House Bill hb0205e1

                                       HB 205, First Engrossed/ntc



  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.

11

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

13

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 filling by

31  appointment by the Governor at the time of the effective date


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






                                       HB 205, First Engrossed/ntc



  1  of this act. Any such judge may be reelected to as many

  2  successive terms of office for which the judge may qualify.

  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 an

  7  appellate district for which there is a judicial circuit from

  8  which there is no judge then serving, such vacancy shall be

  9  filled only by a qualified resident from the geographical area

10  of such unrepresented judicial circuit if applications are

11  received from qualified applicants within the unrepresented

12  circuit.

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

14  of appeal there is more than one judicial circuit which is

15  unrepresented by a judge on such district court of appeal,

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

17  judicial circuit having the lowest judicial circuit

18  designation number if applications are received from qualified

19  applicants within the unrepresented circuit.

20         Section 3.  In order to fully implement the provisions

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

22  conferred on the district courts of appeal judicial nominating

23  commissions by s. 11, Art. V of the State Constitution, the

24  Legislature requests that these judicial nominating

25  commissions, by and through the Supreme Court of Florida,

26  adopt uniform rules of procedure effectuating the provisions

27  of this act.

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

29  law.

30

31


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