Sometimes, It's That Simple . . . Part 1

As Boston's preeminent lawyer, Denny Crane, has said more than once, "Sometimes, it's that simple." That's good advice for any lawyer -- and any judge -- to keep in mind.

That was also the approach the First DCA took last year in a case involving unused ballots from the now infamous 2000 Florida presidential election. In Rogers vs. Cohen, registered voters sought to prevent the destruction of unused punch card ballots on the grounds that they had "great historical value." The plaintiffs argued that the unused ballots were public records; the Secretary of State took the position that they were not and could be destroyed or disposed of in the same manner as any other unneeded government property.

The Court noted that under Florida law, a public record must, by definition, be intended "to perpetuate, communicate, or formalize knowledge of some type." Because an unused ballot does not perpetuate, communicate or formalize anything, it can't be a public record. In fact, according to the Court, such unused ballots "are no different than cases of blank paper held in a government office."

Sometimes, it's that simple.