Florida appeals court raises questions in migrant records case
TALLAHASSEE - An appeals court Tuesday appeared to question a circuit judge's ruling that said Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration violated Florida's public-records law last year by not properly providing documents about controversial flights of migrants from Texas to Massachusetts.
A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal heard arguments in the administration's appeal of an October ruling by Leon County Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh.
That ruling sided with the non-profit Florida Center for Government Accountability, which filed a lawsuit after seeking records about the state-funded flights in September of 49 migrants from San Antonio, Texas, to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts.
During Tuesday's hearing, appeals-court Judge Brad Thomas repeatedly raised questions about what would have been a "reasonable" time for the governor's office to provide the records.
He also pointed to issues such as the governor's office needing to respond to Hurricane Ian in September and other public-records requests that were pending in the office.
"To make a reasonableness determination seems to be very fact-dependent, obviously," Thomas said.
But Andrea Mogensen, an attorney for the center, cited the Florida Constitution in arguing the need for quick responses to records requests. "It is a constitutional entitlement to immediate access," Mogensen said.
It was not clear Tuesday when the Tallahassee-based appeals court might rule in the case.