The Judicial Circuit Assessment Committee is approaching the deadline to submit its report to the state Supreme Court with its determination whether any of the state’s judicial circuits should be considered for consolidation.
Chief Justice Carlos Muniz formed the committee in June. It began meeting in July.
Comprising appellate and circuit court judges, a public defender, a state attorney and two lawyers, the 14 committee members include 4th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Melissa Nelson and Jacksonville attorney W. Braxton Gillam IV, a member of The Florida Bar board of governors and a past president of the Jacksonville Bar Association.
The committee conducted two public hearings, Aug. 25 in Orlando and Oct. 13 in Tampa, seeking input from the legal community and the public.
A statewide survey yielded more than 5,000 responses from members of the legal community and more than 2,000 responses from the public.
To date, the comments and evidence against consolidating circuits outweighs the comments and evidence in support of consolidation.
Locally, the Jacksonville Bar Association conducted a seminar focused on the proposed consolidation Oct. 3 at the Duval County Courthouse.
Moderated by JBA President Blane McCarthy, committee members Gillam and Nelson provided information about the proposal and the review process and heard comments from JBA members.
They submitted a report that was placed into the committee’s record as part of its Oct. 13 agenda.
Gillam said the committee’s work is a chance to examine the state’s access to justice and whether it is being provided equally.
Fourth Circuit Public Defender Charlie Cofer said a great strength of the current circuit court system is that it is adaptable and responsive to the needs of individual counties.
It was asked whether the committee had heard any points in favor of consolidation. Gillam said that no one spoke in favor of consolidation at the first public meeting and further that about one quarter of the speakers at that meeting were elected officials.
Nelson said she has been impressed with the committee’s earnestness and hopes that the committee’s work product will give the public confidence in the committee’s conclusions.
The Florida Bar also weighed in, submitting a 15-page letter to the committee that also was included in the Oct. 13 agenda.
The letter, from President F. Scott Westheimer and Executive Director Josh Doyle, concludes that there are better options than circuit consolidation that could improve efficiency of the system and provide greater access to justice for the public, including:
The committee is scheduled to meet Nov. 3 in executive session to finalize its findings and recommendations. The draft report is scheduled to be reviewed Nov. 17, approved Nov. 29 and submitted to the state Supreme Court by Dec. 1. Visit tinyurl.com/mr2n9bjb to view committee materials and to register for upcoming meetings.