Florida Law
The Florida Court System
The Florida Court System
State and Federal Courts
State Courts
The Florida court system consists of the Florida Supreme Court, district courts of appeal, circuit courts, and county courts. As the name suggests, the Florida Supreme Court is the highest court in the state. Located in Tallahassee, the Florida Supreme Court is composed of seven justices. Five justices must be present in order to conduct business and at least four justices must agree on a decision in each case.
The jurisdiction of the Florida Supreme Court is both mandatory and discretionary. The Florida Supreme Court must hear all judgments imposing the death penalty, district court decisions declaring a state statute or provision of the state constitution invalid, bond validation judgments, and actions of statewide agencies relating to public utilities. The Florida Supreme Court has discretion in hearing decisions of district courts of appeal that expressly declare a state statute valid; questions certified by the district courts of appeal as being of great public importance; or decisions where the district courts are in conflict with one another. The Florida Supreme Court may also issue advisory opinions at the governor's request concerning interpretion of the state constitution regarding the governor's powers and duties.
To become a Florida Supreme Court justice, a person must reside in Florida and have been admitted to The Florida Bar for the preceding 10 years. When there is a vacancy on the court, the governor appoints the next justice from a list of three qualified persons prepared by the state Judicial Nominating Commission. Justices serve for six years, after which they can have their name put on the general election ballot if they wish to remain in office. The court hears oral arguments on the first Monday through Friday of each month, except in July and August.
There are five district courts of appeal in Florida, each covering a geographic district. Judges sit in panels of three and decide appeals from circuit courts in most criminal and civil cases. They also have jurisdiction to decide appeals from county courts when a state statute or provision of the state constitution is held invalid, or for orders or judgments certified to be of great public importance. As a practical matter, the district courts of appeal are the final appellate review of litigated cases. Someone displeased with a district court's decision may seek review in the Florida Supreme Court or in the U.S. Supreme Court, but the overwhelming majority of such requests are denied.
Most civil and criminal cases in Florida originate at the circuit court level. The circuit courts are courts of general jurisdiction, handling such matters as domestic relations, major criminal offenses, probate issues, civil cases involving amounts greater than $15,000, and appeals from county courts.
The county courts, which occupy the lowest rung in the Florida court system, are sometimes referred to as "the peoples' courts," since a large portion of the county courts' work involves citizen disputes like traffic offenses, county and city ordinance violations, less serious criminal offenses and civil cases involving less than $15,000, such as landlord/tenant disputes.
The small claims division of the county court permits members of the public to bring their own lawsuits without an attorney (provided the amount in dispute is less than $2,500). The clerk of the local county court can provide information on how to file a small claims lawsuit.
The state of Florida pays the salaries of all judges and their secretaries. The state shares with the counties most of the remaining expenses. The facilities for the appellate courts are provided by the state and the counties provide facilities for the trial courts.
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Federal Courts
Like the state courts, the federal system consists of trial courts, appellate courts, and one Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest court in the nation and is made up of nine justices appointed for life. The Supreme Court hears appeals from the federal courts of appeals and from the highest state courts. However, the Supreme Court's jurisdiction is largely discretionary. That is, it chooses which cases it wants to hear by granting a "writ of certiorari." Certiorari is Latin for "to be informed of." Typically, cases granted certiorari involve a disagreement among the federal appellate courts as to the interpretation of federal law or involve some issue important to the national interest. The chances of a case reaching the Supreme Court are small. Of the thousands of losing parties who petition the Court to review their cases, only about 100 are granted certiorari.
Though less visible than the president or Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court is a powerful force in federal government. Because of its position as the final interpreter of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has the power to declare an act of Congress or the president invalid because it is inconsistent with the Constitution. This power is known as judicial review. When the Supreme Court declares an act of Congress or of the president unconstitutional, it can be overruled only by a subsequent decision of the Court or an amendment to the Constitution, which requires passage by a two-thirds majority of both houses of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of the states. Of the twenty-six amendments to the Constitution, seven have invalidated a U.S. Supreme Court decision.
Below the Supreme Court are 13 U.S. courts of appeals, also known as circuit courts. The country is divided into 11 circuits (plus the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals). Each circuit has a court of appeals which hears cases appealed from the federal district courts in that circuit. District courts are where federal trials are conducted. Every state has at least one district court, and highly populated states have more.
Florida is located in the Eleventh Circuit, with Georgia and Alabama. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit usually sits in Atlanta, but occasionally hears cases in Jacksonville, Miami, Mobile, and Montgomery. Florida also has three U.S. district courts, one in the northern, middle and southern districts.
Also part of the federal system are a number of courts of specific jurisdiction. For example, there are federal tax courts and bankruptcy courts throughout the country and, in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit hears appeals regarding patents, customs, and claims against the U.S. government.
The Florida Bar
Becoming an attorney in Florida entails passing the Florida Bar examination, in addition to having a degree from an accredited law school and an undergraduate college degree. Presently, there are approximately 52,000 attorneys licensed to practice in Florida. Salaries for Florida attorneys vary according to a number of factors (e.g., area of practice, firm size, location, years of experience, etc.), but according to a recent Florida Bar survey, the median salary for a starting attorney in 1994 was $30,000. An attorney working 6-8 years had a median salary of $55,000; and a partner (with more than 8 years experience) had a median salary of $100,000.
Resources
For more information on any of the programs of The Florida Bar, write to The Florida Bar, 650 Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee, FL 32399-2300 or call The Florida Bar's Public Information Office at (904) 561-5834.
The Florida Bar Call-A-Law service can be reached at (904) 561-1200. To receive a brochure which includes a directory of the recorded messages, call the The Florida Bar.
The Florida Supreme Court's Home Page address on the World Wide Web is http://.www.justice.courts.state.fl.us .