Title: Court System

Summary: Repeals prohibition on practice of law by retired Justice of Supreme Court, requirements relating to Clerk of Supreme Court & Marshal of Supreme Court, requirements regarding manner in which books for Supreme Court library may be acquired, & residency requirements relating to circuit judges; revises provisions relating to Conference of Circuit Judges of Florida; repeals provisions regarding compensation of public defenders & expenditures for public defender's office in newly created judicial circuit; provides for certain judicial branch salaries; repeals provisions that chief judge be selected in each district court of appeal, that three judges consider every case on appeal, that each district court of appeal appoint a clerk, & that certain costs of copies of records in Supreme Court are not taxed against losing party; repeals evidentiary rule regarding evidence of title to land passing from U.S.

Full Text:
An act relating to the court system; repealing s. 25.151, F.S., relating to a prohibition on the practice of law by a retired justice of the Supreme Court; repealing ss. 25.191 and 25.231, F.S., relating to the appointment and duties of a Clerk of the Supreme Court; amending s. 25.241, F.S.; deleting a requirement regarding the salary of the Clerk of the Supreme Court, to conform; repealing s. 25.281, F.S., relating to compensation of the Marshal of the Supreme Court; repealing s. 25.351, F.S., relating to the acquisition of books by the Supreme Court; repealing s. 26.01, F.S., relating to the number of judicial circuits; amending s. 26.021, F.S.; estab lishing the number of judicial circuits; repealing certain residency requirements for circuit judges; repealing s. 26.51, F.S., relating to payment of the salaries of circuit judges; amending s. 26.55, F.S.; excluding retired judges practicing law from the Conference of Circuit Judges of Florida; removing a requirement that circuit court judges attend and participate in such conference; requiring that the conference operate according to the Rules of Judicial Administration; revising requirements for such co nferences; repealing s. 27.55, F.S., relating to compensation and certain expenditures of public defenders; creating s. 29.23, CS/HB 7003 2014 F.S.; providing for certain judicial branch salaries; repealing ss. 35.12, 35.13, 35.19, and 35.21, F.S.; relating to the chief judge, quorum, compensation of judges, and clerk, respectively, of the district courts of appeal; amending s. 35.22, F.S.; deleting a requirement for the appointment and salary of a clerk for each district court of appeal; repealing ss. 35.25 and 35.27, F.S., relating to duties of the clerk and compensation of the marshal, respectively, of the district courts of appeal; repealing s. 38.13, F.S., relating to replacement of disqualified judges of the district courts of appeal; amending s. 43.20, F.S.; revising the number of members of the Judicial Qualifications Commission, to conform to requirements of the State Constitution; repealing s. 57.101, F.S., relating to the charging of costs against the losing party for certain copies of records in the Supreme Court; repealing s. 92.15, F.S., relating to an evidentiary rule regarding evidence of title to land passing from the United States; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Section 25.151, Flor ida Statutes, is repealed. Section 2. Sections 25.191 and 25.231, Florida Statutes, CS/HB 7003 2014 are repealed. Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 25.241, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 25.241 Clerk of Supreme Court; compensation; assistants; filing fees, etc.-(1) The Clerk of the Supreme Court shall be paid an annual salary to be determined in accordance with s. 25.382. Section 4. Section 25.281, Florida Statutes, is repealed. Section 5. Section 25.351, Florida Statutes, is repealed. Section 6. Section 26.01, Florida Statutes, is repealed. Section 7. Section 26.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 26.021 Judicial circuits; judges.-The state is divided into judicial circuits: (1) The first circuit is composed of Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton Counties. (2) The second circuit is composed of Franklin Leon, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, and Wakulla, Liberty, and Franklin Counties. (3) The third circuit is composed of Columbia, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee, and Taylor Counties. (4) The fourth circuit is composed of Clay, Duval, and Nassau Counties. (5) The fifth circuit is composed of Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion, and Sumter Counties. Two of the circuit judges authorized for the fifth circuit shall reside in either Citrus, CS/HB 7003 2014 Hernando, or Sumter County, and neither of such two judges shall reside in the same county. (6) The sixth circuit is composed of Pasco and Pinellas Counties. (7) The seventh circuit is composed of Flagler, Putnam,St. Johns, and Volusia Counties. One judge shall reside in Flagler County; two judges shall reside in Putnam County; two judges shall reside in St. Johns County; and three judges shall reside in Volusia County. There shall be no residency requirement for any other judges in the circuit. (8) The eighth circuit is composed of Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, and Union Counties. (9) The ninth circuit is composed of Orange and Osceola Counties. (10) The tenth circuit is composed of Hardee, Highlands, and Polk Counties. (11) The eleventh circuit is composed of Miami-Dade County. (12) The twelfth circuit is composed of DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota,and DeSoto Counties. (13) The thirteenth circuit is composed of Hillsborough County. (14) The fourteenth circuit is composed of Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington Counties. (15) The fifteenth circuit is composed of Palm Beach County. CS/HB 7003 2014 (16) The sixteenth circuit is composed of Monroe County. One judge in the circuit shall reside in the middle or upper Keys. There shall be no residency requirement for any other judge in the circuit. (17) The seventeenth circuit is composed of Broward County. (18) The eighteenth circuit is co mposed of Brevard and Seminole Counties. (19) The nineteenth circuit is composed of Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, and St. Lucie Counties. (20) The twentieth circuit is composed of Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, and Lee Counties. (21) Notwith standing subsections (1)-(20), the territorial jurisdiction of a circuit court may be expanded as provided for in s. 910.03(3). The judicial nominating commission of each circuit, in submitting nominations for any vacancy in a judgeship, and the Governor, in filling any vacancy for a judgeship, shall consider whether the existing judges within the circuit, together with potential nominees or appointees, reflect the geographic distribution of the population within the circuit, the geographic distribution of the caseload within the circuit, the racial and ethnic diversity of the population within the circuit, and the geographic distribution of the racial and ethnic minority population within the circuit. CS/HB 7003 2014 Section 8. Section 26.51, Florida Statutes, is repe aled. Section 9. Section 26.55, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 26.55 Conference of Circuit Judges of Florida; duties and reports.-(1) There is created and established the Conference of Circuit Judges of Florida. The conference consists shall consist of the active and retired circuit judges of the several judicial circuits of the state,excluding retired judges practicing law.(2) The conference shall annually elect a chair.The chair, whose duty it shall be to call all meetings and to appoint committees to effectuate the purposes of the conference. It is declared to be an official function of each circuit judge to attend the meetings of the conference. It is also an official function of each circuit judge to participate in the activity of each committee to the membership of which such judge is appointed. (3)(a) It is declared to be the responsibility of The conference shall operate according to the Rules of Judicial Administration adopted by the Supreme Court. The responsibilities of the conference include to: (a)1. Considering and making Consider and make recommendations concerning the betterment of the judicial system of the state and its various parts; (b)2. Considering and making Consider and make recommendations concerning the improvement of rules and methods CS/HB 7003 2014 of procedure and practice in the several courts; and (c)3. Reporting Report to the Supreme Court its such findings and recommendations under this subsection; and as the conference may have with reference thereto. (d)(b) Providing Not less than days before the convening of the regular session of the Legislature with, the chair of the conference shall report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House such recommendations as the conference may have conce rning defects in the laws of this state and such amendments or additional legislation as the conference may deem necessary regarding the administration of justice.Section 10. Section 27.55, Florida Statutes, is repealed. Section 11. Section 29.23, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 29.23 Salaries of certain positions in the judicial branch.-(1) The salaries of justices, judges of the district courts of appeal, circuit judges, and county judges shall be fixed annually in the General Appropriations Act. (2) The clerk and the marshal of the Supreme Court, and the clerk and the marshal of a district court of appeal, shall be paid an annual salary to be determined in accordance with s. 25.382(3). Section 12. Sections 35.12, 35.13, 5.19, and 35.21, Florida Statutes, are repealed. Section 13. Section 35.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to CS/HB 7003 2014 read: 35.22 Clerk of district court; appointment; compensation; assistants; filing fees; teleconferencing.-(1) Each district court of appeal shall appoint a clerk who shall be paid an annual salary to be determined in accordance with s. 25.382. (1)(2) The clerk may is authorized to employ such deputies and clerical assistants as may be necessary. Their numbe rand compensation shall be approved by the court, and paid from the annual appropriation for the district courts of appeal. (2)(a)(3)(a) The clerk, upon the filing of a certified copy of a notice of appeal or petition, shall charge and collect a filing fee of $300 for each case docketed, and service charges as provided in s. 28.24 for copying, certifying or furnishing opinions, records, papers or other instruments and for other services. The state of Florida or its agencies, when appearing as appellant or petitioner, is exempt from the filing fee required in this subsection. From each attorney appearance pro hac vice, The clerk shall collect from each attorney appearance pro hac vice a fee of $100 for deposit as provided in this section. (b) Upon the fi ling of a notice of cross-appeal, or a notice of joinder or motion to intervene as an appellant, cross appellant, or petitioner, the clerk shall charge and collect a filing fee of $295. The clerk shall remit the fee to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the General Revenue Fund. CS/HB 7003 2014 The state and its agencies are exempt from the filing fee required by this paragraph. (3)(4) The opinions of the district court of appeal may shall not be recorded, but the original as filed shall be preserved with the rec ord in each case. (4)(5) The clerk may is authorized immediately,after a case is disposed of, to supply the judge who tried the case and from whose order, judgment, or decree, appeal,or other review is taken,a copy of all opinions, orders, or judgment sfiled in such case. Copies of opinions, orders, and decrees shall be furnished in all cases to each attorney of record and for publication in Florida reports to the authorized publisher without charge, and copies furnished to other law book publishers at one-half the regular statutory fee. (5)(6) The clerk of each district court of appeal shall is required to deposit all fees collected in the State Treasury to the credit of the General Revenue Fund, except that $50 of each $300 filing fee collected shal lbe deposited into the State Courts Revenue Trust Fund to fund court operations as authorized in the General Appropriations Act. The clerk shall retain an accounting of each such remittance. (6)(7) The clerk of the district court of appeal may is authorized to collect a fee from the parties to an appeal reflecting the actual cost of conducting the proceeding through teleconferencing if where the parties have requested that an oral argument or mediation be conducted through CS/HB 7003 2014 teleconferencing. The fee colle cted for this purpose shall be used to offset the expenses associated with scheduling the teleconference and shall be deposited in the State Courts Revenue Trust Fund. Section 14. Sections 35.25 and 35.27, Florida Statutes, are repealed. Section 15. Section 38.13, Florida Statutes, is repealed. Section 16. Subsection (2) of section 43.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 43.20 Judicial Qualifications Commission.-(2) MEMBERSHIP; TERMS.-The commission shall consist of 245 members. The members of the commission shall serve for terms of years. Section 17. Section 57.101, Florida Statutes, is repealed. Section 18. Section 92.15, Florida Statutes, is repealed. Section 19. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.