As a result, Florida voters amended the Constitution in to create a "merit retention" system for Florida's appellate judges. This system was meant to eliminate the many problems caused by judges running for office in an election. When there is a vacancy on the Court today, this system means that the Governor chooses the next Justice from a list of between three and six qualified persons recommended by the Judicial Nominating Commission. There is no Senate confirmation in Florida, so that person becomes a Justice after taking the proper oath.
When Justices' terms expire, their names will appear on the general election ballot for a merit retention vote, if they wish to remain in office.
Under this system, the voters have eliminated contested elections in which appellate Justices and judges campaign against other candidates. Voters simply decide whether or not they will remain in office after the end of each term. If a majority of the votes cast are not in favor of retaining the incumbent Justice, the Governor appoints another person to fill the vacancy.
This person is chosen from a list of individuals whose applications have been reviewed and who have been found qualified by the Judicial Nominating Commission. By a majority vote of the Justices, one of the Justices is elected to serve as Chief Justice, an office that is rotated every two years.
Chief Justices, however, can be elected to more than one term and the selection takes into account not merely seniority in office but also administrative experience. The Chief Justice presides at all proceedings of the Court. As chief administrative officer of the judicial branch of government, the Chief Justice assigns Justices and judges, including retired Justices and judges who consent and are approved by the Court to serve, to duty in courts that require temporary assistance.
The Chief Justice also supervises the compilation and presentation of the judicial budget to the Legislature. Among other constitutional duties, the Chief Justice presides or designates another Justice to preside over impeachment proceedings in the Senate. The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is set out in the Constitution with some degree of flexibility by which the Legislature may add or take away certain categories of cases. The Court must review final orders imposing death sentences, district court decisions declaring a State statute or provision of the State Constitution invalid, bond validations, and certain orders of the Public Service Commission on utility rates and services.
In addition to these forms of mandatory review authority, if discretionary review is sought by a party, the Court at its discretion may review any decision of a district court of appeal that expressly declares valid a state statute, construes a provision of the state or federal constitution, affects a class of constitutional or state officers, or directly conflicts with a decision of another district court or of the Supreme Court on the same question of law.
The Supreme Court may review certain categories of judgments, decisions, and questions of law certified to it by the district courts of appeal and federal appellate courts. The Supreme Court has the constitutional authority to issue the extraordinary writs of prohibition, mandamus, quo warranto, and habeas corpus and to issue all other writs necessary to the complete exercise of its jurisdiction. These writs, which bear names as ancient as their common-law origins, have been considered indispensable to our legal system, and the Constitution specifically authorizes their issuance in a proper case without the necessity of having to proceed initially to trial.
They are by nature "extraordinary," and for that reason are not available as an alternative to the usual trial and appeal. Both by their historical development and by current judicial decisions, the writs are made available only in a narrow class of exceptional cases. Probably the best-known writ is habeas corpus, which may be invoked by any person who seeks release from custody or confinement which is asserted to be unlawful.
Upon application to any Justice or judge, the persons may test the legality of their detention, not as to guilt or innocence, but solely as to whether the commitment to custody was lawful and the retention in custody is in accordance with the requirements of due process. Two closely related writs are the writ of prohibition, by which a court may prevent a lower tribunal from acting upon matters that are not within its jurisdiction or from exceeding its lawful powers, and the writ of mandamus, by which a court may compel an official to perform a duty the law requires but that the official has failed or refused to perform.
The writ of quo warranto, although rarely sought, is available to challenge the right of public officials to hold the offices to which they claim entitlement. The Supreme Court also renders advisory opinions to the Governor, upon request, on questions relating to the Governor's constitutional duties and powers. As the state's highest tribunal, the Supreme Court possesses distinctive powers that are essential to the exercise of the state's judicial power but that are not, strictly speaking, decision-making powers in contested cases.
The Court promulgates rules governing the practice and procedure in all Florida courts, subject to the power of the Legislature to repeal any rule by a two-thirds vote of its membership, and the Court has the authority to repeal if five Justices concur any rule adopted by the Judicial Qualifications Commission. The Court has exclusive authority to regulate the admission and discipline of lawyers in Florida.
To assist in the performance of those regulatory powers, the Court has adopted a code of professional conduct, established the Florida Board of Bar Examiners to administer the admissions process, and created The Florida Bar to superintend bar governance. The Court has been assigned the responsibility to discipline and remove judicial officers. The Court has adopted a Code of Judicial Conduct, and upon the recommendation of the Judicial Qualifications Commission , it may discipline or remove any Justice or judge who is found to have violated ethical standards.
No single aspect of the Court's jurisdiction receives more public notice than the death penalty cases. Most people are unaware that the Court is strictly required to follow a procedure dictated by the United States Supreme Court.
Under this procedure, the Court must look at what are called "aggravating" and "mitigating" factors. Aggravating factors include the fact that a murder was "execution-style" or was very torturous. Mitigating factors can include mental illness, contributions to the community during life, or the fact the murderer was very young.
The death sentence can never be imposed if there are no aggravating factors. If at least one aggravating factor exists, the Court then must see how it weighs against the mitigating factors. If the aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating factors, then death is a legal penalty. The bulk of trial court decisions that are appealed are never heard by the Supreme Court. Rather, they are reviewed by three-judge panels of the district courts of appeal. Florida did not have district courts of appeal until Until that time, all appeals were heard solely by the Supreme Court.
As Florida grew rapidly in the twentieth century, however, the Supreme Court's docket became badly congested. Justice Elwyn Thomas with help from other members of the Court perceived the problem and successfully lobbied for the creation of the district-court system to provide intermediate appellate courts.
The Constitution now provides that the Legislature shall divide the State into appellate court districts and that there shall be a district court of appeal DCA serving each district.
DCA judges must meet the same eligibility requirements for appointment to office, and they are subject to the same procedures and conditions for discipline and removal from office, as Justices of the Supreme Court. Voter information What's on my ballot? Where do I vote? How do I register to vote? How do I request a ballot? When do I vote? When are polls open? Who Represents Me? Congress special elections Governors State executives State legislatures Ballot measures State judges Municipal officials School boards.
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