Florida Supreme Court
From Freepedia
The Florida Supreme Court is the highest court in the State of Florida. Established in 1845, the court has undergone many re-inventions over the past century-and-a-half, and has played a pivotal role in some cases that garnered national and international attention.
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Noted cases
In 2004, the court struck down a law passed by the Florida legislature designed to reverse a lower courts decision to remove Terri Schiavo's gastric feeding tube. In the 2000 presidential election controversy, the court was famously overturned by the United States Supreme Court after the Florida Supreme Court had ordered a recount of contested counties.
Structure
Currently, the court is composed of seven justices, appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate, who must then be retained by the voters in an election every six years. At least five justices must be present for the Court to carry out its official functions.
Qualifications
Justices must meet three requirements to qualify for appointment to the Court:
- They must be an elector (a qualified, registered voter) of the state;
- They must reside in the territorial jurisdiction of the state when they assume office;
- They must be under 70 years of age, except if the appointment is temporary, to complete an unfinished period of half-a-term or less.
Appointment
The Court must have at least one justice from each of Florida's five judicial districts. A relatively complex appointment process is set forth in the Florida Constitution, which requires the creation of a Judicial Nominating Commission composed of persons appointed to staggered four year terms, representing various interests. The Commission must submit to the Governor between three and six names for each vacancy on the court, from which the Governor must select a nominee to submit to the State Senate for approval.
Current Justices by order of seniority
- Chief Justice Barbara J. Pariente (1997-present, Chief Justice since 2004)
- Justice Charles T. Wells (1994-present, Chief Justice 2000-2002)
- Justice Harry Lee Anstead (1994-present, Chief Justice 2002-2004)
- Justice R. Fred Lewis (1998-present)
- Justice Peggy A. Quince (1998-present)
- Justice Raoul G. Cantero, III (2002-present)
- Justice Kenneth B. Bell (2003-present)
Jurisdiction
The jurisdiction of the Florida Supreme Court is laid out in Article V of the Florida Constitution. There are two kinds of jurisdiction provided for - mandatory (cases the court must hear) and discretionary (cases the Court may choose to hear if it wishes).
The Florida Constitution, Article V, (3)(b)(1), establishes mandatory jurisdiction for the following:
- Cases in which the death penalty is imposed (but solely to review findings of lower courts on the law, not on the facts). In such instances, the Florida Supreme Court directly reviews Florida Circuit Court decisions, skipping the intermediate Florida District Court of Appeal ("DCA").
- Decisions by the DCA declaring invalid a state statute or constitutional provision. The declaration can be inherent in the outcome of the decision, and this provision does not cover ordinances of charter counties or municipalities.
- The Florida Constitution, Article V, (3)(b)(2), permits the Florida Legislature to provide mandatory jurisdiction in other circumstances, and the legislature has provided for it two other circumstances:
- For final judgments on proceedings for validation of bonds or certificates of indebtedness. Here again, the Florida Supreme Court directly reviews circuit court decisions.
- For review of actions by statewide utility agencies.
The Florida Constitution, Article V, (3)(b)(3-5), provides discretionary jurisdiction for a much larger set of circumstances, including:
- DCA decisions expressly declaring a state statute or constitutional provision to be valid
- DCA decisions that expressly affects a class of constitutional/state officers
- DCA decisions that expressly and directly conflict with the decision of another DCA or of the Florida Supreme Court
- DCA decisions that the DCA certifies to be of great public importance
- DCA decisions that the DCA certifies to be in conflict with an opinion of another DCA
- Orders or judgments of trial courts certified by a DCA in which appeal is pending to be of great public importance, or to have a great effect on the proper administration of justice throughout the state, and certified to require immediate resolution by the Supreme Court
- Questions of law certified by the United States Supreme Court or a United States Court of Appeals as determinative of a cause before them, for which there is no controlling precedent by the Florida Supreme Court
