Sarasota judge denies motion to release ex-Florida GOP chair's seized criminal records

A Sarasota County Circuit Court judge has denied a motion to dismiss an injunction that protects records from Christian Ziegler's criminal investigation.

The seized records are from a closed investigation into the former Florida Republican Party chairman's involvement in video voyeurism and sexual battery.

The denial Friday comes after a motion to dismiss the injunction was filed April 1 by Michael Barfield, The Florida Center for Government Accountability and a news media group including: Gannett Co., Inc, the parent company of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune; The McClatchy Co., LLC; Nexstar Media Group, Inc.; and Scripps Media, Inc. Tegna Inc. and Times Publishing Co. would later join Barfield on the motion.

The motion to dismiss states that the temporary injunction has gone “overboard” and called for it to be modified to allow the release of records — Christian Ziegler's text messages, his Google Drive and Instagram account — contained in the investigative file.

Previous coverage: Zieglers sue to stop release of records from rape, voyeurism investigation

The injunction protects records seized during an October investigation after Christian Ziegler was accused of rape by a woman he had known for years. The allegation stems from a planned three-way sexual encounter between Christian Ziegler, the alleged victim and Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler who wasn't able to attend.

The motion to dismiss referenced several Florida court decisions that rejected any disclosural privacy right to prevent the release of public records.

However, Circuit Judge Hunter Carroll wrote in response that the purpose of Ziegler’s lawsuit isn’t to enforce the disclosure of public records but to determine whether the data seized during the criminal investigation is public record at all, court records said.

“The Court understands the substantial public interest in this case given the Plaintiffs’ positions in the community and the allegations that led to the search warrants,” Carroll said. “Mr. Ziegler at the time of the search warrants was Chair of the Republican Party of Florida and a former Sarasota County Commissioner. Ms. Ziegler was — and currently is — a sitting member of the Sarasota School Board. But to suggest that they are not even allowed to go to Court to ask the Court to relief is unsettling.”

In case you missed it: State Attorney's Office declines to charge Christian Ziegler with video voyeurism

The Zieglers filed the lawsuit March 15 to prohibit the release of the couple’s private communication that were obtained during the criminal investigation and asks for all communications that are in possession of authorities to be destroyed.

A week after the lawsuit was filed, the Sarasota County Court granted a temporary injunction to the Zieglers. The court found that the data and information in possession of the Sarasota Police Department and State Attorney’s Office isn’t likely to be considered public records under Florida law.

“The Court recognizes that the true harm in denying the release of a valid public record is to the public itself, and not the City or the State Attorney’s Office,” Carroll said. “That being said, the specific harm to the Zieglers would far outweigh the harm that would be visited upon the public at large resulting from a slight delay in the release of any valid public record that may not have been previously released.”

Following the granted injunction, the Florida Center for Government Accountability and the news media group moved to intervene and be heard in the proceedings to oppose the closure of public records related to the criminal investigation of Christian Ziegler.

Sarasota Police didn’t move forward with filing rape charges against Christian Ziegler, but in January they asked the SAO to review a related investigation into potential video voyeurism by Christian Ziegler. The State Attorney’s Office announced March 6 that it wouldn’t move forward with voyeurism charges.

The lawsuit argues that Florida law provides that data and electronic information aren’t automatically turned into a public record because it is stored on a device that’s accessed by a public agency. The only items that are public records are those that were used in connection with the investigation and communications between Ziegler and the accuser, the lawsuit states.

The media groups, Florida Center for Government Accountability and Barfield filed a complaint Friday that called for the enforcement of the Public Records Act against the Zieglers, the City of Sarasota and the Office of the State Attorney for the 12th Judicial Circuit.

The final hearing for the case is set for May 16.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota judge says Ziegler's seized criminal records aren't public