The Governor fills a judicial vacancy on a district court by appointment from a list of three qualified persons recommended by the Judicial Nominating Commission. There is a nominating commission for each appellate court district. To be eligible for appointment, a person must be a registered voter who resides in Florida and has been admitted to the practice of law in Florida for the preceding 10 years.
An appellate judge serves for six years and must be retained by vote of the registered voters in the district to serve another six-year term. This vote is called a merit retention vote since appellate judges run on their records and are not opposed by any other candidate.
Fund | Dollars | Positions | |
---|---|---|---|
PROGRAM: DISTRICT COURTS OF APPEAL | |||
COURT OPERATIONS - APPELLATE COURTS |
53,491,513
|
445.00 |
|
TOTAL |
53,491,513 |
445.00 |
District Court of Appeal judges may work from other locations. Florida law was amended in 2020 by Chapter 2020-61, Laws of Florida, which allows district court of appeal judges who live more than 50 miles from their DCA courthouse to have alternative headquarters. This allows the judges to be reimbursed for travel between their alternative headquarters and the DCA courthouse.
Florida's Judicial Boundaries and Workload, Report 19-06, August 2019 |
A Review of the Florida District Courts of Appeal Boundaries and Workload, Report 17-05, February 2017 |
Office of the State Courts Administrator, Supreme Court of Florida, 850-922-5081