An American Tradition Internet Has Been Widely Used by Citizens for About 15 Years

HP GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2010 - AUGUST 12, 2010 Page 45 THE RISKS OF NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICES ONLY ON THE INTERNET Although it has been part of American society for a quarter-century as a network for scholars and government agencies, the An American Tradition Internet has been widely used by citizens for about 15 years. Because of its structure with computer Public notice is an important tool in assuring an informed citizenry. Notices are mandated by legislatures to make sure clients and servers, information packets and there is a public window into the activities of governments, officers of the court and others holding a public trust. There are open-network codes, the Internet remains vulnerable and sometimes unstable. Power four key elements to a valid public notice. It should be executed by an entity outside the one mandated to provide notice, surges, corrupted software and downed serv- so proper checks and balances are in place. ers can disrupt access. Government agencies A public notice informs citizens of government or government-related activities that affect citizens’ everyday lives. A cannot ensure that information located on a public notice typically has four elements: server is secure. Even a highly technological site like that Bg]î^g]^gm3 A public notice is published in a forum independent of the government, typically in a local newspaper. of the Pentagon’s has been affected. In June : A public notice is archived in a secure and publicly available format. 2007, the Pentagon was forced to take about :k\aboZ[e^ 1,500 computers off-line because of a cyber- :\\^llb[e^: A public notice is capable of being accessed by all segments of society. attack. Then-Defense Department Secretary Robert Gates stated that the Pentagon sees O^kbÖZ[e^3 The public and the source f the notice are able to verify that the notice was published, usually by an affidavit hundreds of attacks every day. provided by the publisher. Public notices guard our constitutional (Adapted from the Public Resource Notice Center) right to due process of law by informing citizens of government action and providing proof of publication via notarized affida- Types of Public Notices relate to government contracts and powers or institutions in some way. Ex- vits of publication. Unlike the time-tested <bmbs^giZkmb\biZmbhgghmb\^l inform purchases. Notices of contract bids allow amples include notices of home mortgage and trusted local newspapers that citizens the public about proposed government citizens to ensure that the government is foreclosures, which can provide a public have come to rely on for public notices, the action and allow the public time to react operating in accordance with principles of alert of widespread credit problems, fraud Internet is an unstable medium for informa- to such proposals. equal opportunity and is acting responsi- in underwriting and a basis for analyses tion. While it is valuable tool in disseminating One such example is a public hearing bly in spending taxpayer money. of housing trends. This notice allows the information, it has not yet reached a level of sophistication and technological stability that notice. are required of many public to object to an appointment based <hnkmghmb\^l would justify its supplanting newspapers as nongovernmental entities that use public on any conflict of interest. ;nlbg^llZg]\hff^k\^ghmb\^l the primary venue for public notices. It is still uncertain how a “Net” affidavit could show proof of a public notice publica- The history of public notices don officials and outlying regions. local governments of the United States, as tion when constant technological change Public notices existed long before the The American system is modeled after the well as in many republics around the world, makes any attempt at archiving and access- emergence of newspapers. The concept British system. State governments published is that information about government activi- ing such a document online for any signifi- itself began when early civilizations posted public notices before America’s founding, ties must be accessible for the electorate to cant time dubious. notices in public squares. This crude meth- and the newly-created federal government make well-informed decisions. No less problematic for the Internet od was eventually refined with the publica- followed suit. In 1789, the Acts of the First Public notices in newspapers historically is its reach. Those who live in rural areas tion of the first English language newspa- Congress required the Secretary of State have provided and still provide this acces- where broadband does not exist and others per in 1665 — a court newspaper called the to publish all bills, orders, resolutions and sibility to citizens who want to know more who simply cannot afford the Internet can- Oxford Gazette. After being renamed The congressional votes in at least three publicly about government activities. Public notice not access web public notices. In situations London Gazette, this official newspaper available newspapers. laws serve to outline the most effective where foreclosures are on the rise due, in part, to predatory mortgage lending, more, carried notices from the King’s Court, Lon- An important premise both in federal and method of reaching the public. not less, access to public notices is needed to better inform citizens about their rights and their choices. Public notice supports due process types of rights that are protected. Proce- substantive and procedural due process dural due process refers to the means of because they provide a window into gov- It is difficult to justify, then, moving public Public notices are integral to democratic notices from newspapers only to public- protecting those rights. Substantive due ernment actions and also afford notice to governance and stem from the right to notice Web sites administered either by citizens of actions about to take place so “due process of law” guaranteed by the fed- process ensures that certain basic rights already over-burdened state governments or eral and state constitutions. Due process of are not violated, while procedural due they may exercise their constitutional right by third-party vendors who lack the experi- law protects Americans’ rights from arbi- process may require suitable notice and a to be heard. Notification not only informs ence and long-term viability newspapers have trary or wrongful violations. This concept hearing before a government or court-ap- the individual or entity most directly af- proven in publishing notices. has two parts: substantive due process and pointed body can act in a way that may fected, but it also informs the public, which So far in the Internet age, newspapers procedural due process. affect those basic rights. has an interest in knowing how public remain the most trusted and primary method Substantive due process refers to the Public notices play a vital role in powers are being used. for providing citizens access to public notices. providing public notices to the population move notices of federal asset forfeitures out of through legal communities. Other general newspapers and onto a Web site administered interest newspapers, such as county seat by the Department of Justice. Yet, the courts WHY NEWSPAPERS? weeklies, are the forum where county citizens have little research to show that the Justice Newspapers are the primary source the public traditionally has regarded as neu- expect to locate notices of important public Department’s Web site will produce viable, ac- Newspapers, founded on the constitutional tral. Public notices in this print environment business. Furthermore, the cessible, archivable notices. right of free press, have been serving the gain credibility because of the long history of vast majority of these notices While Internet web OCTOBER 3 – OCTOBER 9, 2008 public’s right to know in America since pre- trust in the local newspaper. arrive at citizens’ homes in a GULF COAST ONE DOLLAR pages pose serious archiving colonial times and on the European continent Placing notices on government Web sites context that compels reader- Business Review challenges, newspapers, on FINANCE: COMPANY: STORY ON PAGE 12 CAUTIOUS NICHE AeSSb since the 17th century. Because of their tra- undermines this neutral interest and removes ship (amid local news, sports PAYOFF FILLED the other hand, become his- Raymond James’ SEE PAGE 14 ]À]c`- conservative Access USA /ZWQ]\OdWUObSaWba a critical check and balance. While it may features and other content). approach keeps OUTcbc`SeWbV]cb torical documents. They are ditional information role in society and their it profitable. meets a need CAAcUO`Wba Page 10 shipping abroad. PWUUSabQcab][S` long-established independence, newspapers seem appealing on the surface in an age of Another reason for the 536(40,8A"7,4+8A497,67,4,:78A8"/,%,,12>Newspaper for Gulf Coast Business Leaders oriented and published with remain the primary source for publishing ever-more sophisticated government Web effectiveness of newspapers BVS5`SOb2WdWRS a date on every page. They Trial lawyers and corporate attorneys public notices. sites, the potential for mishandling is great. is that newspapers provide have not mixed at most law firms cannot be deceptively al- for decades. But they have worked legal pad by legal pad at venerable Fowler White in Tampa. Until now. On the other hand, public notices in inde- valid evidence of readership. Robert Banker is leading a band tered after printing as a web Upholding the public’s right to know is of trial lawyers to a new firm while Rhea Law remains chairwoman of Fowler White. essential to our country’s way of life. Our pendent newspapers increase government Legislatures are rightly STORY ON PAGE 16 page could. Historians, judg- government governs with the consent of the transparency by opening up the decision- concerned about web-only es, lawyers, genealogists and people, and this consent must be informed.

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