WEST PALM BEACH (FLORIDA)

01 Jul WEST PALM BEACH (FLORIDA)

THE STRUCTURE OF LOCAL AND FEDERAL COURTS IN FLORIDA (WEST PALM BEACH DISTRICT)

 

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INTRODUCTION

Local courts are courts that have jurisdiction within a certain defined territory such as a state for example Florida. The federal system in Florida is divided into three sections with the Supreme Court at the top, followed by the district courts of appeal and then the trial courts that is, the county and circuit courts. Each of these courts have jurisdiction to handle different matters and with the highest jurisdiction with the supreme courts.

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STRUCTURE OF LOCAL AND FEDERAL COURTS COVERING FLORIDA (WEST PALM BEACH)

FLORIDA SUPREME COURTS

According to (Florida States Court, 2011) the Florida Supreme Court is the head of the court system in Florida and is headed by seven justices headquartered in Tallahassee. It requires at least five justices for a hearing to have quorum. The Supreme Court handles constitutional matters affecting Florida, issues regarding public utilities, capital offenses and all cases appealed from the district appeals courts, county courts and circuit courts.

It has constitutional jurisdiction to hear appeal cases from cases already passed though the district court of appeal and state courts (the circuit and county courts). The Supreme Court also have jurisdiction to hear cases on constitutional issues, arbitrate on capital cases, validation of bonds and cases regarding public utilities, as put in (Florida States Court, 2011).

 

FLORIDA DISTRICT COURTS OF APPEAL (DCA)

According to (Florida States Court, 2011) before the district appeal courts were put in place in Florida all the appeals from the heard at the Supreme Court level. The constitution requires that each state be divided into appellate courts districts. Each appellate district is headed by a DCA (district court of appeal) judge and there are sixty one judges in Florida.  There are five district courts of appeal in each of the five districts. They have their headquarters in Tallahassee (first district court) Daytona Beach (fifth district court), West Palm Beach (fourth district court), Miami (third district court) and Lake Wood (second district court).  The District appeal courts handle matters that the county and circuit courts have no jurisdiction to handle.

The district courts of appeal have jurisdiction that mandates the DCA judges power review final appeals by agents of the state from the trial courts that is, the county and circuit courts from accused parties who were not satisfied with the ruling from the trial courts that is the county and circuit courts. They also have jurisdiction on all cases that cannot be appealed at the Supreme Court as put in (Florida States Court, 2011).

The district appeal courts also have also been mandated with the constitutional power to issue writs they would require in exercising their jurisdiction such as prohibitions quo warranto, habeas corpus, mandamus, certiorari and all other necessary writs they require to exercise their jurisdictional duties according to (Florida States Court, 2011).

FLORIDAS TRIAL COURTS

Florida County Courts

As put in (Florida States Court, 2011).They are also known as the court of the people because most of there hearings are mostly to resolve disputes between citizen such as traffic offences and small claim cases. The constitution provides each of the sixty seven counties that each should have a county court headed by a county court judge. There two hundred and fifty eight judges in total.  The county courts handle first hearings for cases of accused felonies, and for misdemeanors appeals that is cases with a jail term not exceeding one year. They also handle small claim cases in small claim courts.

The county court has trial jurisdiction established by statute. They hear misdemeanor cases, civil dispute cases that do not exceed fifteen thousand dollars and small claim claims not exceeding five thousand dollars as put in (GPO Access, 2008).

Floridas Circuit Courts

These courts are also known as courts of general jurisdiction because most cases that are criminal and civil mostly originate at this level. There are twenty judicial circuits with four hundred and forty eight judges in total. Cases require a panel of three judges to be heard. They are courts of the lowest appellate because cases from the county courts can be appealed at this level. They are also the highest trial courts.

Legislation provides that each judicial circuit contain a circuit headed mostly by one judge depending on the population of the judicial circuit. In Florida there are twenty such circuits and West Palm Beach (state of Florida) belongs to the fifteenth circuit.

The circuits have jurisdiction to hear trials over matters that the county courts have no jurisdiction over and also have mandate to hear appeals from county courts. They also have jurisdiction to hear cases on boundary disputes on property, felonies, family matters, cases on juvenile delinquencies, guardianship, mental health and civil cases exceeding fifteen thousand dollars as put in (GPO Access, 2008).

They also have jurisdictional power to issue extraordinary writs that will necessitate them carry out their jurisdictional duties effectively for example they can issue habeas corpus, quo warranto, prohibition, mandamus and other writs necessary.

In case where are renting an apartment and your land lord claims to have given you notice terminating your lease contract and is pursuing eviction charges against you and the amount in dispute being two thousand dollars and security deposit.

The case above will be heard in the county courts under small claim courts which has jurisdiction to resolve disputes of claims not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars. This court handles disputes between land lords and tenants such as evictions if the matter is not covered by the tenancy act.

In a case where the federal court has brought a case against traffickers accused of bringing women from Europe into the different states with large states to operate in prostitution rings and the traffickers communicate with each other over the phone.

The case above will be heard at the state level because the women are from Europe and the traffickers operate in different states.  Each of the states having territorial jurisdiction and since the offences were committed in different states no single state can claim jurisdictional right over the other as put in (Gil, 2010).

EFFECTIVENESS OF THE DUAL COURT SYSTEM

According to (Leigh 2011) the dual court system allows state courts to handle state matters and federal courts to handle matters that arise at the federal level and hence no interference from the federal courts into state matters. This allows the states the freedom to administrate the states without external interference.

CONCLUSION

The structure of the court system is pyramidal with the supreme courts at the top and the district in the middle and trial court at the bottom. This gives the courts a sense of order because the courts at the bottom handle minor cases giving the other two levels room and adequate that is beyond the statute the trail courts. The work of the lower courts is voluminous and if it was to be handled at higher level it would be very tedious and slow to the court system in general.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Florida State Courts. (2011). Supreme Courts, District Courts, County Courts, circuit Courts As Retrieved on 29th April 2011 from www.flcourts .org.

Gil. S. (2010). Article I, Article III and the limits of Enumeration.

GPO Access. (2008). Judicial Department Articles III. As Retrieved on 29^th April 2011 From www.gpoaccess.gov.

Leigh.T.R, (2011). The Structural State Guards of Federal Jurisdiction.