Florida Sixth District Court of Appeal

The Florida Sixth District Court of Appeal (DCA) is headquartered in Lakeland, Florida.

Florida DCA map

History

In November 2021, the Florida Supreme Court recommended adding a sixth DCA. The recommendation came following work by the District Court of Appeal Workload and Jurisdiction Assessment Committee, requested by then-Chief Justice Charles Canady. The Legislature proposed bill HB 7027, based on the committee's recommendation, which was then passed and signed by Governor Ron DeSantis in June 2022, creating the Sixth District Court of Appeal, the first new appellate court since the 1979 creation of the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal. The effective date for the creation was January 1, 2023.[1]

The law also realigns four judicial circuits into different, pre-existing districts. The Sixth District Court of Appeal will be composed of cases from the following counties and circuit courts: Orange and Osceola (Ninth Circuit from 5th DCA); Hardee, Highlands and Polk (Tenth Circuit from 3rd DCA); and Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee (Twentieth Circuit from 2nd DCA).[2]

Operation

As of January 1, 2023, the Second DCA moved to St. Petersburg and the Sixth DCA took their spot in Lakeland.[3] Sixth DCA judges are free to decide every legal issue on their docket without regard to precedent unless the Florida Supreme Court has a binding precedent. While judges in the Ninth, Tenth, and Twentieth Judicial Circuits may need to choose between precedents from any district court of appeal, judges in the Sixth District Court of Appeal have the power to rule in opposition to the ruling of another DCA, or instead of adopting the ruling of another district, they may create new law..[3]

Chief Judges

Judges who have served as Chief Judge of the Sixth DCA include: None

Active Judges

Judges who are currently serving on the Sixth DCA include:[4]

Name[4] Appointed Chief Judge Current Term Expires Appointing Governor
Meredith L. Sasso January 2023 January 1, 2023 – present - Ron DeSantis, Republican
Jay P. Cohen January 2023 - Ron DeSantis, Republican
Dan Traver January 2023 - Ron DeSantis, Republican
John K. Stargel July 29, 2020 - Ron DeSantis, Republican
Mary Alice Nardella January 2023 - Ron DeSantis, Republican
Carrie Ann Wozniak January 2023 - Ron DeSantis, Republican
Keith F. White January 2023 - Ron DeSantis, Republican
Jared E. Smith September 2019 - Ron DeSantis, Republican
Joshua A. Mize February 2021 - Ron DeSantis, Republican

Senior Judges

Senior judges are appointed to temporary judicial duty. Judges who are on senior status at the Sixth DCA include:

  • none

See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Florida Sixth District Court of Appeal.

References
  1. "District Courts of Appeal". Flcourts.gov. State of Florida. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  2. "Jurisdiction". Florida's Sixth District Court of Appeal. State of Florida. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  3. Levin, David. "Florida's New 6th DCA: What It Means for Judges and Attorneys in the State of Florida". BakerDonnelson.com. Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  4. "Judges". Florida's Sixth District Court of Appeal. State of Florida. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.