House inches closer to approving sixth appellate court

Florida's 1st District Court of Appeal

Florida could soon gain a sixth appellate court district under budget bills being considered by the Senate and House. If approved, it would mark the first time a new appellate court was added in the state since 1979.

House members discussed HB 7027 Tuesday, part of a slate of budget bills which would create the 6th District Court of Appeal in the Tampa area, and rearrange the district courts that make up the appellate courts in Jacksonville, Orlando and Southwest Florida.

The bill sponsor, Republican Rep. Tommy Gregory of Sarasota, said the change would make the court system more efficient and therefore generate more confidence and trust in the system. He noted there were 10,000 cases per year in 1979 when the last new DCA was added, compared to 20,000 today.

“It really boils down to this: When cases take too long to process it doesn’t matter if you’re on the defendant side or the plaintiff side … it can feel unfair,” Gregory said. “When we have this additional appellate court we’re going to be able to push these cases a little bit faster.”

A report commissioned by the Florida Supreme Court recommended the creation of a new court that would place some counties in Central Florida in new districts. All but one justice approved the report and certified the need for a new court, but Justice Ricky Polston said there was no need for a new DCA and said in his dissent adding a new one would be “very expensive.”

Nassau and Duval counties that are in the 1st DCA, which stretches across the Panhandle, would join Alachua, Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Marion, Seminole and Volusia counties in the 5th DCA under the plan. The new 6th DCA would be made up of six counties in the Tampa region — DeSoto, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota. The plan also creates a new county court judgeship in Lake.

The Senate version of the bill is SB 2522 and would set aside $4 million and 24 new positions for the new court, plus $50 million for a new courthouse. The House, though, only has $4.3 million and 28 new positions while leaving an “indeterminate fiscal impact” for a new courtroom.

A vote is expected on HB 7027 Wednesday, and the Senate is also scheduled to take up its version Wednesday. That would set up talks between the chambers over the issue during budget negotiations.