If such injunction for protection was dismissed prior to July 1, 2017, the petition, and the contents thereof, are exempt only if the respondent requests the exemption.
The Florida legislature passed a law that created a limited public record exemption effective on July 1, 2017, the new law exempts from public record requirements a petition for an injunction for protection against domestic violence, sexual violence, dating violence. repeat violence, stalking, or cyberstalking when:
- the petition is dismissed for any reason having to do with the sufficiency of the petition itself without an injunction being issued on or after July 1, 2017.
- the petition is dismissed at an ex parte hearing due to failure to state a claim or lack of jurisdiction.
- the petition is dismissed without a hearing.
The purpose behind the new legislation was to protect certain dismissed injunctions, and the contents of such injunctions, because the existence of such petition and of the unverified allegations contained in such a petition could be defamatory to an individual and that correction of the public record by the removal of such a petition is the sole means of protecting the reputation of an individual named in a petition.