August 4, 2014 at 2:58 p.m.
Moustakis seeks reconsideration of records case
Moustakis seeks reconsideration of records case
Last month, Lincoln County Circuit Judge Jay Tlusty dismissed a lawsuit Moustakis filed against the state Department of Justice to block it from releasing records requested by The Lakeland Times.
The case stems from a public records request the newspaper made to DOJ more than a year ago for records of complaints and investigations involving Moustakis.
The department determined it was required to provide the newspaper with 85 pages of responsive documents, some of which are said to contain unproven allegations about the prosecutor.
While Moustakis could appeal to a higher court, he has instead filed motions claiming Tlusty's ruling was erroneous and has asked the judge to reconsider full dismissal of the case.
The requests for reconsideration focus on two of three causes of action in the lawsuit.
The first cause of action was the central and only claim Moustakis made when he filed suit in March - that he was entitled to judicial review of DOJ's disclosure decision. Tlusty ruled against Moustakis in early July, finding that he did not having standing to challenge DOJ.
But shortly before that ruling, Moustakis amended his original complaint, adding two new causes of action. He asserted that if he could not seek judicial review of DOJ's decision to release the records, then the public records law violated his constitutionally protected rights to privacy and access to the court system.
DOJ has called those claims "meritless."
Moustakis also requested a writ of mandamus, in which he asked the court to direct DOJ to deny or further redact the records prepared for release.
Tlusty later dismissed those additional causes of action on technical grounds, concluding that Moustakis had failed to properly issue amended court documents to DOJ. Tlusty did not address the merits of the additional causes of action.
In his requests for reconsideration, Moustakis has argued that he properly issued the amended court documents, and that whatever defect Tlusty found was a harmless error.
Moustakis' attorneys have indicated they intend to appeal Tlusty's decision on the original complaint.
A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
Jonathan Anderson may be reached at [email protected]
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