Senate Bill sb1800c1

    Florida Senate - 2002                           CS for SB 1800

    By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Diaz de la Portilla





    308-2205-02

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to district courts of appeal;

  3         amending s. 35.01, F.S.; specifying minimum

  4         membership of district courts of appeal;

  5         providing construction and application;

  6         providing criteria for selecting judges to fill

  7         vacancies; requesting district courts of appeal

  8         judicial nominating commissions to adopt

  9         uniform rules of procedure; providing an

10         effective date.

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12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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14         Section 1.  Section 35.01, Florida Statutes, is amended

15  to read:

16         35.01  District courts of appeal; districts.--Five

17  district courts of appeal are created, and the state is

18  divided into five appellate districts of contiguous circuits.

19  Each district court of appeal shall have at least one judge

20  appointed from each judicial circuit within the district who

21  is a resident of the circuit at the time of the original

22  appointment. This requirement is not applicable where the

23  Judicial Nominating Commission for the district court of

24  appeals has advertised a vacancy within an unrepresented

25  circuit and no applications from qualified applicants are

26  received from an unrepresented circuit.

27         Section 2.  (1)  This act shall not affect the term of

28  any district court of appeal judge who is serving at the time

29  of the effective date of this act or any district court of

30  appeal judgeship which is vacant and awaiting an appointment

31  by the Governor at the time of the effective date of this act.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2002                           CS for SB 1800
    308-2205-02




  1  Any such judge may be reelected to as many successive terms of

  2  office for which the judge qualifies.

  3         (2)(a)  Upon the retirement, death, removal, or

  4  expiration of the term of office without reelection of a judge

  5  of a district court of appeal or upon the creation of an

  6  additional judgeship on a district court of appeal for a

  7  judicial circuit from which there is no judge then serving,

  8  such vacancy shall be filled only by a qualified resident from

  9  the geographical area of the unrepresented judicial circuit if

10  applications are received from qualified applicants within the

11  unrepresented circuit.

12         (b)  If at the time of any vacancy on a district court

13  of appeal there is more than one judicial circuit that is

14  unrepresented by a judge on that district court of appeal,

15  such vacancy shall be filled by a qualified resident of the

16  judicial circuit having the lowest judicial circuit

17  designation number if applications are received from qualified

18  applicants within the unrepresented circuit.

19         Section 3.  In order to fully implement the provisions

20  of this act, and in recognition of the rulemaking authority

21  conferred on the district courts of appeal judicial nominating

22  commissions by Section 11, Article V of the State

23  Constitution, the Legislature requests that these judicial

24  nominating commissions, by and through the Supreme Court of

25  Florida, adopt uniform rules of procedure in fulfilling the

26  provisions of this act.

27         Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

28  law.

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    Florida Senate - 2002                           CS for SB 1800
    308-2205-02




  1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
  2                         Senate Bill 1800

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  4  The committee substitute provides that a judge appointed to
    the district court of appeal must reside in the circuit he or
  5  she is appointed to represent at the time of appointment not
    during his or her term on the appellate court.
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    The Judicial Nominating Commission is relieved of the
  7  requirement to appoint a judge from each circuit within a
    district court of appeal when the Judicial Nominating
  8  Commission has advertised the vacancy within any unrepresented
    circuit and no applications are received from qualified
  9  applicants.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.