Florida District Courts of Appeal
The Florida District Courts of Appeal (DCAs) were created in 1957 to provide an intermediate level of appellate review between the county courts and state circuit courts on the one hand and the Florida Supreme Court on the other. This was done, as in other parts of the United States, to relieve the state supreme court from ever increasing appellate workloads.
History
In 1957, the Florida Legislature created the District Courts of Appeal. This was thanks in part to a lobbying effort by Florida Supreme Court Justice Elwyn Thomas. The DCAs were to help handle the ever-increasing court docket. The DCAs would provide another layer of judicial review before a case would reach the supreme court (if supreme court review would still be deemed necessary).
Three DCAs were created at first. The Third DCA was given jurisdiction over cases arising from Dade and Monroe counties.
Later, two additional DCAs (the Fourth and Fifth) would found to be required.
The existence of the DCAs is now constitutional in nature. The Florida Constitution now requires the Legislature to divide the State into appellate court districts, providing each with a DCA.
The Final Five
At this point, there are five District Courts of Appeal:
- The First District Court of Appeal is headquartered in Tallahassee
- The Second District Court of Appeal is headquartered in Lakeland and has a branch in Tampa
- The Third District Court of Appeal is headquartered in Miami
- The Fourth District Court of Appeal is headquartered in West Palm Beach
- The Fifth District Court of Appeal is headquartered in Daytona Beach
Judges
DCA judges, like Florida Supreme Court Justices, are first recommended by the Florida Judicial Nominating Commission. They are then appointed by the governor, but they must be retained by the voters every six years. DCAs have different numbers of judges - currently ranging from 11 to 15 - based on regional needs.
Jurisdiction
Appeals are usually heard by a three-judge panel. Occasionally a DCA will hold an en banc hearing, in which all the judges participate.
Because the Florida Supreme Court has predominantly discretionary jurisdiction (i.e., can choose which cases it wants to hear), the DCAs provide the final word on the vast majority of cases appealed in the State of Florida. Cases involving the death penalty are heard directly and automatically by the Florida Supreme Court, bypassing the DCAs.