Structure and Power of the Florida Court of Appeals

Like other state Supreme Courts, the Florida Supreme Court is the state’s court of last resort and final appeal. However, it exercises predominantly discretionary jurisdiction. In other words, this Florida Court of Appeals may or may not choose to hear an appeal. That is why in Florida it is the District Courts of Appeal (DCA) that provide the final word on the vast majority of cases appealed in the State of Florida.

Creation of Courts of Appeal

In any case, the legislature of the state in 1957 created the DCAs to offer an intermediate appellate review that would serve between trial courts and the Supreme Court in Florida. This was a measure to offer some relief to the Supreme Court and its ever-increasing docket appeals.
 
3 DCAs were created initially, with a Third District Appeals Court; they had the jurisdiction to hear cases that came from Monroe and Dade counties. Later, a Fourth and then a Fifth District Appeals Court was created. The formation of DCAs was allowed by the state constitution and supported by the legislature of state that determines divisions of appellate courts in the districts – each district must have at least 1 DCA.

Judges of the district appeals courts, like the justices in the state Supreme Court, are recommended by the Florida Judicial Nominating Commission. Finally, the state’s Governor appoints them and they need to be elected every 6 years. During the elections, the voters decide whether they want to retain a judge. In a majority of cases, most of the judges are retained. DCAs have varying judge numbers – currently they range between 11 and 15, and this depends on their case load.

Court Rules

Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.030 sets out the Appeals Court jurisdiction. Appeals are normally heard by a panel of 3 judges. Sometimes a DCA holds hearing of ‘en banc’, and this is participated in by all judges. Case decisions and law interpretation from the DCA are persuasive. They are also frequently cited by many other DCAs, but they cannot be held binding as precedents in the court. The case law and decision precedent in each DCA are however binding on all county and circuit courts within Florida, i.e. the lower rungs of the judicial ladder.

If there is conflict between a decision among the DCAs, the circuit and county courts need to adhere to case law in their respective District Court. DCAs may withdraw from some precedents and case law for subsequent decisions. The Supreme Court in the state may also override the precedent of a district court favoring the decision of a conflicting case from a different district.

In a case where there is a death penalty, it is heard automatically and directly by the Supreme Court of the state and thus the court of appeals is bypassed.