# Florida First District Court of Appeal

The Florida First District Court of Appeal, also known as the First DCA, is headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida, the state capital. It is unique among the six Florida District Courts of Appeal in that, much like the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at the federal level, it handles most of the appeals in state administrative law matters. It is also solely responsible for handling appeals in workers' compensation cases. It is the Court of Appeals for 29 Florida counties, covering the Panhandle as well as the north-central parts of the state. The First DCA includes the following: First Circuit (Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa & Walton); Second Circuit (Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty & Wakulla); Third Circuit (Columbia, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee & Taylor); Eighth Circuit (Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy & Union); and Fourteenth Circuit (Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson & Washington).

## Controversy over new courthouse

Before December 2010, the First DCA had been located two blocks from the Supreme Court of Florida in downtown Tallahassee. During December, the First DCA moved into a new courthouse on the southeastern outskirts of the city. The $48.8 million construction cost of the new courthouse generated considerable controversy, particularly given that the new building allegedly contained details and amenities such as "miles" of African mahogany-like sapele, granite top desks, and a sixty-inch flat screen television in each judge's chamber. The opulence of the new building led many critics to dub the new courthouse as the "Taj Mahal," and eventually led to the forced resignation of Paul M. Hawkes as the court's chief judge.
Investigation into the building's construction revealed that after receiving an initial $1.8 million appropriation in the 2006 state budget, then-Governor Jeb Bush threatened to veto the appropriation unless the judges considered remodeling and expanding their existing facility. After receiving letters containing such assurances, the governor left the money in the budget. In 2007, judges on the court had the Florida Legislature appropriate an additional $7.9 million toward construction of a new courthouse. In the final days of that year's legislative session, judges had lawmakers slip an amendment into a transportation bill authorizing a $33.5 million bond issue for the new building.

## Sixth DCA

When the Florida Sixth District Court of Appeal was established in 2023, the caseload for the Fourth Circuit, including the counties of Duval, Nassau and Clay was shifted from the 1st DCA to the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal. The Jacksonville metropolitan area has a population of 1.6 million people.

## Former Chief Judges

Judges who have served as Chief Judge of the First DCA include:
* Stephanie W. Ray (2019–2021)
* Joseph Lewis, Jr. (2013–2015)
* Bradford L. Thomas (2017–2019)
* L. Clayton Roberts (2015–2017)

## Active Judges

| Name | Appointed | Term expires | Appointing Governor |
| Lori S. Rowe Chief Judge | September 15, 2009 | 2022 | Rick Scott, Republican |
| Stephanie W. Ray | June 27, 2011 | 2024 | Rick Scott, Republican |
| Joseph Lewis, Jr. | 2001 | 2020 | Jeb Bush, Republican |
| Bradford L. Thomas | 2005 | 2024 | Jeb Bush, Republican |
| L. Clayton Roberts | January 18, 2007 | 2020 | Charlie Crist, Republican |
| Timothy D. Osterhaus | May 20, 2013 | 2020 | Rick Scott, Republican |
| Ross L. Bilbrey | January 6, 2015 | 2022 | Rick Scott, Republican |
| Susan L. Kelsey | April 2015 | 2022 | Rick Scott, Republican |
| Thomas D. Winokur | July 6, 2015 | 2022 | Rick Scott, Republican |
| M. Kemmerly Thomas | June 20, 2016 | 2024 | Rick Scott, Republican |
| Rachel E. Nordby | 2019 | 2020 | Ron DeSantis, Republican |
| Adam S. Tanenbaum | 2019 | 2020 | Ron DeSantis, Republican |
| Robert E. Long, Jr. | June 10, 2020 | 2024 | Ron DeSantis, Republican |