LeoAffairs.com has been one sharp thorn in the side ofthe higher- ups at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

An appeals court just gave them a poke, too.

The Web site, with message boards for police departments and agencies across the country, is a forum for cop talk, for swapping stories and exchanging information on everything from guns to the police academy.

They message each other about the recently nabbed Band-Aid Bandit suspects and wonder if the bosses will use the new GPS systems in the cars to see if they're speeding.

They get opinions from fellow cops, gossip, argue, pontificate, criticize, and, yes, complain mightily about the brass.

That brass set out to find out the identities of some anonymous posters.

One circuit judge ruled that no, the Sheriff's Office didn't have the right to out whoever aimed sharp criticism at the famously bungled investigation of the disappearance of baby Sabrina Aisenberg. Her parents have sued, saying their civil rights were violated when they were accused of lying about her disappearance - charges that were dropped.

The department said it wanted to depose the anonymous posters to see whether they had information about the case. The Web site's lawyers said this was all about silencing critics.

In the end, constitutional rights won the day.

Another judge handed the Sheriff's Office a small victory, ordering some offensive posts removed from the site. But ultimately, she too declined to order that writers' identities be revealed.

The latest news: In a ruling earlier this month, the 2nd District Court of Appeal agreed.

Score one for free speech. Not that it's always pretty.

We're all for whistleblowers, malcontents and insiders who want to expose the ways government isn't working.

Without anonymity, how many will take that risk?

Inevitably, with this come those who hide behind anonymity to spit out nasty, mean-spirited gossip. Free speech has its price. It's worth it.

Because the appeals court only affirmed the previous decision and didn't issue its own opinion, the Sheriff's Office is left with nothing much to appeal to a higher court.

But they aren't saying uncle. In fact, they aren't saying much at all.

The Sheriff's Office is considering "other options" for getting the information it wants, said spokesman J.D. Callaway. He would not elaborate.

Probably they'll find some satisfaction in this: A recent LeoAffairs.com posting under the header "This Place Is Dead" talks about changes since the Sheriff's Office took aim at the site.

"Ain't nothing like it used to be!" says a writer who signs himself Anonymous.

-- n n

Longtime Tampa lawyer Tracy Sheehan just became a judge. But not the way most people do.

Nobody got the chance to vote for her.

And the governor didn't appoint her. Not that he didn't have the opportunity.

Four times, the local nominating commission had decided Sheehan was good enough to make the short list to serve on the bench and sent her name to Tallahassee. But she never did get the nod.

So Sheehan decided to run for the bench, facing off against another lawyer.

Then a nominating commission down in South Florida threatened to bring judicial elections across the state to a screeching halt. It said the governor should fill the latest batch of new judgeships, not the voters.

Sheehan and candidates like her had to hold their breath a little until the Florida Supreme Court laid all that to rest.

On with the elections, they said.

By the end of qualifying week, Sheehan's opponent was nowhere in sight. And none of the more than a dozen lawyers jostling for position in other judicial races jumped over into Sheehan's suddenly wide-open one.

Then it was a done deal. Sheehan will become a judge without pounding in the first yard sign.

Which goes to show you: in politics, anything can happen.

Sue Carlton can be reached at carlton@sptimes.com.

One circuit judge ruled that no, the Sheriff's Office didn't have the right to out whoever aimed sharp criticism at the famously bungled investigation of the disappearance of baby Sabrina Aisenberg. Her parents have sued, saying their civil rights were violated when they were accused of lying about her disappearance - charges that were dropped.

Probably they'll find some satisfaction in this: A recent LeoAffairs.com posting under the header "This Place Is Dead" talks about changes since the Sheriff's Office took aim at the site.

By the end of qualifying week, [Tracy Sheehan]'s opponent was nowhere in sight. And none of the more than a dozen lawyers jostling for position in other judicial races jumped over into Sheehan's suddenly wide-open one.