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Highlands Today

Court Official Explains Video Monitoring In Courthouse Office

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By JIM KONKOLY

Highlands Today

Published: February 3, 2009

SEBRING - A video camera was placed in an air vent in the electronic court reporting office of the Highlands County Courthouse to monitor suspicious activity of people coming into Room 309 at the courthouse, said Nick Sudzina, court administrator of the Tenth Judicial Circuit Court.

"We had put one (video camera) there (in the air vent) to monitor the activity of certain persons coming into the office and what they were doing," Sudzina said.

"We were concerned," he added, "about some people coming into the office who had no business there, and the activities of some people in there who may have been doing improper things."

On Monday, the Highlands County Sheriff's Office launched an investigation into why the reported camera was placed in the air vent, said Maj. Mark Schrader of the sheriff's office.
Schrader said the investigation was launched due to information about "what appeared to be cameras" hidden in the courthouse, and a complaint filed by resident Preston Colby on Friday, claiming Brian Franza, an information technology worker for the court, altered a public document, specifically, the invoice for the camera used in the air vent.

Colby had filed a public records request asking for all video and audio tapes made by the camera in that office.

Sudzina said he will comply completely with Colby's request, and any similar requests, for release of all video shot by the camera, as long as the Highlands County Sheriff's Office informs him that the release will not impair their investigation.

Audio was not recorded on the camera, he said.

"We specifically did not want audio," he said about the camera concealed in the air vent.

Sudzina said one reason the hidden video camera was put in the air vent was that an employee in the office reported that someone had put something into her drink.

"It was (also) believed that certain individuals were going into that room at a frequency in which they should not have been there. So we put a camera in to monitor the frequency of anyone coming into the office and what was happening when they were there."

The potentially suspicious activity, Sudzina said, involved members of the court staff "and other public employees."

The video camera was used on two occasions and no actions were taken by his office as a result of video recorded, he said.

"I have not actually seen the footage," Sudzina added. "However, one person we were suspicious of is no longer working for us, so her visits to the office are no longer of concern."

Colby said his complaint claims that when he asked Franza for the invoice for the camera, Franza gave him a copy, on which the word "disabled" was written on top of a description of the audio recording equipment on the camera that was crossed out.

Colby asked to see the original invoice, which Franza showed him. The original, Colby said, did not have any section crossed out or any written annotation on it.

Jannet Lewis, trial court technology officer for the court administrator's office, said Franza told Colby that employees of the court administrator's office disabled the audio equipment.

"The annotation that was made was that the camera does come with the capability to have audio (recording) but we disabled it ... because we can't record audio without permission," Lewis said.

About the audio being disabled by anyone, Colby said, "I don't believe it."

Sudzina said about Colby's public records request, "We expect to fully comply with that. The only reason I am waiting is, I want to make sure it does not impair an investigation from the sheriff's office."

As long as the sheriff's office does not object, he said, "I am more than happy to release (all video recorded by the hidden camera) to anybody who requests it. We have nothing to hide and we stand by the decisions we have made."

Two electronic court reporters work in the room, Lewis said. She described it as "a centralized control room where we digitally record audio of the court proceedings." Transcripts can be made from the recordings.

The room also has a video view of the courtrooms, used to identify who is speaking for an accurate audio record of court proceedings, she added.

Highlands Today reporter Jim Konkoly can be reached at 863-386-5855 or e-mail jkonkoly@highlandstoday.com

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