The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven justices—one of whom serves as Chief Justice. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geographic diversity, and one is selected at large.
The justices are appointed by the governor to set terms, which do not exceed six years. Immediately after appointment, the initial term is three years or less because the justices must appear on the ballot in the next general election that occurs more than one year after their appointment. Afterward, they serve six-year terms and remain in office if retained in the general election near the end of each term. Citizens vote on whether or not they want to retain each justice in office.
Chief justices are elected by the members of the Court to two-year terms that end in every even-numbered year. Chief justices may succeed themselves in office if they are re-elected by the other justices. The chief justice also can appoint judges to temporary duty on the Court if at least one of the justices is unable to hear a case for any reason. The temporary justices are called "associate justices" and are usually chosen on a rotating basis from presiding judges of Florida's district courts of appeal. They usually sit only for a single case. Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, the term "associate justice" is never used to describe the sitting Florida justices.
The Court is the final arbiter of state law of Florida, and its decisions are binding authority for all other Florida state courts, as well as for federal courts when they apply Florida law. In most instances, the only appeal from the Florida Supreme Court is to the U.S. Supreme Court on questions of federal law.
Established upon statehood in 1845, the Florida Supreme Court is headquartered across Duval Street from the state capitol in Tallahassee. Throughout the court's history, it has undergone many reorganizations as Florida's population has grown.
As of October 2020, each justice of the Florida Supreme Court receives a salary of $227,218.
History
After Florida's entrance into the union in 1845, and the ratification of the state's first Constitution, the Supreme Court of the State of Florida was born. It is the successor to the Florida Territorial Court of Appeals and the court system that existed under Spain prior to the acquisition of Florida through the Adams-Onis Treaty. Though the constitution created a Supreme Court, it vested it with no judges and little power. Florida Circuit court judges served in the capacity of Supreme Court justices until 1851 when an 1848 constitutional amendment took effect granting the state legislature power to choose three justices. In 1853, another constitutional amendment was adopted that provided for the popular election of justices to serve six-year terms.
Following the Civil War and the adoption of the 1868 Constitution, justices were appointed by the governor and confirmed by the State Senate. In 1885, the state returned to elected justices. In 1940, the court's membership was finally increased to its current size of seven members, and a 1926 constitutional amendment provided that the chief justice should be elected by the justices of the Court. A two-year term for the chief justice was established by the Rules of Court adopted by the Supreme Court, with each term beginning on July 1 of even-numbered years and ending on June 30 in the next even-numbered year.
In the early 1970s, more than half the justices resigned over various corruption probes.
In 1975, Florida Supreme Court justice David L. McCain tampered with a lower court decision on behalf of campaign supporters. Faced with impeachment proceedings, he resigned.
In 1976, the state returned to appointed justices when the current merit retention system was put in place.
In 2004, the court had a backlog of 1,544 cases. In 2011, there was a backlog of 881 cases.
Powers
Jurisdiction
The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Florida is laid out in Article V of the Florida Constitution. The Court follows the common law and since its first case, Stewart v. Preston (1846), has published its opinions, first in official law reports called the Florida Reports and more recently in the Southern Series edited by West Publishing.