After Florida lawmakers in 2022 reorganized the state’s appeals courts, House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, is pushing to consolidate circuit courts.
A committee appointed by Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Carlos Muniz will hold its first meeting Friday to begin looking at consolidation in the 20-circuit system. Muniz issued an order June 30 appointing the committee after receiving a request from Renner.
“Although Florida’s appellate districts have recently been realigned, the boundaries of Florida’s judicial circuits have been unchanged for decades despite significant population and demographic changes during that timeframe,” Renner wrote in a June 15 letter to Muniz. “The size of our judicial circuits varies widely, ranging from approximately 2.7 million people (in the Eleventh Circuit) to less than 100,000 people (in the Sixteenth Circuit). I believe that the consolidation of circuits might lead to greater efficiencies and uniformity in the judicial process, thereby increasing public trust and confidence. I also believe that the consolidation of circuits would result in improved economies of scale in the judiciary’s back-office operations, leading to substantial cost savings for Florida’s taxpayers.”
Renner represents Flagler County and portions of St. Johns, which are both in the Seventh Judicial Circuit. That circuit also includes Putnam and Volusia counties. The circuit’s combined population is 1.07 million. There has not been an audible or perceptible clamor for altering its boundaries, either to shed a county or graft one on.
In the June 30 order, Muniz said current boundaries of judicial circuits have been in place since 1969.
“Without expressing any view on the merits at this time, the (Supreme) Court agrees that the question of whether there is a need to consolidate Florida’s judicial circuits deserves thoughtful consideration and careful study,” Muniz wrote. “To that end, and to aid the (Supreme) Court in making its ultimate determination, the (Supreme) Court believes it would be beneficial to appoint an assessment committee.”
Under the state Constitution, the Supreme Court can “certify” recommendations to the Legislature about a need to decrease or redefine judicial circuits. The Legislature then would make a decision.
Renner’s letter referred to the 11th Judicial Circuit, which is made up of Miami-Dade County, and the 16th Judicial Circuit, which is made up of Monroe County. Three other circuits are made up of one county each — Broward, Hillsborough and Palm Beach.
By contrast, the 3rd Judicial Circuit is made up of seven rural North Florida counties — Columbia, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee and Taylor. The 2nd Judicial Circuit, the 8th Judicial Circuit and the 14th Judicial Circuit, which are spread across other parts of North Florida, each have six counties.
After decades of having five district courts of appeal, lawmakers last year approved creating a 6th District Court of Appeal. That change, which took effect Jan. 1, also involved revising the jurisdictions of the 1st District Court of Appeal, the 2nd District Court of Appeal and the 5th District Court of Appeal. In some cases, judges had to change districts.
Circuits also have their own judges, state attorneys, public defenders and clerks of court. In his June 30 order, Muniz said the newly formed committee “must limit its findings and recommendations to whether there is a need to consolidate (i.e., reduce the number of) Florida’s judicial circuits.”
The 14-member committee, made up of judges, clerks and attorneys, will be chaired by 4th District Court of Appeal Judge Jonathan Gerber. Muniz asked the committee to submit recommendations by Dec. 1, a little more than a month before the 2024 legislative session starts.
–Jim Saunders, News Service of Florida and FlaglerLive
Pogo says
@Federalist Society now rules Flaw-a-duh — lock, stock, and docket.
https://fedsoc.org/contributors/carlos-muniz
Disorder in the court, let all cronies, grifters, and authoritarian narcissists draw near…
Related reading: A true weasel — in his own words
https://www.jacksonville.com/story/opinion/columns/mike-clark/2016/10/20/renner-morley-bios-and-questionnaires/15728604007/
Me says
He’s a DeSantis puppet and does whatever DeSantis tells him to do. Read the national news.
Ray W. says
One form of legal reasoning supports the idea of consolidating circuits.
Using that form of legal reasoning, a quick review of a Florida map puts most of the population within about 80 miles of 12 major cities: Pensacola, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Orlando, Lakeland, Tampa, Fort Myers, Melbourne, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami.
Volusia would perhaps be placed in the Orlando sphere, and Flagler and St. Johns in the Jacksonville sphere. Putnam would be placed in the Gainesville sphere. With about 22 million Floridians today, 12 circuits would average under 2 million per circuit.
Adopting the form of legal reasoning inhering in the desire to consolidate into ever large bodies of political influence, the next level of consolidation would 0ccur at the county level. Do we really need 67 counties? At an even smaller political level, should Bunnell and Flagler Beach be absorbed into Palm Coast? It would save money to do that!
Of course, there are other forms of legal reasoning. Consolidation of circuits into ever larger bodies would put the checks and balances envisioned by our founding fathers on its head. Florida’s founding fathers also utilized the idea of checks and balances to split up political powers. Their goal, too, was to have local interests compete against county interests, which would compete against circuit interests, which would compete against state interests, which would compete against regional interests, which would compete against federal interests. Any consolidation of political powers poses the issue of weakening the zealous protection of local powers against any other larger and more powerful political sphere.
Obviously, the overarching goal of our founding fathers was to have parties compete against parties, on an individual basis, with individuals comprising the smallest possible unit of political power. They never wanted any one political party to ever gain complete control over the other party, as checks and balances don’t work when one political party lacks any effective oppositional check on its wielding of political power at all levels of government. Such a situation might fit one of our founding fathers’ definitions of tyranny.
Nephew Of Uncle Sam says
If Renner is “pushing for it” than his puppet master Ronduh must be pulling his strings. “Cost Savings”? I’ve learned one thing when I hear a GOP member use that term, it means some GOP crony or politician makes money or benefits at the expense of the taxpayer.
Deborah Coffey says
Another DeeSantis plot to gain complete control of Florida’s entire judicial system….
Laurel says
Are we not to be judged by our peers? Isn’t it fair to judge a good ole boy from north Florida by the people who live around him? Renner seems to be more focused on southeast Florida counties, which are more liberal. Would the good ole boy have a fair trial there? Would a liberal, woke guy get a fair trial in the Redneck Riviera? We would hope so, but let’s not hold our breath.
If he consolidates the judicial system, does that mean less cases? No, the same amount of cases would need to be processed. Would consolidation mean less staff? No, the same amount of staff would be necessary to process the same amount of cases.
Sounds to me like Renner is jury-rigging the state to make a far right, Republican takeover of our already functioning judicial system. More control, less individual and local rights. It’s not about saving us money. I don’t trust anything the guy says or does. Vote him out.
Laurel says
Palm Coast? Yipes! Please don’t make me go over the bridge!
Bill C says
Agree. Plus, probably would result in longer wait times.
Bill C says
ps Perhaps Renner, who tied his political wagon to DeSantis, is changing horses midstream. He sees DeSantis dropping in the polls, so consolidating courts would clog the courts further, resulting in greater delays in the time it takes for cases to go to trial, which would put him in good stead with the orange one.