The general counsel at a South Florida public hospital system is among several current and former public officials charged criminally with alleged violations of the state's Sunshine Law.

Lynn Barrett, a member of the Florida Bar since 1996, was indicted on one count of solicitation and one count of conspiracy to violate open meetings law.

Some of the allegations mirror those contained in a civil lawsuit against Barrett, the top lawyer at the North Broward Hospital District in Fort Lauderdale, which markets itself under the brand name Broward Health. According to that complaint, filed by the fired interim CEO of the board, the agency and several of its officials, including Barrett, violated the public-records law by not giving proper notice of the Dec. 1, 2016, meeting at which Pauline Grant, the Broward Health interim chief executive, was ousted.

The indictment also alleges Barrett and Broward Health board officials held “defacto meetings” over the telephone, at a hotel and at a restaurant to discuss Grant's eventual firing.

Barrett could not be reached for comment. Her lawyer, Bob Martinez, of Colson Hicks Eidson, said in an interview that although the notice of the Dec. 1 meeting did not mention Grant specifically, it described the purpose of the meeting. That purpose, he said, was to review so-called reportable events pursuant to a federal Corporate Integrity Agreement under which the hospital district was operating. Martinez said the notice fully complied with state law.

North Broward entered into the integrity agreement in 2015 as part of an agreement to pay $69.5 million to settle False Claims Act allegations involving improper relationships with referring doctors.

In addition, Martinez said, the March 16, 2016, meeting at which Grant was appointed as the interim CEO did not specifically mention her name, her appointment as interim CEO or any purpose, but the Broward County State Attorney's Office did not go after Grant or the chair of the board at that time for failure to notice that vote.

Finally, Martinez said, Barrett relied on the advice of outside counsel retained to help her ensure compliance with all relevant law when posting notice of the Dec. 1 meeting.

“When you act on the advice of counsel and you're trying to do the right thing, you don't have criminal intent,” Martinez said.

Barrett became GC at the nation's 10th largest hospital system in July 2015. Before joining the embattled public hospital system, she was chief ethics and compliance officer at Jackson Health System in Miami, and worked in the law firms Roetzel & Andress and Jones Walker. Also a member of the New York Bar, she graduated from New York University School of Law in 1991, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Barrett is charged along with Broward Health Board chairman Rocky Rodriguez, commissioner Christopher Ure, former commissioner Linda Robison and interim CEO/president and former commissioner Beverly Capasso. Each are charged with second-degree misdemeanors punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine, according to Broward County prosecutors.

Although Florida's public records and meetings laws are among the strongest nationwide, criminal charges for alleged violations are rare. Last month, a Martin County commissioner and former commissioner were arrested on criminal misdemeanor charges for failing to allow inspection of public records.