...The phrase does not necessarily mean, as argued by the state, a "significant" association or connection. Indeed, the word "significantly" does not appear anywhere in the statute; nor is the word "relating" modified. As the Philpitt court made clear, section 905.28 "by its express terms affords a person whose character is impugned in a grand jury report, but who has not been *293 indicted by the grand jury, ` an opportunity to prevent the publication of unfavorable material through the repression...

...18) (emphasis added). "It is evident that the statute's underpinning derives from a constitutional imperative that a person's liberty interest in the preservation of reputation not be exposed to degradation without antecedent procedural due process. Section 905.28(1) provides the essential `notice and an opportunity to be heard.'" In re Grand Jury, Fall Term 1986, Pinellas County, 528 So.2d 51, 53 (Fla....

...Here, the state denied Republic such notice and opportunity. Although the state took the position in the trial court that Republic's motion was time barred, the state concedes in its answer brief that "expungement would be warranted" if Republic "had standing" under section 905.28, standing being determined by whether the report relates to Republic....

portions of the subject grand jury report under. Section 905.28(1), Florida Statutes (1987), and challenges

...than the individual challenging the report, had the burden to show that the second grand jury’s report was supported by evidence independent of the first grand jury’s report. Authority for repression of the report of a grand jury is set forth in section 905.28, Florida Statutes, which provides: (1) No report or presentment of the grand jury relating to an individual which is not accompanied by a true bill or indictment shall be made public or be published until the individual concerned has b...

On Motion fob Clarification KLEIN, J. We grant the motion for clarification, withdraw our previous opinion filed on April 16, 2008 and replace it with this opinion. *685 Appellant filed a motion in the trial court under section 905.28(1), Florida Statutes (2006), to expunge parts of a grand jury presentment which referred to appellant....

...The trial court granted some of the relief requested by appellant, but we conclude that additional portions should be expunged. In Barber v. Interim Report of the Grand Jury Spring Term 1995, 689 So.2d 1182 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997), Judge Gross explained the general purpose of section 905.28(1): Under section 905.28(1), where a grand jury report relating to an individual is not accompanied by a true bill or an indictment, the report remains confidential until the individual has been given a copy of the report and a fifteen day grace period to file...

...and other issues of statewide significance in the wake of the mass shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. 1 The petitioners seek to repress or expunge all or part of the statewide grand jury’s report from public view pursuant to section 905.28, Florida Statutes (2018)....

...1 We consolidate the eight appeals and one cross-appeal for the sole purpose of issuing one opinion determining all the cases. 2We will refer to the parties who brought the underlying petitions to repress or expunge all or part of the statewide grand jury’s report pursuant to section 905.28, Florida Statutes (2018), as “petitioners” in this opinion. 2  The supreme court authorized the statewide grand jury to “investigate crime, return indictments, make presentments, 3 and ot...

...sdiction over the alleged offenses. Challenges to Public Disclosure of Grand Jury Report We next address whether portions of the statewide grand jury’s report or presentment must be repressed or expunged as unlawful and improper under section 905.28, Florida Statutes (2018). Section 905.28 provides that a grand jury report “relating to an individual” that is not accompanied by an indictment may be repressed or expunged, in whole or in part, to the extent it is “improper and unlawful.” § 905.28(1), Fla....

...2d DCA 2013) (quoting In re Grand Jury Investigation of Fla. Dep’t of Health & Rehab. Servs., 659 So. 2d 347, 349–50 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995)). “Unlawful” Challenge to Public Disclosure Our supreme court has interpreted the “unlawful” prong of section 905.28 to mean “outside the lawful ambit of grand jury authority” or beyond the “legitimacy of the grand jury proceeding.” Miami Herald, 352 So....

...ces of criminality or general activities of public institutions and personnel”); see also Moore v. 1986 Grand Jury Rep. on Pub. Hous., 532 So. 2d 1103, 1105 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988) (explaining that comments in a grand jury report are “lawful” under section 905.28 if “they are made by an otherwise legally constituted grand jury on a matter which the grand jury is legally empowered to investigate”). 6  As we have already concluded, the grand jury acte...

...the “unlawful” prong which would prevent a statewide grand jury from including any reference to witness testimony as “unlawful” given the secrecy of grand jury investigations. We are required to follow our supreme court’s interpretation of the “unlawful” prong in section 905.28....

...ty. Miami Herald, 352 So. 2d at 520–21, 523. Accordingly, the petitioners have not established that the presiding judge was required to repress any reference to witness testimony in the report or presentment pursuant to the “unlawful” prong of section 905.28. “Improper” Challenge to Public Disclosure Next, we must determine if the petitioners have satisfied the “improper” prong of section 905.28....

...the purpose for which the grand jury was convened and are based on a factual foundation. Accordingly, the petitioners have not established that the presiding judge was required to repress the grand jury report pursuant to the “improper” prong of section 905.28....

...n its four corners] that is germane to th[e] scope of inquiry is necessarily proper”). Other Challenges to Public Disclosure Despite being unable to establish grounds under either of the two sole statutory prongs contained in section 905.28 for repression or expungement of a grand jury report, some of the petitioners argue for what would appear to be the adoption of a third prong entitling them to repression or expungement if any portion of the statewide grand jury’s re...

...by the Legislature.” E.g., Hayes v. State, 750 So. 2d 1, 4 (Fla. 1999) (citing In re Order on Prosecution of Crim. Appeals, 561 So. 2d 1130, 1137 (Fla. 1990)). Thus, claims for repression or expungement of a statewide grand jury report pursuant to section 905.28 cannot be based on grounds exceeding the two statutory prongs provided by the Legislature in the statute itself. Nonetheless, petitioners cite to Barber v....

...issues not addressed in this opinion should be affirmed. I dissent, however, from the majority’s conclusion that the references in the statewide grand jury’s final report to the testimony of specific witnesses, or the gist of such testimony, should not be expunged under section 905.28, Florida Statutes (2018). Subject Matter Jurisdiction and Investigative Authority The subject matter jurisdiction of a statewide grand jury is limited to certain enumerated criminal offenses, to the extent any such offense...

...indictment. 352 So. 2d at 520. However, the court found that the Legislature did not intend to preclude the criticism of public officials in grand jury reports based on any notion of “fairness.” Instead, the court concluded that the objective terms of section 905.28—“improper” and “unlawful”—are the only limitations which the presiding judge must consider on a motion to repress or expunge a grand jury report: [T]he legislature has elected not to eliminate the potential for...

...roving the evidence-gathering process in matters which transpire or have significance in more than one county.” § 905.32, Fla. Stat. (2018). 15 under section 905.27 and are subject to being expunged under section 905.28....

...set forth in section 905.27(1). I would thus apply Barber to this case and hold that the statements in the statewide grand jury’s final report disclosing the identity and testimony of specific witnesses should have been expunged as unlawful under section 905.28....

...r barring public disclosure of motions to repress or expunge and attendance at a related hearing stemming from a grand jury presentment not accompanied by a true bill or indictment. The post-presentment events and the trial court’s order implicate section 905.28(1), Florida Statutes (1987), which provides that: No report or presentment of the grand jury relating to an individual which is not accompanied by a true bill or indictment shall be made public or be published until the individual conc...

...A Pinellas County grand jury conducted an investigation into the governmental operations of the City of Tarpon Springs. The grand jury’s sealed presentment contained references to one or more of the City’s past or present employees or officials. After the presentment was sealed, consistent with section 905.28, those persons mentioned in it were furnished a copy and accorded the prescribed period within which to file appropriate repression or expunction motions with the trial court....

...The trial court did, however, grant the requested intervention solely to enable the newspapers to seek review of the order foreclosing revelation of the motions and presence at the appertaining hearing. 2 In challenging the trial court’s exclusionary order, The Tribune does not attack the constitutionality of section 905.28....

...A classic example is that “the proper functioning of our grand jury system depends upon the secrecy of the grand jury proceedings.” 478 U.S. at 8-9 , 106 S.Ct. at 2740-2741 . The foregoing analysis generates the final question which we affirmatively answer; i.e., are the procedures contemplated in section 905.28(1) cloaked with the same degree of secrecy as is enjoyed by the grand jury in the receipt of evidence, its deliberations and final product? Notwithstanding that the procedural steps provided in section 905.28(1) are ancillary to the grand jury process, Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc. v. Doe, 460 So.2d 406, 408 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984), we need not undertake a protracted exposition of our reasons for finding the trial court’s determination sound. Section 905.28(1) represents an expression of legislative awareness that a grand jury report or presentment alluding to unindicted persons carries with it the potential for stigmatizing character and integrity. If section 905.28(1) did not exist, an unindicted person referred to in a grand jury’s report or presentment would be without an effective means to attempt pre-publication protection of his or her name. To harmonize the public’s right to learn the content of a grand jury’s action with the individual's right not to suffer irremediable detriment, the legislature formulated section 905.28(1) in recognition of “the right to be heard before being condemned to suffer grievous loss of any kind, even though it may not involve the stigma and hardships of a criminal conviction_” Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee v....

...507, 510 , 27 L.Ed.2d 515 (1971). It is evident that the statute’s underpinning derives from a constitutional imperative that a person’s liberty interest in the preservation of reputation not be exposed to degradation without antecedent procedural due process. Section 905.28(1) provides the essential “notice and an opportunity to be heard.” To adopt The Tribune’s version of the First Amendment’s reach would do violence to a right protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. The trial court’s application of section 905.28(1) accommodates the competing constitutional concerns....

...Although we assume, solely for the purpose of this opinion, that publication of the presentment occurred, perhaps even as a result of disclosure to The Tribune by a person identified in it, such events have no bearing upon judicial implementation of section 905.28....

...edings in the lower tribunal is appropriate, and on its own motion or that of any party the court may order a stay on such conditions as may be appropriate. . Respondents unsuccessfully urged below that the presentment could be repressed pursuant to section 905.28(1), Florida Statutes (1987). Review of the trial court’s ruling on the 905.28(1) motions is presently pending in the consolidated appeal. Though section 905.28(2) provides that a section 905.28(1) motion acts as an automatic stay of public announcement of the designated grand jury report pending appellate review by the district court of appeal, the trial court apparently felt that section 905.28(2) was inapplicable since it entered the stay orders in this case pursuant to rule 9.310(a), Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure....

Grand Jury, filed a motion as contemplated by section 905.28, Florida Statutes (1985), to expunge the following

...The Circuit Court entered an order on December 17,1979, expunging portions of the Presentment but refusing to repress the entire Presentment. On appeal from this order, appellant maintains that the Circuit Court erred in refusing to suppress the entire Presentment. Appellant seeks to repress the entire Presentment under Section 905.28, Fla.Stat. (1977). Section 905.28(1) provides that a Grand Jury Presentment relating to an individual which is not accompanied by an indictment shall not be made public or published until the individual is provided fifteen days to file a “motion to repress or expunge...

...Rogow, P.A., Fort Lauderdale, for appellant. Bill McCollum, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Melynda L. Melear, Assistant Attorney General, West Palm Beach, for appellee. GROSS, J. Appellant timely appeals the partial denial of a motion brought under section 905.28(1), Florida Statutes (2006), to repress or expunge a portion of a grand jury presentment which referred to appellant....

...The presentment states that the grand jury was convened "to investigate corruption, ethics and whether the City of West Palm Beach conducts business under a `pay to play' practice." In an ethics section of the report, the grand jury made findings relating to rebroadcasts of commission meetings. Appellant's section 905.28(1) motion was directed at this portion of the report. The circuit court redacted one sentence from the report because it quoted testimony before the grand jury. Under section 905.28(1), where a grand jury presentment relating to an individual is not accompanied by a true bill or indictment, the report remains confidential until the individual has been furnished a copy and given 15 days to file a motion in the circ...

...not charged with a crime the chance to prevent the publication of `improper and unlawful' material." Barber v. Interim Report of the Grand Jury Spring Term 1995, 689 So.2d 1182, 1184 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). Something is "unlawful" within the meaning of section 905.28(1) if it is "outside the lawful ambit of the grand jury's authority." Id....

...( quoting In re Presentment of Grand Jury (Freeport School Project ), 544 So.2d 1104, 1106 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989)). As the challenged language in the report was a part of the grand jury's investigation into the conduct of public officials, the comments were not unlawful. A matter is "improper" under section 905.28(1) if it is (1) not "germane to the scope of the proceedings for which the grand jury was convened and given investigative authority" and (2) not "supported by the facts contained in the report itself." Barber, 689 So.2d at 1184-85....

Clause and the statute which implements it (R.S. § 905, 28 U.S.C. § 687, 28 U.S.C.A. § 687) require the judgments

...Florida Publishing Company (FPC) filed a petition for writ of mandamus, seeking to compel release of the presentment. After a hearing, the trial judge denied appellants’ motions to repress the presentment on the ground that appellants are not entitled to relief under section 905.28(1), which is applicable only to individuals who have not been indicted unlike here where the grand jury issued indictments along with the presentment while acting within its authority to investigate criminal matters and every offense that affects the health, sanitation, and welfare of citizens....

...owing their entitlement to repression. In his order granting FPC’s petition for writ of mandamus, the judge determined that FPC is entitled to inspect and copy the presentment due to the following rationale: The presentment is a public record 2 as section 905.28(1) does not protect it for even the fifteen days provided in the statute since indictments were filed with the presentment and since appellants did not meet the Lewis requirements to show sufficient due process considerations to overcome the First Amendment interests in releasing the presentment....

...2d 905 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988). Thereafter, appellants filed in this Court a motion to supplement the record on appeal to show that the indictments against them had been dismissed, thereby leaving them “unindicted” for purposes of the application of section 905.28....

...tunity for vindication through a public trial that they would have had under the indictments; thus, under the rationale of Miami Herald Publishing Company v. *723 Marko, 352 So.2d 518 (Fla.1977), appellants still are not entitled to repression under section 905.28....

...ers within its function of investigating criminal activity and, in fact, issued indictments in that regard, it was acting within its legitimate powers. Further, since the instant presentment was accompanied by indictments, the procedures provided by section 905.28 are not available to appellants. The Marko decision sets forth the rationale for a distinction between indicted and unindicted individuals for purposes of application of section 905.28. Therefore, since section 905.28 relief was not available to appellants, the trial court did not impose an improper burden upon appellants to overcome First Amendment rights to the release of this presentment, which became a public document when issued. We have considered the remaining points raised by appellants and find them to be without merit. AFFIRMED. THOMPSON and NIMMONS, JJ., concur. . Section 905.28(1), Florida Statutes, provides: (1) No report or presentment of the grand jury relating to an individual which is not accompanied by a true bill or indictment shall be made public or be published until the individual concerned has been...

necessity to seal the presentment pursuant to section 905.28, Florida Statutes (1991). The City filed a

MILLS, Acting Chief Judge. This appeal is taken pursuant to Section 905.28(1), Florida Statutes (1977), from an order entered by the trial court denying appellants’ motion to repress or expunge certain portions of the Report of the Grand Jury on the investigation of the Liberty County School System....

ON MOTION FOR REHEARING ERVIN, Judge. This is an appeal from the partial denial of a motion brought under Section 905.28(1), Florida Statutes (1991), to repress or expunge portions of a grand jury presentment which refer to appellant, C.P....

...If the grand jury indicts the person who is the subject of the investigation, the opportunity for refutation is available during the course of a later trial. If, however, no indictment or true bill accompanies the grand jury report, no opportunity was furnished such person before the enactment of section 905.28(1), to challenge the report. Undoubtedly, the potential for abuse of the grand jury system was precisely the reason why the legislature adopted section 905.28(1), authorizing repression of matters in the presentment that are unlawful and improper. Accord In re Grand Jury (Freeport Sch. Project) Winter Term 1988, 544 So.2d 1104, 1107 (Fla. 1st DCA) (“[section 905.28] was designed to constitute a brake on wild charges against a person which are either outside the scope of the grand jury’s lawful authority or entirely unsupported by any facts”), review denied sub nom....

...We affirm, however, the denial as it relates to the challenges of the remaining portions of the presentment. AFFIRMED in part, REVERSED in part and REMANDED for further consistent proceedings. JOANOS, J., concurs. MINER, J., concurs and dissents with opinion. . Section 905.28(1) provides: No report or presentment of the grand juiy relating to an individual which is not accompanied by a true bill or indictment shall be made public or be published until the individual concerned has been furnished a copy there...