Opinion ID: 1875038
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: florida's state courts system

Text: State courts in Florida safeguard democracy by upholding and interpreting the law, protecting individual rights and liberties, and peacefully resolving disputes. The disputes adjudicated by our courts are diverse and touch the lives of all Floridians. In the civil arena, the courts handle the full panoply of cases ranging from landlord-tenant disputes to complex civil litigation. Cases involving children and families constitute almost fifty percent of our civil filings. Judges make decisions in these cases on crucial issues profoundly impacting children, including adoption, child support, custody and visitation, dependency, and delinquency. In the criminal arena, cases range from traffic misdemeanors to consumer fraud to capital felonies for which the death penalty is imposed. Florida's courts are vital to maintaining public safety, resolving costly business disputes, and protecting our most vulnerable citizens. Courts touch the lives of our citizens from birth to death. Now, more than ever before, Florida has a truly unified State Courts System. The July 1, 2004, implementation of the constitutional amendment to article V, known as Revision 7, was the most significant and historic change for Florida's judicial branch since the 1972 revisions to article V. During this past legislative session, the two objectives of the constitutional amendment were fulfilled: the State assumed the greater share of funding for the trial court system, and resource inequities that existed between trial courts in resource rich-counties and counties with small budgets were substantially eliminated. Prior to the funding of the amendment, it could be argued that two justice systems existed throughout the state: one that was present in counties with a higher local tax base and one that was present in counties with a lesser tax base. Counties with larger tax bases were able to fund necessary support services in the courts, such as hearing officers, general masters, mediation, and case managers. Together, these resources made a qualitative difference in the delivery of justice to those communities. Courts in counties with a lesser tax base did not fare as well prior to the funding of Revision 7. Generally, in those smaller, rural counties there were few supplemental programs and services for citizens using the court system. To bridge the gap between these haves and have nots, the State Courts System, under the leadership of the Trial Court Budget Commission and the Trial Court Performance and Accountability Commission, worked tirelessly beginning shortly after the 1998 passage of Revision 7 to identify those elements of the court system that were appropriate for state funding. By both codifying and funding the identified elements in every judicial circuit, the Legislature recognized their value to the citizens of Florida. This distribution of resources, with a focus on equity and fairness, has enabled citizens from Pensacola to Key West to access the same system of justice regardless of their location or the size or tax base of the county in which they live. This Court expresses its gratitude to the Legislature for fulfilling the voters' mandate by providing the necessary funding for the implementation of the Revision 7 constitutional amendment. The funding of Revision 7, while essential to a unified state court system, is only part of the story. The remaining component is the proper funding of new judgeships where a demonstrable need exists. Yet despite the demonstrated judicial need, the funding of new judgeships by the Legislature has fallen short of fulfilling this need over the last several years. This trend, if permitted to continue, could have serious consequences for citizens and businesses throughout the state. Sufficient new judgeships must be funded by the Legislature for Florida to fully realize the promise of a unified state court system. Only with proper funding of the judicial branch, including funding for additional judgeships, can we ensure that our citizens' constitutional right of access to their courts is protected and that disputes are fairly and timely resolved.