2023 Year in Review
By their nature, courts are always a hub of activity. The end of the year is a great time to reflect on that activity and take note of some of the important events that took place in the Florida State Courts System in 2023.
Florida’s Sixth District Court of Appeal officially began operating on January 1, 2023. This marked the first new district court in Florida in more than forty years.
Sixth District Court of Appeal rounds out its body and elects a chief judge – The Florida Bar
History of the Court - Sixth District Court of Appeal (flcourts.gov)
The new year also ushered in the final step in the multi-year process of changing jurisdictional limits in circuit and county court civil cases.
Know Your Court - Florida Courts (flcourts.gov)
Officials say the transition to higher county court civil threshold going smoothly – The Florida Bar
In March, The Florida Supreme Court and the First District Court of Appeal were the first courts to migrate to the new Appellate Case Information System known as ACIS. The new system will be used by all appellate courts by spring 2024.
Full Court Press Fall 2023 - Florida Courts (flcourts.gov)
March ended with Florida Supreme Court Justice Ricky Polston resigning from the bench. Justice Polston served on the Florida Supreme Court from 2008 until 2023 and served as chief justice from 2012 to 2014.
Full Court Press Spring 2023 - Florida Courts (flcourts.gov)
On May 23, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Justice Meredith L. Sasso as Florida’s 93rd justice.
Meredith Sasso appointed to the Florida Supreme Court – The Florida Bar
Full Court Press Fall 2023 - Florida Courts (flcourts.gov)
On June 30, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida was renamed for civil rights pioneer and former Florida Supreme Court Justice Joseph W. Hatchett.
After a quiet start to the 2023 hurricane season in Florida, August brought Hurricane Idalia which disrupted court operations for much of the state and severely impacted the communities in the Third Judicial Circuit.
Full Court Press Fall 2023 - Florida Courts (flcourts.gov)
Every week in September the Champions Summit offered opportunities to build awareness, obtain training, and take action regarding opioids, stimulants, and substance use disorder treatment and recovery through a month-long virtual conference.
Champions Summit - Florida Courts (flcourts.gov)
Full Court Press Fall 2023 - Florida Courts (flcourts.gov)
In November, Interim State Courts Administrator Eric Maclure presented the Fiscal Year 2024-25 legislative budget request (LBR) for the State Courts System to the House Judiciary Appropriations Subcommittee. The LBR will be considered by the Legislature when it convenes for its regular session in January.
Annual Legislative Budget Request - Florida Courts (flcourts.gov)
After months of work and significant public input on the question of whether to consolidate any of Florida’s judicial circuits, the Judicial Circuit Assessment Committee (JCAC) submitted its report and recommendation to the Florida Supreme Court on December 1, 2023. The final report and recommendation and the Court's opinion are both available on the committee’s webpage at www.flcourts.gov/JCAC.
Full Court Press Fall 2023 - Florida Courts (flcourts.gov)
We look forward to 2024 being another productive year in which we continue the important work of the courts to protect rights and liberties, uphold and interpret the law, and provide for the peaceful resolution of disputes.