| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to senior judges; amending s. 25.073, |
| 3 | F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by this act; |
| 4 | providing for the chief judge of a judicial circuit, |
| 5 | subject to approval by the Chief Justice of the Supreme |
| 6 | Court, to establish a program for retired justices or |
| 7 | judges to preside over civil cases and trials or to hear |
| 8 | motions upon written request of one or more parties; |
| 9 | providing that a party in default shall be deemed to have |
| 10 | consented to the appointment of a retired justice or |
| 11 | judge; providing for compensation of such justices or |
| 12 | judges; providing for an additional court cost and for |
| 13 | deposit thereof; providing an effective date. |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 25.073, Florida |
| 18 | Statutes, is amended, and subsection (4) is added to that |
| 19 | section, to read: |
| 20 | 25.073 Retired justices or judges assigned to temporary |
| 21 | duty; additional compensation; appropriation.- |
| 22 | (3) Payments required under subsection (2) this section |
| 23 | shall be made from moneys to be appropriated for this purpose. |
| 24 | (4) In addition to subsections (1)-(3), the chief judge of |
| 25 | a judicial circuit may, subject to approval by the Chief |
| 26 | Justice, establish a program for the optional use of retired |
| 27 | justices or judges to preside over civil cases and trials |
| 28 | pursuant to this subsection. The program shall be developed and |
| 29 | operated so as to ensure that one or more parties to the lawsuit |
| 30 | shall pay the cost of the retired justice or judge. The use of |
| 31 | this program shall in no way diminish or otherwise affect the |
| 32 | power and authority of the Chief Justice to assign justices or |
| 33 | judges, including consenting retired justices or judges, to |
| 34 | temporary duty in any court for which the justice or judge is |
| 35 | qualified or to delegate to a chief judge of a judicial circuit |
| 36 | the power to assign justices or judges for duty in that circuit. |
| 37 | At a minimum, the program developed under this subsection shall |
| 38 | be operated as follows: |
| 39 | (a)1. Any party to the action may request a retired |
| 40 | justice or judge to hear one or more motions that will not lead |
| 41 | to final disposition of the case. The request must be in writing |
| 42 | and addressed to the chief judge of the circuit. The party may |
| 43 | seek appointment of a retired justice or judge to hear more than |
| 44 | one motion in that case. The chief judge of the circuit shall |
| 45 | not appoint a retired justice or judge if the trial judge |
| 46 | assigned to the case can accommodate the hearing or hearings |
| 47 | within the following 2 weeks. |
| 48 | 2. All parties to an action may jointly request a retired |
| 49 | justice or judge to hear one or more dispositive motions or to |
| 50 | conduct the trial of the action, including a trial by special |
| 51 | setting. The chief judge of the circuit shall not appoint a |
| 52 | retired justice or judge unless all parties agree to the request |
| 53 | and sufficient court resources are available to accommodate the |
| 54 | request. A party in default shall be deemed to have consented to |
| 55 | the appointment of a retired justice or judge under this |
| 56 | subparagraph. |
| 57 | (b)1. A party or parties seeking to use a retired justice |
| 58 | or judge shall submit a written request to the chief judge, |
| 59 | stating the reasons for the request. |
| 60 | 2. Allowable grounds for use of a retired justice or judge |
| 61 | include the unavailability of hearing time, scheduling |
| 62 | difficulties, difficulties with the availability of witnesses, |
| 63 | or the need to expedite the case. A request shall not be granted |
| 64 | if it is apparent that a party is only seeking an appointment in |
| 65 | order to avoid the assigned trial judge. |
| 66 | 3. The chief judge shall consider the reasons for the |
| 67 | request and shall grant or deny the request in writing within 5 |
| 68 | days. |
| 69 | 4. Only retired justices or judges who are on the list |
| 70 | that is approved by the Chief Justice are eligible for |
| 71 | appointment in this program. Assignment of such retired justices |
| 72 | or judges shall be made in accordance with current judge |
| 73 | assignment procedures in each judicial circuit. No party may |
| 74 | seek or request that a particular retired justice or judge be |
| 75 | appointed. |
| 76 | 5. An appointment shall be for the hearing time requested. |
| 77 | However, the chief judge may appoint a retired justice or judge |
| 78 | to hear multiple hearings in 1 day involving related or |
| 79 | unrelated cases. |
| 80 | (c)1. Upon granting a request, the chief judge of the |
| 81 | applicable judicial circuit shall estimate the number of days |
| 82 | required of the retired justice or judge to complete the |
| 83 | hearings or trial and shall inform the requesting party or |
| 84 | parties of the cost. |
| 85 | 2. The party or parties who requested the appointment of a |
| 86 | retired justice or judge shall prepay the per diem rate of the |
| 87 | retired justice or judge before the hearing or trial based on |
| 88 | the per diem rate then in effect. The minimum charge for |
| 89 | assignment of a retired justice or judge under this subsection |
| 90 | shall be the per diem rate for 1 day, and any required time over |
| 91 | 1 day shall be charged in 1-day increments for any additional |
| 92 | days at the per diem rate. The chief judge shall set a payment |
| 93 | deadline sufficiently prior to the date of the hearing or trial |
| 94 | so that the appointment may be timely canceled if prepayment is |
| 95 | not received at least 1 business day before the scheduled |
| 96 | hearing or trial. |
| 97 | 3. For purposes of this subsection, the term "per diem |
| 98 | rate" means the cost to the state of 1 day of service by a |
| 99 | retired justice or judge and shall be calculated by adding the |
| 100 | regular daily rate set by the Chief Justice for retired justices |
| 101 | or judges, plus the employer's share of required federal taxes, |
| 102 | and plus, if applicable, the justice's or judge's travel and |
| 103 | other costs reimbursable under s. 112.061. |
| 104 | 4. The per diem paid to a retired justice or judge under |
| 105 | this subsection for 1 day of service for all trials or hearings |
| 106 | conducted on that one day shall not exceed the standard per diem |
| 107 | rate for 1 day of service established by the chief justice. |
| 108 | 5. Payments made by a party or parties under this program |
| 109 | shall be deposited into the Operating Trust Fund within the |
| 110 | state courts system under s. 25.3844. |
| 111 | 6. Once a hearing or trial is scheduled, prepayment is |
| 112 | made as required under this subsection, and the state is |
| 113 | required to make payment to the retired justice or judge, there |
| 114 | shall be no refund. A refund is only authorized if the assigned |
| 115 | retired justice or judge becomes unavailable for reasons |
| 116 | unrelated to the conduct of the parties. |
| 117 | 7. A person who has been relieved of the requirement to |
| 118 | prepay costs in an action may not be relieved of the requirement |
| 119 | under this subsection to prepay the costs of a retired justice |
| 120 | or judge prior to a request being granted. |
| 121 | (d)1. If a party seeks appointment of a retired justice or |
| 122 | judge to hear one or more motions, the cost of the retired |
| 123 | justice or judge shall not be taxable against a nonprevailing |
| 124 | party. |
| 125 | 2. If all parties sought the appointment of a retired |
| 126 | justice or judge to hear motions or conduct the trial, the |
| 127 | amounts paid for the retired justice or judge by a prevailing |
| 128 | party shall be taxable against a nonprevailing party, as |
| 129 | provided in chapter 57 and in the Florida Rules of Civil |
| 130 | Procedure. |
| 131 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |