A Florida appeals court has opened the door for the possible release of transcripts of the grand jury investigation into notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein nearly 20 years ago that ended with prosecutors negotiating a plea deal that critics have called questionably lenient.

Floridas Fourth District Court of Appeals unanimously agreed that Circuit Judge Donald W. Hafele had erred when he ruled he had no authority to release the normally secret transcripts of the 2006 Palm Beach County proceedings. The court cited a state law provision that says grand jury records can be made public if that is a furtherance of justice.

The court in Wednesdays decision ordered Hafele to review the transcripts and to release those he deems would further justice, redacting the names of victims, witnesses and those who have not been criminally charged. There is a public interest in knowing whether the wealthy and politically connected Epstein, who lived in a Palm Beach mansion, was given special treatment, the court ruled.