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The Florida Supreme Court is the highest court in the State of Florida. Established upon statehood in 1845, the court has undergone many reorganizations in its history as Florida's population grew. It has played a pivotal role in some cases that garnered national and international attention. Image File history File links Florida_Supreme_Court_seal. ...
Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 22nd 170 451 km² 260 km 800 km 17. ...
1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...
Noted cases
2006 In 2006, the Court struck down a law passed by the Florida legislature that had created the United States' first statewide education voucher program. 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The Florida Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
2004 In 2004, the court struck down another piece of legislation from the Florida legislature designed to reverse a lower court decision to permit a guardian's removal of Terri Schiavo's gastric feeding tube. It has been designated the: International Year of Rice (by the United Nations) International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO) 2004 World Health Day topic was Road Safety (by World Health Organization) Year of the Monkey (by the Chinese calendar) See the world in...
Terri Schiavo before her 1990 collapse. ...
A nasogastric tube (NG tube) is a plastic tube, inserted into a nostril through the nose, into the throat, down the oesophagus and into the stomach. ...
2000 In the 2000 presidential election controversy, the United States Supreme Court overturned the Florida Supreme Court after it had ordered a statewide recount. Notably, arguments before the Florida Supreme Court in the 2000 presidential election cases were the first appellate proceedings in history broadcast live in their entirety on major television networks in the United States and throughout the world. Presidential electoral votes by state. ...
The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States...
1999 In 1999, a dissenting opinion by one of the Justices sparked a world-wide debate over the use of Old Sparky, Florida's electric chair, which may have led to events that caused the Florida Legislature to adopt lethal injection as the state's method of execution only a few months later. 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...
This article or section needs to be wikified. ...
The first electric chair, which was used to execute William Kemmler in 1890 The electric chair is a device used in 11 states in the United States for execution of criminals convicted of capital crimes. ...
The Florida Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. ...
Lethal Injection is a 1993 album by California-based rapper Ice Cube. ...
Structure and Qualifications Currently, the court is composed of the Chief Justice and six Justices, who all serve six-year staggered terms. The Justices elect the Chief Justice from amongst themselves. Justices must be an elector (a qualified, registered voter) of the state and must have been a member in good standing of The Florida Bar for at least ten years. They must retire on their 70th birthday unless it falls within the second half of their six-year terms. In that event, they can remain in office until the end of the full term. The Florida Bar is the third largest mandatory state bar in the United States. ...
At least five Justices must be present for the Court to carry out its official functions, and at least four Justices must agree on decisions issued by the Court. The Chief Justice can assign judges of the lower courts to serve as temporary Justices (called "Associate Justices" under Florida Rules of Court) if the need arises. Under the Court's Internal Operations Procedures Manual, the appointment of Associate Justices rotates among the chief judges of the district courts of appeal in their numerical order, from one to five, and then starts over again. The obvious intent behind this procedure is to eliminate any concern that temporary Associate Justices are appointed because of their personal views on legal issues.
Appointment and Retention The Court must have at least one justice who resided in each of Florida's five lower appellate districts on the date of their appointment. A relatively complex appointment process (known as a modified "Missouri Plan") is set forth in the Florida Constitution, which requires the creation of a Judicial Nominating Commission composed of persons appointed to staggered four year terms, representing various interests. The Commission must submit to the Governor of Florida between three and six names for each vacancy on the court, from which the Governor selects the new Justice. The Governor's selection is final and requires no further approval by any governmental body. Also known as the merit plan, the Missouri Plan (originally the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan) is a method for the nonpartisan selection of judges currently used in 11 U.S. states. ...
The Great Seal of the State of Florida The Florida Constitution is the document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. ...
The Florida Judicial Nominating Commission is responsible for providing the Florida Governor with a list of possible appointments to the Florida Supreme Court and the five Florida District Courts of Appeal. ...
List of Governors of Florida: Florida Governors Military Government Territorial Government Statehood Categories: Lists of United States governors | Governors of Florida | Government of Florida ...
After appointment, the new Justice must face statewide voters in the next general election that is more than one year after the date of initial appointment. In this "merit retention" election, voters decide only if the new Justice will remain in office. If not retained in office, the Governor appoints a replacement through the same Judicial Nominating Commission process. After this first merit retention election, Justices face the voters in the same type of merit retention election every six years thereafter until they leave or reach retirement age.
Oral Arguments Oral arguments usually are televised live via The Florida Channel and also are webcast and uplinked to a satellite for digital downlink by news organizations and local cable access channels that reach more than three million Florida households. Broadcasts are organized by the Court public information office. Information on oral arguments is available on the court website. The Florida Supreme Court became a pioneer when, in 1997, it began providing these live broadcasts simultaneously on the Internet, satellite, and cable television, at no charge. The Florida Channel is a public affairs television network operated by Florida State University, WFSU-TV and the Florida State Legislature. ...
Craig Waters (b. ...
Current Justices by order of seniority Charles T. Wells (born 1939) has been a member of the Florida Supreme Court since 1994, following his appointment by Governor Lawton Chiles. ...
Lawton Chiles in an official picture taken during his first term as governor of Florida. ...
Harry Lee Anstead has been a Justice of the Florida Supreme Court since 1994, and he served as Chief Justice from July 1, 2002 until June 30, 2004. ...
Barbara J. Pariente (b. ...
R. Fred Lewis (b. ...
Peggy A. Quince (b. ...
John Ellis Jeb Bush (born February 11, 1953), a Republican, is the forty-third and current Governor of Florida. ...
Raoul G. Cantero, III (b. ...
Kenneth B. Bell has been a Justice of the Florida Supreme Court since January 7, 2003. ...
Jurisdiction The jurisdiction of the Florida Supreme Court is laid out in Article V of the Florida Constitution. There are two main types of appellate jurisdiction provided for, mandatory (cases the court must hear) and discretionary (cases the Court may choose to hear if it wishes). In some matters, the Court also has original jurisdiction, meaning that the case can begin and end in the Supreme Court absent a basis for further appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court also has some forms of exclusive jurisdiction, meaning that it is the only court or government body that can decide the issue. A detailed account of the Court's jurisdiction is available on its website. The Great Seal of the State of Florida The Florida Constitution is the document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. ...
Mandatory Jurisdiction The Florida Constitution, Article V, (3)(b)(1), establishes mandatory jurisdiction for the following: - Cases in which the death penalty is imposed (but solely to review findings of lower courts on the law, not on the facts). In such instances, the Florida Supreme Court directly reviews Florida Circuit Court decisions, skipping the five intermediate Florida District Courts of Appeal ("DCAs").
- Decisions by the DCAs declaring invalid a state statute or constitutional provision.
- The Florida Constitution, Article V, (3)(b)(2), permits the Florida Legislature to provide mandatory jurisdiction in other circumstances, and the legislature has provided for it two other circumstances:
- For final judgments on proceedings for validation of bonds or certificates of indebtedness. Here again, the Florida Supreme Court directly reviews circuit court decisions.
- For review of actions by statewide utility agencies.
Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offense or a capital crime. ...
The Florida District Courts of Appeal provide the intermediate level of judicial review in the state of Florida, having authority over the decisions of county courts and state circuit courts, and falling under the authority of the Florida Supreme Court. ...
The Florida Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. ...
Discretionary Jurisdiction The Florida Constitution, Article V, (3)(b)(3-5), provides discretionary jurisdiction for a much larger set of circumstances, including: - DCA decisions expressly declaring a state statute or constitutional provision to be valid
- DCA decisions that expressly affects a class of constitutional/state officers
- DCA decisions that expressly and directly conflict with the decision of another DCA or of the Florida Supreme Court
- DCA decisions that the DCA certifies to be of great public importance
- DCA decisions that the DCA certifies to be in conflict with an opinion of another DCA
- Orders or judgments of trial courts certified by a DCA in which appeal is pending to be of great public importance, or to have a great effect on the proper administration of justice throughout the state, and certified to require immediate resolution by the Supreme Court
- Questions of law certified by the United States Supreme Court or a United States Court of Appeals as determinative of a cause before them, for which there is no controlling precedent by the Florida Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States...
The United States courts of appeals (or circuit courts) are the mid-level appellate courts of the United States federal court system. ...
Original Nonexclusive Jurisdiction The Florida Constitution further grants the Supreme Court original nonexclusive jurisdiction over certain matters. "Original" means that the case can begin and end in the state Supreme Court absent a basis for further appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. "Nonexclusive" means that these matters do not absolutely have to begin in the Supreme Court, but also could originate in a lower court. The bulk of matters falling within this category often are called the "extraordinary writs" and include habeas corpus, mandamus, quo warranto, and the writ of prohibition. For alternative meanings of habeas corpus, see habeas corpus (disambiguation). ...
A writ of mandamus or simply mandamus, which means we order in Latin, is the name of one of the prerogative writs and is a court order directing someone, most frequently a government official, to perform a specified act. ...
Quo warranto (Latin for by what warrant?) is one of the prerogative writs, the one that requires the person to whom it is directed to show what authority he has for exercising some right or power (or franchise) he claims to hold. ...
A writ of prohibition, in the United States, is an official legal document drafted and issued by a supreme court or superior court to a judge presiding over a suit in an inferior court. ...
Exclusive Jurisdiction Finally, the Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction over some other matters. "Exclusive" means that the Florida Supreme Court is the only court or governmental body that can resolve the issue. This category includes regulation of The Florida Bar, regulation of admissions to the Bar, creating and amending the Florida Rules of Court, and determining whether the Governor is incapacitated and thus unable to fulfill the duties of office. It also includes two forms of jurisdiction to issue advisory opinions. The Court can provide an advisory opinion upon a request by the Governor to address uncertainties about legal issues involving the executive branch's powers. It also can issue advisory opinions to the Florida Attorney General about citizens' initiatives to amend the state Constitution. However, for this last type of advisory opinion, the Court can only determine whether the citizens' initiative meets two legal requirements: (1) its ballot summary fairly advises the voters of its effect;and (2) it only contains a single subject. The Florida Bar is the third largest mandatory state bar in the United States. ...
An advisory opinion, in civil procedure, is an opinion issued by a court that does not have the effect of resolving a specific legal case, but merely advises on the constitutionality or interpretation of a law. ...
Charlie Crist has been the Attorney General of Florida since 2003, and is currently a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of Florida. ...
Two other forms a jurisdiction technically are exclusive, though alternative methods of resolving the issues also exist. One is the review of legislative redistricting every ten years, a process that also can be reviewed by the U.S. Justice Department and potentially the federal courts. The other is the authority to impose discipline on state judges for ethical breaches, which can range from a public televised reprimand to removal from office. State judges also can be impeached by the Florida House of Representatives with trial in the Florida Senate. In practice this legislative procedure is so cumbersome that no state judge has been removed by the Senate following impeachment in the House. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. ...
The term federal court, when used by itself, can refer to: Any court of the national government in another country that has a federal system such as that of the United States (United States federal courts) or Mexico In some countries, a particular court, for example, the Federal Court of...
The Florida House of Representatives, one of the two Chambers of the Florida Legislature, is composed of 120 members, each representing a district. ...
The Florida Senate is part of the Legislative branch of government for the state of Florida. ...
External links - Florida State Courts System official website
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