Opinion ID: 1702660
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Recommendation One:

Text: The committee recommends a significant increase in senior judge compensation in order to encourage and recruit the services of qualified retired judges.
Article V, section 2(b) of the Florida Constitution establishes the power of the chief justice to assign former justices or judges to temporary duty, a status commonly referred to as that of senior judge. It also authorizes the chief justice to delegate the authority to assign judges within a circuit to the chief judge of a circuit court: The chief justice of the supreme court shall ... have the power to assign justices or judges, including consenting retired justices or judges, to temporary duty in any court for which the judge is qualified and to delegate to a chief judge of a judicial circuit the power to assign judges for duty in that circuit. It is important to note that not all former justices and judges are retired justices or judges, and not all retired justices and judges are senior justices or judges. The terminology can get confusing: a term such as retired judge may be appropriate in one context (retirement benefits, for example), but not another (such as recall to judicial service). Further, aside from temporary judicial service or retirement benefits implications, the terms retired judge and senior judge are also considered honorary designations that are not available to all former judges. For the purposes of assignment to temporary service, the following definitions apply: former justice Any person who has been a judicial officer of this state, former judge retired justice Any former justice or judge who: retired judge a. has not been defeated in seeking reelection to, or has not failed to be retained in seeking retention in, his or her last judicial office; and b. is not engaged in the practice of law. [7] For the purpose of judicial administration, a retired judge is defined as a judge not engaged in the practice of law who has been a judicial officer of this state. [8] senior judge A retired judge serving on assignment to temporary judicial duty may be referred to as a senior judge. This designation is honorary and has no effect on the responsibilities or conduct of the retired judge. [9]
The committee was asked by the Supreme Court to make a recommendation whether there is a need for a formalized certification process for senior judges, or if not what other process might be instituted to determine the eligibility of senior judges for assignment. The committee agreed there was not a need for a formal certification process; the chief justice would be well served in exercising the authority to assign retired judges and justices to temporary service by the existence of a structured process that would aid in determining the eligibility for assignment of retired justices and judges who would like to serve as senior judges. The committee concluded that the process of reaching a determination of eligibility should include screening to ensure that the retired judge is current with educational requirements, that judicial leadership within the judge's resident court do not have concerns regarding the judge's present ability to serve, and that the judge has no pending investigations before the Judicial Qualifications Commission. In addition, the committee agreed that, for judges and justices who have been inactive as well as for active senior judges, the determination of eligibility should also take into consideration attorney input regarding the judge's work. Recommendation Two: Potential senior judges should be subject to a process to determine eligibility for assignment that includes the following components:  screening to ensure compliance with continuing education requirements;  employment screening including inquiries to chief and administrative judges with whom the candidate has worked;  inquiry with the Judicial Qualifications Commission regarding whether the retired judge is the subject of a pending investigation; and,  consideration of input about the retired judge's work from attorneys who appear before the court. Additional eligibility criteria were discussed by the committee. The committee considered whether judges who had been defeated in an election or who failed to achieve a majority vote in favor of retention in their last judicial position should be eligible for assignment as a senior judge. The committee observed that, while qualified and competent judges may occasionally fail to win re-election or retention, concerns of public trust and confidence and deference to the constitutional electoral process dictate that the expressed will of the voters should be respected, and a judge or justice who in his or her last judicial position was not re-elected or retained by the voters should not be eligible for senior judge service.