Editorial: Court should unseal Tanner presentment

Editorial: Court should unseal Tanner presentment



Publication Date: 02/13/08


Last February, The Record asked in an editorial for State Attorney John Tanner to unseal a grand jury presentment regarding his handling of his investigation into alleged abuse at the Flagler County Inmate Facility.

Talk about wielding power. Tanner launched the investigation after his daughter, Lisa, was arrested in 2005. A videotape shows apparent force being used in her interrogation at the jail, but we can't judge what's abusive because we don't know the norms for the process. However, after criticism that his investigation was more about his daughter than others, he dropped it.

A Duval County grand jury reported on Tanner's conduct on Dec. 18, 2006, after being convened for that purpose. We don't know what the presentment says because Tanner refuses to make it public. Now, 14 months later, the report is still sealed. But things may be different after a court hearing at 1 p.m. Friday in Circuit Judge Kim Hammond's courtroom in Bunnell. State Attorney Harry Shorstein of the Fourth Judicial Circuit in Duval County will request that Hammond order the presentment unsealed.

A presentment is not an indictment. It does not lead to criminal prosecution as an indictment does. A presentment identifies concerns that people may have erred but not gravely enough to be prosecuted.

It's a travesty that Tanner can keep this secret when he is charged by law with prosecuting other public officials who keep public documents secret. Does Tanner think he is above the law? Apparently so.

Tanner is our elected State Attorney for the Seventh Judicial Circuit. Voters chose him to protect their rights including access to government. Granted, some court documents and criminal investigations are shielded from public view by law. Presentments and indictments are routinely open.

Why the big secret?

It may have something to do with Tanner chasing a fourth term this year. If he keeps the presentment sealed long enough, his potential opposition likely fades because he's won other cases in the public's interest.

The rationale for the big secret escapes us. What doesn't is that more than $400,000 in tax dollars has been spent by Tanner's office protecting his secret. How many criminal cases have not been prosecuted by his staff because of the time and money spent protecting the boss?

Judge Hammond should order the presentment unsealed. Those who are criticized in grand jury presentments are given 15 days in which to respond. A repression hearing, if called for, is usually held on the 16th day. That should have happened in this case. The public deserves to know what the grand jury said.

If Hammond refuses, Gov. Charlie Crist, open government's champion, should investigate. If open government is the code of conduct for government officials and their offices, why does Tanner get a pass? What's he hiding?


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