HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/HB 643 Pub. Rec/Conviction Integrity Unit Reinvestigation Information
SPONSOR(S): Criminal Justice & Public Safety Subcommittee, Gottlieb, and others
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: CS/SB 1048
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Criminal Justice & Public Safety Subcommittee 16 Y, 0 N, As CS Frost Hall
2) Government Operations Subcommittee 17 Y, 0 N Villa Smith
3) Judiciary Committee 19 Y, 0 N Frost Kramer
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
Florida provides an exemption from public records requirements for active criminal intelligence information and
active criminal investigative information. However, this exemption may not apply, in some circumstances, to
the reinvestigation of a crime which resulted in a criminal conviction. The reinvestigation of a crime may involve
gathering sensitive intelligence and investigative information, such as the identity or location of an alternate
suspect, a witness, or other potential evidence needed to exonerate a wrongfully convicted person.
CS/HB 643 creates a public records exemption for conviction integrity unit reinvestigative information. Under
the bill, a conviction integrity unit is a unit established within a state attorney’s office to review plausible claims
of actual innocence, and reinvestigative information means information or materials generated during a
conviction integrity unit’s new investigation of an applicant’s claim of actual innocence, after such unit formally
accepts a case to review.
The bill specifies that reinvestigative information does not include:
Information, materials, or records generated by a state attorney's office while investigating or
responding to a motion to correct, modify, or reduce a sentence, to vacate or set aside a sentence, for
postconviction DNA testing, or for any other collateral proceeding;
An applicant’s petition to a conviction integrity unit; or
Any other criminal investigative information generated before a conviction integrity unit begins its
reinvestigation that is not otherwise exempt.
Under the bill, reinvestigative information is exempt only for a reasonable period of time during an active,
ongoing, and good faith investigation of a claim of actual innocence, until the claim is no longer capable of
further investigation.
The bill provides that the public record exemption is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act and
will repeal on October 2, 2026, unless the Legislature reviews and reenacts the exemption by that date.
The bill provides a public necessity statement as required by the Florida Constitution.
The bill may have a minimal fiscal impact on agencies responsible for complying with public records requests
and redacting exempt information prior to releasing a record.
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2021.
Article I, s. 24(c) of the Florida Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting
for final passage of a newly created or expanded public record or public meeting exemption. The bill
creates a public record exemption; thus, it requires a two-thirds vote for final passage.
This document does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives.
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FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Background
Public Records
Article I, s. 24(a) of the Florida Constitution sets forth the state’s public policy regarding access to
government records. The section guarantees every person a right to inspect or copy any public record
of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. The Legislature, however, may
provide by general law for the exemption of records from the requirements of art. I, s. 24(a) of the
Florida Constitution.1 The general law must state with specificity the public necessity justifying the
exemption2 and must be no broader than necessary to accomplish its purpose.3
Public policy regarding access to government records is addressed further in s. 119.07(1)(a), F.S.,
which guarantees every person a right to inspect and copy any state, county, or municipal record,
unless the record is exempt. Furthermore, the Open Government Sunset Review Act 4 provides that a
public record or public meeting exemption may be created or maintained only if it serves an identifiable
public purpose. In addition, the exemption may be no broader than is necessary to meet one of the
following purposes:
Allow the state or its political subdivisions to effectively and efficiently administer a
governmental program, which administration would be significantly impaired without the
exemption.
Protect sensitive personal information that, if released, would be defamatory or would
jeopardize an individual’s safety; however, only the identity of an individual may be exempted
under this provision.
Protect trade or business secrets.5
The Open Government Sunset Review Act requires the automatic repeal of a newly created public
record exemption on October 2nd of the fifth year after creation or substantial amendment, unless the
Legislature reenacts the exemption.6
Public record exemptions apply prospectively,7 unless the Legislature provides clear intent that the
exemption apply retroactively.8
Active Criminal Investigation Exemption
Section 119.071(2)(c), F.S., provides a public record exemption for “active criminal intelligence
information” and “active criminal investigative information.”
“Criminal intelligence information” means information with respect to an identifiable person or
group of persons that is collected by a criminal justice agency in an effort to anticipate, prevent,
or monitor criminal activity.
“Criminal investigative information” means information with respect to an identifiable person or
group of persons that is compiled by a criminal justice agency in the course of conducting a
criminal investigation, including, but not limited to, information derived from laboratory tests,
reports of investigators or informants, or surveillance.9
1 Art. I, s. 24(c), Fla. Const.
2 This portion of a public record exemption is commonly referred to as a “public necessity statement.”
3 Art. I, s. 24(c), FLA. CONST.
4 S. 119.15, F.S.
5 S. 119.15(6)(b), F.S.
6 S. 119.15(3), F.S.
7 Memorial Hospital-West Volusia, Inc. v. News-Journal Corp., 784 So.2d 438, 440-441 (Fla. 2001).
8 Campus Communications, Inc. v. Earnhardt, 821 So.2d 388, 396 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002), review denied, 848 So.2d 1153 (Fla. 2003).
9 S. 119.011(3)(a)-(b), F.S.; see also s. 119.011(3)(c), F.S., specifying certain information excluded from the definitions of criminal
intelligence and criminal investigative information.
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Information is considered “active” when:
For purposes of criminal intelligence, it relates to gathering intelligence with a reasonable, good
faith belief that the intelligence will lead to detection of ongoing or reasonably anticipated
criminal activities.
For purposes of criminal investigation, it relates to an ongoing investigation which is continued
with a reasonable, good faith anticipation of securing an arrest or prosecution in the foreseeable
future.
For both criminal intelligence and criminal investigative information, it directly relates to pending
prosecutions or appeals.10
Conviction Integrity Review Units
A conviction integrity unit is a separate division within a state attorney's office designated to work
specifically to prevent, identify, and correct false convictions. In 2019, the National Registry of
Exonerations recorded 143 exonerations of which 55 were secured by conviction integrity units.11 In
Florida, a conviction integrity unit is referred to as a Conviction Integrity Review Unit (CIRU).
Five Florida state attorney’s offices currently have a CIRU:
The Fourth Circuit – covering Duval, Clay, and Nassau Counties.12
The Ninth Circuit – covering Orange and Osceola Counties.13
The Thirteenth Circuit – covering Hillsborough County.14
The Fifteenth Circuit – covering Palm Beach County.15
The Seventeenth Circuit – covering Broward County.16
Each of the five CIRUs follow similar procedures, including requiring a convicted person to meet certain
criteria to receive more than an initial screening of his or her case, such as presenting a plausible claim
of innocence. Some units also rely on an independent review panel of legal experts who review and
evaluate cases alongside the CIRU members.17
Recent CIRU Exonerations
In 2019, the Fourth Circuit CIRU’s investigation of the 1976 murder of Jeanette Williams resulted in the
exoneration of two men, Clifford Williams and Nathan Myers, who were sentenced to life in prison.18
The CIRU’s investigation confirmed multiple alibi witnesses for the two men at the time of the murder.
The investigation also confirmed that another man admitted to committing the murder and that he was
present when the murder occurred.19 By the time the Fourth Circuit Court vacated Mr. Williams’ and Mr.
Myers’ convictions on March 28, 2019, the two men had served 42 years and 11 months in prison.20
In 2020, two more Florida men were exonerated. On August 27, 2020, after spending 37 years in prison
for the 1983 rape and murder of a 19-year-old Hillsborough county woman, Robert DuBoise was
10 S. 119.011(3)(d), F.S.
11 The National Registry of Exonerations, Annual Report, (Mar. 31, 2020)
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Documents/Exonerations_in_2019.pdf (last visited Apr. 6, 2021).
12 Office of the State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, Conviction Integrity Review, https://www.sao4th.com/about/programs-and-
initiatives/conviction-integrity-review/ (last visited Apr. 6, 2021).
13 Office of the State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit, Conviction Integrity Policy, https://www.sao9.net/conviction-integrity.html
(last visited Apr. 6, 2021).
14 Office of the State Attorney for the Thirteenth Circuit, Conviction Review Unit, https://www.sao13th.com/conviction-review-unit-cru/
(last visited Apr. 6, 2021).
15 Office of the State Attorney for the Thirteenth Circuit, Conviction Review Unit, http://sa15.org/ (last visited Apr. 6, 2021).
16 Office of the State Attorney for the Seventeenth Circuit, Conviction Review Unit, http://www.sao17.state.fl.us/conviction-review.html
(last visited Apr. 6, 2021).
17 See supra, notes 11-15.
18 State Attorney’s Office of the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida, Conviction Integrity Investigation, State of Florida v. Hubert Nathan
Meyers, State of Florida v. Clifford Williams, Jr., (Mar. 28, 2019)
https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.254/9c2.a8b.myftpupload.com/wp-
content/uploads/2019/03/CIR_Investigative_Report_FINAL_3.28.19_R.pdf (last visited Apr. 6, 2021).
19 Id.
20 Id.
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released after DNA testing of evidence previously thought to be destroyed excluded Mr. Duboise as a
possible perpetrator. Mr. DuBoise was officially exonerated of all charges in September 2020.21 On
December 11, 2020, Leonard Cure was released from prison after the Broward County CIRU identified
multiple issues with his case. In September 2004, after one trial with a hung jury, Mr. Cure was retried
and found guilty of robbery and aggravated assault with a firearm based on a 2003 robbery at a
Walgreen's store.22 The victims in the case identified Mr. Cure based on two photo line-ups, one of
which showed only photos of Mr. Cure. The CIRU also found that Mr. Cure had an alibi and there was
no physical evidence linking him to the crime. Mr. Cure had served 16 years in prison when his
conviction was vacated.23
While a CIRU’s reinvestigation of a crime may involve gathering sensitive criminal intelligence and
investigative information, such as the identity or location of an alternate suspect, a witness, or other
potential evidence needed to exonerate a wrongfully convicted person, this type of investigative
information does not qualify as active. As such, a member of the public may access a CIRU’s
reinvestigation information, which may discourage witnesses from coming forward with evidence of a
crime, alert a potential alternate suspect, or otherwise compromise the reinvestigation of a wrongfully
convicted person’s case.
Effect of Proposed Changes
CS/HB 643 creates a public records exemption for conviction integrity unit reinvestigative information.
Under the bill, a "conviction integrity unit" is a unit established within a state attorney’s office to review
plausible claims of actual innocence. "Reinvestigative information" includes information or materials
generated during a conviction integrity unit’s new investigation of an applicant’s claim of actual
innocence, after such unit’s written formal acceptance to review the case.
The bill specifies that reinvestigative information does not include any of the following:
Information, materials, or records generated by a state attorney's office while investigating or
responding to a motion to correct, modify, or reduce a sentence, to vacate or set aside a
sentence, for postconviction DNA testing, or for any other collateral proceeding.
An applicant’s petition to a conviction integrity unit.
Any other criminal investigative information generated before a conviction integrity unit begins
its reinvestigation that is not otherwise exempt.
The bill provides that conviction integrity unit reinvestigative information is exempt24 only for a
reasonable period of time during an active, ongoing, and good faith investigation of a person’s claim of
actual innocence in a case which previously resulted in his or her conviction. The exemption terminates
when the claim is no longer capable of further investigation.
The bill provides a public necessity statement as required by the Florida Constitution. The statement
provides that the public release of conviction integrity unit reinvestigative information may compromise
21 Ken Otterbourg, Robert DuBoise, The National Registry of Exonerations, (Sept. 23, 2020)
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=5807 (last visited Apr. 6, 2021). See also, The American
Bar Association, Former Florida Death Row Prisoner Robert DuBoise Released After 37 Years in Prison, (Oct. 28, 2020)
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/committees/death_penalty_representation/project_press/2020/fall-2020/florida-death-row-prisoner-
robert-duboise-exonerated-released/ (last visited Apr. 6, 2021).
22 Tony Pipitone, Broward Prosecutors Urge Release of Man Serving Life Sentence in 2003 Robbery, NBC Miami (Apr. 13, 2020)
https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/broward-prosecutors-urge-release-of-man-serving-life-sentence-in-2003-robbery/2219338/ (last
visited Apr. 6, 2021).
23 Maurice Possley, Leonard Cure, The National Registry of Exonerations, (Jan. 4, 2021)
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=5882 (last visited Apr. 6, 2021).
24 There is a difference between records the Legislature designates exempt from public record requirements and those the Legislature
deems confidential and exempt. A record classified as exempt from public disclosure may be disclosed under certain circumstances.
See WFTV, Inc. v. Sch. Bd. of Seminole, 874 So.2d 48, 53 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004), review denied 892 So.2d 1015 (Fla. 2004) (Once an
agency release[s] to the public certain information the Legislature has protected from disclosure by a Public Records Act exemption, no
further purpose is served by the exemption and full public access to the information is warranted); City of Rivera Beach v. Barfield, 642
So.2d 1135 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994); Williams v. City of Minneola, 575 So.2d 683, 687 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991). However, a record designated
confidential and exempt from public disclosure may not be released by the custodian of public records to anyone other than the persons
or entities specifically designated in statute. See Op. Att’y Gen. Fla. 85-62 (1985).
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the reinvestigation of a wrongfully convicted person’s case by revealing sensitive information, such as
the identity or location of an alternate suspect, a witness, or other evidence needed to exonerate a
wrongfully convicted person.
The bill provides that the exemption is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act and will
repeal on October 2, 2026, unless the Legislature reviews and reenacts the exemption by that date.
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2021.