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.
Charles Terrance Canady is an American attorney and judge serving on the Supreme Court of Florida since 2008. He previously served as Chief Justice from 2010 to 2012 and from 2018 to 2022.
Ricky L. Polston is an American lawyer who served as a justice of the Florida Supreme Court from 2008 to 2023. He served as the chief justice of the court from July 2012 to June 2014. He is a graduate of Florida State University College of Law.
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.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of 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.
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.
Wendy Leigh Williams Berger is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. She previously served as a Florida state District Judge of the Fifth District Court of Appeal.
Florida Amendment 4,also the Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative,is an amendment to the constitution of the U.S. state of Florida passed by ballot initiative on November 6,2018,as part of the 2018 Florida elections. The proposition restored the voting rights of Floridians with felony convictions after they complete all terms of their sentence including parole or probation. The amendment does not apply to Floridians convicted of murder or sexual offenses.
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.
Laurel Frances Lee is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representatives for Florida's 15th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party,she was a judge on Florida's Thirteenth Judicial Circuit from 2013 to 2019 and was the 30th Secretary of State of Florida from 2019 to 2022.
John Daniel Couriel is a justice of the Supreme Court of Florida.
Renatha Sian Francis is an American lawyer who has served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Florida since 2022. She previously served as a circuit judge in Palm Beach County from 2019 to 2022.
Jamie Rutland Grosshans is a justice of the Supreme Court of Florida.
Andrew Howard Warren is an American prosecutor and politician who has been the state attorney for Florida's 13th Judicial Circuit,Hillsborough County since 2017. In August 2022,Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suspended Warren. On June 22,2023,the Florida State Supreme Court dismissed a suit filed by Warren challenging his dismissal. In Warren's federal lawsuit,the case remains pending at the district court level after a U.S. Court of Appeals remanded the case in early 2024. Warren was previously a federal prosecutor in the fraud division at the United States Department of Justice.
Disney v. DeSantis was a lawsuit brought against Florida governor Ron DeSantis by the Parks,Experiences and Products division of The Walt Disney Company in 2023 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. The plaintiff claims that DeSantis,with Florida Department of Economic Opportunity acting secretary Meredith Ivey and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board,violated the company's First Amendment rights by using government power to exact political retaliation.
The Florida Sixth District Court of Appeal (DCA) is headquartered in Lakeland,Florida.
Ron DeSantis has served as the 46th governor of Florida since January 8,2019. A member of the Republican Party,he narrowly defeated Democratic challenger Andrew Gillum in the 2018 Florida gubernatorial election. As governor,DeSantis resisted taking many of the measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 that various other state governments implemented,such as face-mask mandates,stay-at-home orders,and vaccination requirements. During the pandemic,Florida experienced above-average economic growth. DeSantis cut state-government spending,which,combined with federal stimulus payments and high sales-tax revenue,led to the largest budget surplus in Florida history. He engaged in recovery efforts after Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole,and oversaw the passage of the controversial Parental Rights in Education Act. He was reelected in a landslide in the 2022 Florida gubernatorial election;his 19.4% margin of victory over Charlie Crist was the state's largest in 40 years. He has generally governed as a conservative.
