Judicial Certification of Need
The supreme court has used a weighted caseload system to evaluate the need for new trial court judgeships since 1999, and for DCA judges since 2006. The weighted caseload system analyzes Florida’s caseload statistics according to complexity. Cases that are complex, such as capital murder cases, receive a higher weight, while cases that are less complex, such as civil traffic cases, receive a lower weight. These weights are then applied to case filing statistics to determine the need for additional judgeships.
In a November 2019 opinion, the supreme court certified the need for four additional circuit judges and six additional county court judges in FY 2020- 21. In the 2020 legislative session, lawmakers funded all 10 new judgeships. Due to concern about a potential loss in state revenues resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, the governor vetoed the funding. Nonetheless, recognizing the Florida Supreme Court’s certification of need, he signed the statutory language in the event funding became available. The additional judgeships were subsequently funded and are reflected in the tables below.
Judicial Certification Table: County Courts
Session Year | '12 | '13 | '14 | '15 | '16 | '17 | '18 | '19 | '20 | '21 | '22 |
Requested | 49 | 49 | 42 | 36 | 26 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 4 |
Net Certified* | 48 | 47 | 39 | 32 | 23 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
Authorized | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 1 |
Percent Authorized (of Those Certified) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 100 | 200 | 100 |
TOTAL | 322 | 322 | 322 | 322 | 322 | 322 | 322 | 324 | 330 | 334 | 335 |
Judicial Certification Table: Circuit Courts
Session Year | '12 | '13 | '14 | '15 | '16 | '17 | '18 | '19 | '20 | '21 | '22 |
Requested | 31 | 27 | 24 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 10 |
Net Certified* | 23 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
Authorized | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
Percent Authorized (of Those Certified) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 100 | 100 | N/A |
TOTAL | 599 | 599 | 599 | 599 | 599 | 599 | 599 | 601 | 605 | 606 | 606 |
Judicial Certification Table: District Courts of Appeal
Session Year | '12 | '13 | '14 | '15 | '16 | '17 | '18 | '19 | '20 | '21 | '22 |
Requested | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Net Certified* | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Authorized | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Percent Authorized (of Those Certified) | 0 | 0 | 100 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 100 |
TOTAL | 61 | 61 | 64 | 64 | 64 | 64 | 64 | 64 | 64 | 64 | 71 |