Florida Supreme Court Decides Against Recommending Consolidation of Judicial Circuits

Florida circuit court boundaries have been the same since 1969, and that won’t be changing any time soon. Today, the Florida Supreme Court issued its decision declining to recommend that the Legislature consolidate Florida’s judicial circuits. The ruling found that there was no “compelling need” for change, and that the judicial process in Florida would not be “improved significantly” by consolidation.

Here’s a brief history of the ruling. Following on the footsteps of the 2022 reorganization of Florida’s appellate court system, Florida lawmakers began pushing to consolidate the circuit courts, arguing it would increase efficiency and public trust in the judicial system. In June 2023, House Speaker Paul Renner sent a letter to the Florida Supreme Court expressing the belief that “the consolidation of circuits might lead to greater efficiencies and uniformity in the judicial process, thereby increasing public trust and confidence.” Later that month, the Florida Supreme Court created a committee to consider the issue.

Between June and November the 14-member committee—composed of judges, clerks, and attorneys—met nine times, conducted public hearings and surveys, and evaluated reports. The committee then unanimously recommended that Florida not consolidate its circuit courts. The committee prepared a report and sent it to the Florida Supreme Court on December 1.

Here is the supreme court’s own summary of the committee’s work:

Informed by the work of a subcommittee that studied the potential fiscal impact of consolidation, the full committee concluded that consolidation was unlikely to save money in the trial court system. In addition, extensive public input led the committee to conclude that consolidation would not enhance public trust and confidence in the judicial process.

Based on these findings, the Florida Supreme Court today issued an order stating:

Based on the committee’s findings and recommendations and on our own independent judgment, we do not find that there is a need to consolidate Florida’s judicial circuits.

It looks like Florida’s circuit court outlines will remain unchanged, at least for the foreseeable future. The supreme court’s order can be found here.