The Florida Third District Court of Appeal is headquartered in Miami, Florida. Its ten judges have jurisdiction over cases arising from Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties.
The Third District Court of Appeal (DCA) was one of the first three DCAs created by the Florida legislature in 1957. Court was first held in a room of the University of Miami School of Law. Then, from 1960 to 1976, court sessions took place at the State Office Building. It wasn't until 1976 that the court finally had its own facility to conduct its business. This courthouse was dedicated by Governor Reubin Askew in the fall of 1976. In 1990 an addition was added to keep pace with the court's continued growth. The courthouse has won the recognition of the American Institute of Architects (South Florida Chapter) and in 1981 Governor Bob Graham gave the court the Governor's Design Award.
The court's original three judges (Charles A. Carroll, Mallory H. Horton and Tillman Pearson) have increased to ten as of 2010.
Judges who have served as Chief Judge of the Third DCA include: [1]
Judges serving on the Third DCA as of July 1, 2017 include: [2]
Name | Tenure | Appointing Governor |
---|---|---|
Kevin Emas - Chief Judge | 2010– | Charlie Crist |
Vance E. Salter | 2007– | Charlie Crist |
Ivan F. Fernandez | 2011– | Rick Scott |
Thomas Logue | 2012– | Rick Scott |
Edwin A. Scales, III | 2013– | Rick Scott |
Norma S. Lindsey | 2017– | Rick Scott |
Bronwyn C. Miller | 2018– | Rick Scott |
Eric Wm. Hendon | 2018– | Rick Scott |
Monica Gordo | 2019– | Ron DeSantis |
Fleur J. Lobree | 2019– | Ron DeSantis |
Judges who have served on the Third DCA include:
Name | Tenure | Comments |
---|---|---|
Charles A. Carroll | (1957–1974) | |
Mallory H. Horton | (1957–1965) | |
Tillman Pearson | (1957–1980) | |
Thomas H. Barkdull, Jr. | (1961–1996) | |
Norman Hendry | (1961–1988) | |
Richard H.M. Swann | (1965–1972) | |
Robert M. Haverfield | (1972–1980) | |
Raymond G. Nathan | (1974–1978) | |
Phillip A. Hubbart | (1977–1996 ) | |
James W. Kehoe | (1977–1979) | |
Alan R. Schwartz | (1978–2004) | |
Joseph Nesbitt | (1979–1999) | |
Natalie Baskin | (1980–1996) | |
Daniel S. Pearson | (1980–1989) | |
Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. | (1980–1993) | |
James R. Jorgenson | (1981–2003) | |
David L. Levy | (1989–2006) | |
Mario P. Goderich | (1990–2005) | |
Melvia B. Green | (1994–2008) | |
John G. Fletcher | (1996–2007) | |
Robert L. Shevin | (1996–2005) | |
Rodolfo Sorondo, Jr. | (1997–2002) | |
Gerald B. Cope, Jr. | (1988–2010) | |
David M. Gersten | (1989–2011) | |
Linda Ann Wells | (2003–2017) | |
Frank A. Shepherd | (2003–2017) | |
Leslie B. Rothenberg | (2005–2018) | |
Richard Suarez | (2005–2018) | |
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida is the federal United States district court with territorial jurisdiction over the southern part of the state of Florida.
The district courts of appeal (DCAs) are the intermediate appellate courts of the Florida state court system. There are currently six DCAs:
The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven justices—one of whom serves as Chief Justice. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geographic diversity, and one is selected at large.
Kenneth Lee Ryskamp was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Jane Richards Roth is an American attorney and jurist serving as a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She was previously a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
The Florida First District Court of Appeal, also known as the First DCA, is headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida, the state capital. It is unique among the six Florida District Courts of Appeal in that, much like the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at the federal level, it handles most of the appeals in state administrative law matters. It is also solely responsible for handling appeals in workers' compensation cases. It is the Court of Appeals for 29 Florida counties, covering the Panhandle as well as the north-central parts of the state. The First DCA includes the following: First Circuit ; Second Circuit ; Third Circuit ; Eighth Circuit ; and Fourteenth Circuit.
The Florida Second District Court of Appeal is headquartered in Tampa, Florida on the campus of Stetson University College of Law. It will move to St. Petersburg when the new Pinellas courthouse is complete.
The Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Florida since January 6, 2015, as a result of a ruling in Brenner v. Scott from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. The court ruled the state's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional on August 21, 2014. The order was stayed temporarily. State attempts at extending the stay failed, with the U.S. Supreme Court denying further extension on December 19, 2014. In addition, a state court ruling in Pareto v. Ruvin allowed same-sex couples to obtain marriage licenses in Miami-Dade County on the afternoon of January 5, 2015. In another state case challenging the state's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples, a Monroe County court in Huntsman v. Heavilin stayed enforcement of its decision pending appeal and the stay expired on January 6, 2015. Florida was the 35th U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage.
Wilkie Demeritte Ferguson Jr. was an American lawyer and judge. He served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, as well as serving on the Florida Third District Court of Appeal and the 11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida.
Joseph Woodrow Hatchett was an American lawyer and judge. He worked in private practice, was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Eleventh Circuit, and served on the Florida Supreme Court.
Isle of Normandy or Normandy Island or Normandy Isles or Normandy Isle is a neighborhood of North Beach in the city of Miami Beach, Florida. It is located along the eastern shore of Biscayne Bay.
Adalberto Jose Jordan is an American lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law, his alma mater, and at Florida International University's College of Law. In February 2016, The New York Times identified Jordan as a potential Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia. In early March, Jordan removed himself from consideration.
The David W. Dyer Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, formerly known simply as the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, is an historic United States Post Office and federal courthouse of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida located at 300 Northeast 1st Avenue in Miami, Florida. Built in 1931 of limestone, it is the largest such structure in South Florida.
Scott Douglas Makar is an American lawyer, college professor and Judge on Florida's Fifth District Court of Appeal, recommissioned from the First District Court of Appeal on January 1, 2023 by Governor Ron DeSantis. Previously he was the Florida Solicitor General serving from 2007 until 2012 and in that position, argued five cases before the United States Supreme Court.
Barbara Lagoa is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Prior to becoming a federal judge, she was the first Latina and Cuban American woman appointed to serve as a justice of the Supreme Court of Florida.
Mary Riley Flores is a Florida attorney in private practice and a former Democratic candidate for Florida's 25th congressional district in the 2018 election. From 2003 to 2011, she served as a judge on Florida's Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court. President Barack Obama nominated her to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in 2015, but her nomination expired without being voted on by the United States Senate.
Carlos Genaro Muñiz is the chief justice on the Florida Supreme Court. He was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis on January 22, 2019. Previously, he was general Counsel of the United States Department of Education.
Robert Joshua Luck is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He was a justice of the Florida Supreme Court in 2019. A Miami native, he previously served as an assistant United States attorney and as a judge on the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida and then the Florida Third District Court of Appeal.