The state Legislature will not consider a proposal to consolidate judicial circuits in Florida this year after the state Supreme Court and a judicial assessment committee concluded consolidation would neither save money nor improve the judicial process.
“This year, aided by an assessment committee, we undertook a review focused narrowly on whether there is a need to consolidate (i.e., decrease the number of) judicial circuits,” the high court’s unanimous opinion issued on Dec. 21 states. “... We do not find that there is a need to consolidate judicial circuits at this time.”
The idea of consolidating the state’s judicial circuits was proposed last year by House Speaker Paul Renner (R-Palm Coast), who suggested the 20 judicial circuits have not been adjusted in more than a half-century despite rapid demographic changes. Streamlining the circuits and equalizing their populations could lead to more efficiency within the courts and more uniformity in the judicial system, Renner said.
In the wake of the high court’s ruling and the assessment panel’s public hearings and assessments, however, the speaker said in a recent statement that the plan was not on legislators’ to-do list for the coming session.
“The speaker put forward a thoughtful and timely request to review how our courts are structured, hoping to find economies of scale to better serve Floridians," the statement said. "We appreciate and accept the Supreme Court's opinion and thank the committee for their diligent work in presenting their recommendations. We do not intend to bring any legislation forward this year regarding circuit court consolidation.”
Judge Jonathan Gerber of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, who chaired the Judicial Circuit Assessment Committee, told the Florida Record that Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz directed the panel to apply neutral criteria – such as effectiveness, access to courts, professionalism and public trust – to assess whether circuit consolidation was warranted.
“The judicial branch's process for examining circuit consolidation worked as designed and produced a sound result,” Gerber said.
He added that over its five-month lifespan, the panel collected significant amounts of data about the trial court system as well as surveys of legal practitioners and the public. The information, including input from thousands of interested Floridians, led the panel to report that consolidation was not warranted.
“The Supreme Court’s unanimous adoption of the committee’s report is a testament to the process.,” Gerber said. “We are grateful to Speaker Renner for initiating the assessment and to the many people who contributed to the committee’s work.”
The panel’s report will assist the high court in making other kinds of changes that will improve court services that will make the system more accessible, fair, effective and accountable, he said.
The state Supreme Court’s opinion indicates that the state constitution calls on the court to recommend system changes only when there is a “compelling need” for change or when a change would significantly improve the judicial process.
The committee did agree that there is a need for the judicial circuits to achieve more uniformity in both technology and court processes, though panel members concluded that consolidation would not necessarily achieve those goals.
“The committee also noted that reforms intended to promote greater uniformity and transparency in trial court practices are already under way,” the Supreme Court said in its opinion.