A Leon County judge on Thursday questioned attorneys on both sides of a case challenging a 2013 law that allows Florida elected officials to use so-called “blind trusts” to shield their financial assets.
Jim Apthorp, former chief of staff to the late Democratic Gov. Reubin Askew, filed a lawsuit contending that the use of blind trusts violates disclosure requirements under the state’s Sunshine Amendment. Apthorp filed the original lawsuit in the Florida Supreme Court, asking the justices to ban Secretary of State Ken Detzner from accepting the qualifying papers of any candidate using a blind trust.
