Autopsy Photo Law Upheld: A judge in Broward County Circuit Court has upheld Florida’s so-called “Earnhardt Law” that restricts public access to autopsy photos. The law was passed in March 2001, just more than a month after the death of seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt in a crash during the Daytona 500. Earnhardt’s widow, Teresa, lobbied for the law that makes it a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine for unauthorized persons to view or copy autopsy photos without a court order. Judge Leroy Moe’s court order issued Wednesday says the Florida legislature “applied a proper balancing” of “the right to privacy, the right to freedom of press and speech, the right of the people to have access to public records and the right to be left alone,” rights which sometimes clash. The law also was upheld by Volusia County Circuit Judge Joseph Will last year. That ruling was appealed to the 5th District Court of Appeals in Daytona Beach. After Will’s ruling, the Sun-Sentinel newspaper in Broward County requested to see photos from all autopsies performed in five Florida counties in the past year. Broward County, citing the “Earnhardt Law,” said the photos from that county would be provided only if the newspaper got permission from the families involved or showed just cause for the release of the photos. Wednesday’s ruling by Judge Moe came in the newspaper’s challenge of that decision by Broward County.(ThatsRacin.com) and see the history of the law at the Daytona Beach News Journal and Orlando Sentinel.(7-3-2002)
