TAMPA, Fla. (CN) — Judges, state attorneys, public defenders, sheriffs, mayors and legal professionals deluged a Florida Supreme Court-appointed committee on Friday to adamantly fight a proposed consolidation of the state’s judicial circuits.
In a passionate public meeting in a Tampa courtroom, speaker after speaker blasted a plan hatched by Florida House Speaker Paul Renner to shrink the state’s 20 judicial districts for fiscal reasons.
Renner, a Republican representative and Palm Coast attorney, wrote in a June letter to the Florida Supreme Court that the “consolidation of circuits might lead to greater efficiencies and uniformity in the judicial process, thereby increasing public trust and confidence.”
“Although Florida’s appellate districts have recently been aligned, the boundaries of Florida’s judicial circuits have been unchanged for decades despite significant population and demographic changes during that timeframe,” Renner wrote in his June 15 letter.
Two weeks later, Chief Justice Carlos Muniz created a 14-person committee made up of judges, a public defender, a state attorney, a clerk of court and two private practice attorneys to explore the possibility.
“Without expressing any view on the merits at this time, the court agrees that the question of whether there is a need to consolidate Florida’s judicial circuits deserves thoughtful consideration and careful study,” Muñiz wrote.
Since then, through online surveys and public meetings, the legal community has resoundingly slammed the idea.
Unfair representation of crime victims, autonomy of counties, budget issues, delayed hearings due to traffic, staffing shortages and possibly a Republican takeover of the third estate of government were all subjects of the hearing Friday.
“Never have we had an issue where we were so united,” said State Attorney Jack Cambell, who represents a rural district in Jefferson County. “You’ve heard from everyone that has done this job. That’s 1,000 years of court experience.”
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw pointed to his already busy schedule, which has him calling on the state attorney in the middle of the night.
“The state attorney here is understaffed and overwhelmed,” Bradshaw said. “I’m having to wait in line to get things done … This is just not a good idea.”
“Quite frankly, consolidating the districts will destabilize and dehumanize a system accused of this in the past,” said state attorney R.J. Larizza, of rural St. Johns County. “This looks like a solution looking for a problem."
Public defender Diamond Litty of Fort Pierce was equally as blunt: “It’s intellectually dishonest to say the system is broken.”
County attorney Bob Shillinger invited the panel to make the trip down to Key West and meet with his constituents.
“Just drive down Highway 1 and hold a hearing for Monroe County,” Shillinger said, referencing the nearly four-hour drive from Miami to the county seat. “Face the litigants, judges and lawyers who have the experience.”
In fact, Keys residents made up a majority of the responses to an online survey commissioned by the judicial committee. Driving up the two-lane highway to Miami for hearings, jury duty or other legal matters would require “a hotel stay in between,” Shillinger said.
Spiking the dialogue's heat, some Democratic state representatives and state attorneys have suggested the proposal is an attempt to establish a Republican takeover of the judicial system.
Governor Ron DeSantis has sacked two state attorneys in two of Florida’s largest Democratic counties — Hillsborough and Orange, which represent Tampa and Orlando, respectively — over claims they did not effectively enforce laws in their county.
“Unfortunately, I think it is a partisan reason this speaker wrote this letter,” said state Representative Anna Eskamani. “I would say judicial consolidation would make it very hard for the voters to select a candidate of their choice, which is the fundamental purpose of gerrymandering – to make it harder for a group of voters to select someone of their choice. … Essentially the power of their vote is watered down by combining with other circuits.”
“Not only is this undemocratic and problematic,” she continued. “But it really erodes public trust. Not just the legislature but the judiciary.”
The committee will privately deliberate over the comments and send a recommendation to the Florida Supreme Court by December 1. After that, the state’s high court will weigh in, and send its own findings to the Florida Legislature next year.
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