In Re: Certification of Need for Additional Judges

Supreme Court of Florida

In Re: Certification of Need for Additional Judges

DecidedNovember 30, 2023

DocketSC2023-1586

StatusPublished

This text of In Re: Certification of Need for Additional Judges (In Re: Certification of Need for Additional Judges) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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In Re: Certification of Need for Additional Judges, (Fla. 2023).

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Opinion

Supreme Court of Florida ______________

No. SC2023-1586 ______________

IN RE: CERTIFICATION OF NEED FOR ADDITIONAL JUDGES.

November 30, 2023

PER CURIAM.

This opinion addresses the need to increase or decrease the

number of judges in fiscal year 2024-25 and certifies our “findings

and recommendations concerning such need” to the Florida

Legislature.1 Certification is “the sole mechanism established by

1. Article V, section 9 of the Florida Constitution provides in pertinent part:

Determination of number of judges.—The supreme court shall establish by rule uniform criteria for the determination of the need for additional judges except supreme court justices, the necessity for decreasing the number of judges and for increasing, decreasing or redefining appellate districts and judicial circuits. If the supreme court finds that a need exists for increasing or decreasing the number of judges or increasing, decreasing or redefining appellate districts and judicial circuits, it shall, prior to the next regular session of the our constitution for a systematic and uniform assessment of this

need.” In re Certification of Need for Additional Judges, 889 So. 2d

734, 735 (Fla. 2004). A separate opinion, to be released on a future

date, will address the Court’s findings as to whether there is a need

to decrease the number of judicial circuits. 2

In this opinion, we certify the need for one additional circuit

court judgeship (in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit) and five

additional county court judgeships (three in Orange County and

two in Hillsborough County). We certify no need for additional

district court of appeal judgeships. We certify the need to decrease

two county court judgeships (one each in Alachua and Brevard

Counties) and certify that there is no need to decrease the number

of circuit court judgeships. Although we certify there is no need to

decrease the number of district court of appeal judgeships, we

legislature, certify to the legislature its findings and recommendations concerning such need.

2. See In re Judicial Circuit Assessment Committee, Florida Administrative Order No. AOSC23-35 (June 30, 2023), which establishes a committee to study whether consolidation of the state’s existing judicial circuits is warranted. The committee’s findings and recommendations are due to the chief justice by December 1, 2023.

-2- acknowledge excess judicial capacity in the First District Court of

Appeal and the Second District Court of Appeal. As we explain, the

Court recommends that the Legislature address this excess

appellate judicial capacity over time by reducing the number of

statutorily authorized judgeships based on attrition, without

requiring a judge to vacate his or her position involuntarily.

Trial Courts

The Court continues to use a verified objective weighted

caseload methodology as a primary basis for assessing judicial need

for the trial courts. 3 The case weighting system distinguishes the

types of cases and addresses the differences in the amount of time

that must be spent on cases of each type, producing a total judicial

need for each circuit. Additionally, the methodology includes

adjustments for differing jury trial rates, chief judge responsibilities,

and canvassing boards in each circuit and county. The trial courts

also submit judgeship needs applications that supplement the

objective weighted caseload data, including descriptions of how

3. Our certification methodology relies primarily on case weights and calculations of available judge time to determine the need for additional trial court judges. See Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.240.

-3- secondary factors 4 are affecting those courts. The secondary factors

identified by each chief judge reflect local differences in support of

their requests for more judgeships or in support of their requests

for this Court not to certify the need to decrease judgeships in

situations in which the objective case weights alone would indicate

excess judicial capacity.

For more than two decades, Florida’s trial courts have used a

weighted caseload method to determine the need for judges in each

of their circuit and county courts. The original recommendations of

the 2000 Florida Delphi-Based Weighted Caseload Project: Final

Report, and the subsequently modified Florida Rule of General

Practice and Judicial Administration 2.240, call for the weighted

caseload method to be updated every five years. Recommendations

from the last formal judicial workload assessment were published in

May 2016. Given the impacts of the Coronavirus Disease 2019

4. Other factors that may be utilized in the determination of judicial need are prescribed in Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.240.

-4- pandemic and recent jurisdictional threshold changes 5 within the

trial courts, that cyclical review was necessarily delayed. It is

important for any new trial court case weights developed to be valid

and reliable and have a “shelf-life” to substantiate determinations of

judicial need until the next formal methodology review. The Court

is mindful that we are now seven years removed from updating the

case weights used to evaluate trial court judicial workload. The

Court has determined it appropriate to take a cautious approach to

certifying the need to decrease judgeships until the new weights

become available in summer 2024.

In early 2023, the Office of the State Courts Administrator

began the process of updating all trial court case weights. This is a

statewide effort involving all circuit court judges, county court

judges, senior judges, magistrates, child support enforcement

hearing officers, and civil traffic infraction hearing officers. Total

annual workload is calculated by multiplying the annual filings for

each case type by the corresponding case weight, then summing the

5. Under chapter 2019-58, section 9, Laws of Florida, county court monetary jurisdiction increased to an upper limit of $30,000 on January 1, 2020, and increased to $50,000 on January 1, 2023.

-5- workload across all case types. Each court’s workload is then

divided by a judge year value to determine the total number of full-

time equivalent judges needed to handle the workload. This

workload assessment is comprehensive and will be carefully

validated. As with previous workload studies, the Legislature is

apprised through communication of study status to the Office of

Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability. Oversight

of this initiative is being conducted by a Judicial Needs Assessment

Committee and the Commission on Trial Court Performance and

Accountability. 6 As with previous studies, we have contracted with

the National Center for State Courts 7 to conduct the study with

assistance from the Office of the State Courts Administrator. The

6. In re Commission on Trial Court Performance and Accountability, Fla. Admin. Order No. AOSC22-36 (July 28, 2022).

7. Staff of the National Center for State Courts are subject matter experts in evaluating judicial workload and have conducted similar workload studies in more than 30 states throughout the country. See Workload assessment, Nat’l Ctr. for State Cts., http://www.ncsc.org/workload-assessment (last visited November 20, 2023).

-6- study formally began in January 2023 and is expected to conclude

by June 2024.

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