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Florida District Courts of Appeal

From Ballotpedia

The Florida First District Court of Appeal

Jurisdiction of the Florida District Courts of Appeal

TheFlorida District Courts of Appeal (DCAs) are theintermediate appellate courts inFlorida. There are sixdistricts, each encompassing multiplecounties. The courts were established in 1957. This marked the first intermediate appellate courts in the state. Prior to their creation, theFlorida Supreme Court received all of the appeals from the state trial courts, and the docket was becoming congested.^[1]

There were 71 DCA judges in Florida as of January 2023, up from 64 in 2015. In 1972, there were only 20 (five judges each in districts 1 through 4, while the 5th and 6th districts did not yet exist). When the 5th district was created in 1979, the total number of DCA judges had become 39. The number climbed over the years; there were 46 judges in 1982 and 57 in 1989. From 1999 to 2007, the total was 62. The number of judges in the 3rd district was reduced from 11 to 10 in 2007, bringing the number back to 61.^[1]^[2]^[3] The creation of the 6th district in 2023 added nine judges.^[4]

Cases in the DCA are heard by three-judge panels. Each district court has a chief judge, who is selected by the body of judges. In general, the decisions made in the DCA are viewed as final judgments. Further appeals can be made to theFlorida Supreme Court, but the state's highest court is not required to accept a case.^[1]

Districts

Six districts make up the District Courts of Appeal.

District	Number of judges	Location	Jurisdiction
First District Court of Appeal	13	Tallahassee	Circuits1,2,3,8, and14
Second District Court of Appeal	15	Lakeland with a branch in Tampa	Circuits6,12, and13
Third District Court of Appeal	10	Miami	Circuits11 and16
Fourth District Court of Appeal	12	West Palm Beach	Circuits15,17, and19
Fifth District Court of Appeal	12	Daytona Beach	Circuits4,5,7, and18
Sixth District Court of Appeal	9	Lakeland	Circuits9,10, and20

Cases

The DCAs take appeals from the lower courts. They also hear administrative law appeals from the executive branch's governmental actions and review decisions from county courts that have overruled the Florida Constitution or state statutes.^[1]^[5]

Number of DCA filings in each case category for fiscal year 2012-2013:

Administrative: 1,084
Civil: 6,102
Criminal: 9,342
Criminal Post Conviction: 5,305
Family: 1,382
Juvenile: 1,185
Probate/Guardianship: 230
Workers’ Compensation: 231^[5]

Judicial selection

See also:Judicial selection in Florida

The justices of theFlorida District Courts of Appeal are selected by a nine-memberjudicial nominating commission.^[6] The commission screens potential judicial candidates, submitting a list of three to six nominees to the governor. The governor must appoint a judge from this list.^[7]

Newly appointed judges serve for at least one year, after which they appear in a yes-noretention election held during the next general election. If retained, judges serve six-year terms.^[7] Under the Florida constitution, a judge must retire at age 75; however, a judge who reaches 75 after serving at least half of his or her term may complete that term.^[8]

Qualifications

To serve on one of these courts, a judge must be:

a qualified elector;
a resident in the jurisdiction of the court;
admitted to practice law in the state for 10 years before assuming the bench; and
under the age of 75.

Chief justice

Thechief justice of the appellate courts is selected by peer vote. He or she serves in that capacity for two years.^[7]

Vacancies

See also:How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

If a midterm vacancy occurs, the seat is filled as it normally would be if the vacancy occurred at the end of a judge's term. A judicial nominating commission recommends three to six qualified candidates to the governor, and the governor selects a successor from that list. The new appointee serves for at least one year before running in a yes-noretention election. If retained, judges serve six-year terms.^[7]

Salary

See also:Florida court salaries and budgets

In 2025, the associate judges of the court received a salary of $223,318, according to the National Center for State Courts.^[9]

Elections

To see results from district court of appeal elections, visit theindividual district pages. For details about Florida's judicial elections,click here.

Ethics

TheCode of Judicial Conduct for the State of Florida sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates inFlorida. It consists of seven canons:

Canon 1: "A Judge Shall Uphold the Integrity and Independence of the Judiciary"
Canon 2: "A Judge Shall Avoid Impropriety and the Appearance of Impropriety in all of the Judge's Activities"
Canon 3: "A Judge Shall Perform the Duties of Judicial Office Impartially and Diligently"
Canon 4: "A Judge Is Encouraged to Engage in Activities to Improve the Law, the Legal System, and the Administration of Justice"
Canon 5: "A Judge Shall Regulate Extrajudicial Activities to Minimize the Risk of Conflict With Judicial Duties"
Canon 6: "Fiscal Matters of a Judge Shall be Conducted in a Manner That Does Not Give the Appearance of Influence or Impropriety; etc."
Canon 7: "A Judge or Candidate for Judicial Office Shall Refrain From Inappropriate Political Activity"^[10]

The full text of theCode of Judicial Conduct for the State of Florida can be foundhere.

Removal of judges

Judges inFlorida may be removed in one of two ways:

By a two-thirds vote of the senate after a two-thirds vote for impeachment by the house of representatives
By the supreme court after a recommendation from theFlorida Judicial Qualifications Commission^[11]

Jurisdiction

Each county in Florida falls within the jurisdiction of one of the six district courts of appeal.

State profile

Demographic data for Florida
	Florida	U.S.
Total population:	20,244,914	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	53,625	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	76%	73.6%
Black/African American:	16.1%	12.6%
Asian:	2.6%	5.1%
Native American:	0.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.4%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	23.7%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	86.9%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	27.3%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$47,507	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	19.8%	11.3%
Source:U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Clickhere for more information on the 2020 census andhere for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Florida. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the censushere.

Presidential voting pattern

See also:Presidential voting trends in Florida

Floridavoted Republican in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted forDonald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting forBarack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won thesePivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, four are located in Florida, accounting for 1.94 percent of the total pivot counties.^[12]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won asRetained Pivot Counties and those won byJoe Biden (D) asBoomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Florida had three Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 1.66 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respsectively.

More Florida coverage on Ballotpedia

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