Judicial selection in Florida
From Judgepedia
| Judicial selection in Florida | |
 | |
| Florida Supreme Court | |
| Method: | Comm. select., Gov. appt. |
| Term: | 6 years |
| Florida District Courts of Appeal | |
| Method: | Comm. select., Gov. appt. |
| Term: | 6 years |
| Florida Circuit Court | |
| Method: | Non-partisan election of judges |
| Term: | 6 years |
| Florida County Court | |
| Method: | Non-partisan election of judges |
| Term: | 6 years |
Contents |
Judges in Florida are selected via two different methods, the commission-selection, political appointment method of judicial selection for the appellate courts and non-partisan election of judges for trial courts. Mid-term vacancies on trial courts are also filled by the commission-selection method. [1]
Methods
Appointment
District Courts of Appeal and Supreme Court justices are appointed by the governor based upon the recommendation of the state's judicial nominating commission.
Non-partisan election
Circuit court judges are elected via non-partisan elections. However, if a vacancy occurs prior to the end of an elected judge's term, that vacancy is filled via the commission recommendation method.
Terms
Justices and judges of the Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal, and Circuit Courts all serve six year terms. When a justice or judge is retained, their new term begins "on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January following the general election."[1][2]
When a vacancy is filled by gubernatorial appointment, the new judge's term ends on the "first Tuesday after the first Monday in January of the year following the next general election occurring at least one year after the date of appointment."[3]
Nominating Commissions
State courts
In Florida, there are twenty-six different judicial nominating commissions that nominate applicants for Florida court vacancies:
- A statewide nominating commission for the Florida Supreme Court,
- A commission for each of the twenty circuit courts in the state,
- A commission for each of the five district courts of appeal.
- A commission for each of the twenty judicial circuits.
When there is a vacancy on the Florida Supreme Court, the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission submits a list of three to six nominees to the Governor of Florida, who then appoints one of the nominees.
Federal courts
Recommendations for openings on the federal Florida district courts are made by the Florida Federal Judicial Nominating Commission. They issue their recommendations to the state Senators, who chose which names to recommend further to the United States President. [4]
Members of the nominating commissions
Each nominating commission includes nine members who are appointed by the governor.
- Four of the members are attorneys appointed (by the governor) from lists of nominees submitted to him or her by the Florida Bar.
- Of the remaining five members, at least two must be attorneys.
- Members must be residents of the jurisdiction the commission serves.
- Members serve four-year terms.
See also
External links
- Florida Voters to Decide Judicial selection
- Rules of procedure for the Florida Supreme Court nominating commission
References
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