Page 110 - Akerman | 2016 Guide to Doing Business in Florida

is: “Shall Justice [X] be retained in office?” If a majority of the votes
cast are not in favor of retaining the incumbent Justice, Florida’s
Governor appoints another person to fill the vacancy. The Governor
chooses the next Justice from a list of between three and six
qualified persons recommended by the Judicial Nominating
Commission.

By a majority vote of the Justices, one of the Justices is elected to
serve as Chief Justice, an office that is rotated every two years. The
Chief Justice presides at all proceedings of the Court. If the Chief
Justice is absent from Court, the most senior Justice present
becomes acting Chief Justice. By longstanding tradition, the most
senior Justice who has not yet served as Chief Justice is elected to
the top post in every even-numbered year.

As chief administrative officer of the judicial branch of government,
the Chief Justice assigns Justices and judges, including retired
Justices and judges who consent and are approved by the Court to
serve, to duty in courts that require temporary assistance. The Chief
Justice also supervises the compilation and presentation of the
judicial budget to the Legislature.

(ii) Jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of the Florida Supreme Court is set out
in the Florida Constitution with some degree of flexibility through
which the Legislature may add or take away certain categories of
cases. The Florida Supreme Court must review final orders imposing
death sentences, district court decisions declaring a State statute or
provision of the Florida Constitution invalid, bond validations, and
certain orders of the Public Service Commission on utility rates and
services.

In addition to these forms of mandatory review authority, the Florida
Supreme Court at its discretion may review any decision of a district
court of appeal that expressly declares valid a state statute,
construes a provision of the state or federal constitution, affects a
class of constitutional or state officers, or directly conflicts with a
decision of another district court or of the Florida Supreme Court on
the same question of law. A party must request that the Florida
Supreme Court accept such a case, which request the Court may
grant or reject. The grant of such a request is the most common way
for a civil litigant to obtain review by the Florida Supreme Court,
although this aspect of its jurisdiction is not often exercised by the
Court.

The Florida Supreme Court may review any decision of a district
court of appeal that passes on a question certified by that court to be
a question of great public importance, or a question certified by a
district court of appeal as being in direct conflict with a decision of
another district court of appeal.

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