It’s Time to Review Florida’s Antiquated Judicial Circuit Boundaries

The last time Florida changed the boundaries of its judicial circuits, Richard Nixon was president, the World Trade Center Towers had not opened to the public, and there were still several living Floridians born during the Civil War.  A lot has changed since 1969, when Florida’s current judicial circuits were created.  

Among the biggest changes over the past 54 years has been Florida’s population boom. In 1970, the state boasted a population of 6.64 million residents; as of this year, Florida’s population has surpassed 22 million.  

Despite this explosive, multi-decade growth, Florida’s 22 million residents are divided among the exact same 20 judicial circuits that the state drew back in 1969 – and their distribution across the circuits is anything but even. For example, the Second Circuit (covering Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, and Wakulla counties) serves 414,524 people; while the Ninth Circuit (Orange and Osceola counties) covers 1.8 million people; the Eleventh Circuit (Dade County) has a population of 2.8 million people; the Thirteenth Circuit (Hillsborough County) has nearly 1.5 million people; and the Sixteenth Circuit (Monroe County) has a mere 77,823 people. 

Within each circuit the number of judges also widely vary – on the high end the Eleventh Circuit has 81 judges and on the low end the Sixteenth Circuit has just four judges. The average population per judge similarly differs across the circuits – with, for example, the Twentieth Circuit (Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee Counties) sustaining 46,014 people per judge and the Sixteenth (Monroe County) with 19,456 per judge.  These disparities have real-life consequences for litigants seeking efficient and uniform access to the courts – regardless of their geography. 

Population is not all that has changed – the growth of business and changes to civil case dockets have also been in flux. From 1986 to 2021, the Second Circuit experienced a 60 percent business growth but saw only a one percent change in its circuit civil caseload. 

Meanwhile, the Ninth and Twentieth circuits experienced more than 160 percent business growth over that same 35-year period and saw an increase of between 67-68 percent growth in their civil dockets. 

The Eighth (Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, and Union counties) and Third (Columbia, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee and Taylor) circuits meanwhile saw more modest business growth, and both decreased their civil case dockets.

Workload imbalance is another issue plaguing the circuit courts; caseloads are not distributed evenly among the circuits or judges. For example, the average number of cases per judge in the Twentieth Circuit is 1,580, while the in the Sixteenth it is just 678.  

The average caseload per judge in the Ninth Circuit is 1,277 and 1,265 in the Fifth Circuit (Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion and Sumter), while the averages in the Eleventh and Second are 876 and 990, respectively. 

The unequal distribution of matters among judges and indeed among the circuits themselves – compare 54,895 total cases in the Ninth and 62,242 in the Seventeenth (Broward County) with 2,711 in the Sixteenth and 7,593 in the Third – further raises concerns about court efficiencies and whether Floridians can actually receive equal access to justice under the current regime, when some circuits are clearly more overburdened than others.   

The dated circuit court boundary lines also have implications for state attorney budgets, which also suffer disparities across the circuits. For example, in the last fiscal year, on the low end, the Tenth Circuit (Hardee, Highlands, and Polk) received appropriations sufficient to spend $646.79 per criminal matter, while on the high end, the Eleventh Circuit received enough funding for $3,641 per criminal matter. 

The per-citizen budget breakdowns for each circuit yields similar disparities, with, for example, the Ninth Circuit’s budget allocation being sufficient to spend some $17.24 per citizen and the Sixteenth Circuit’s budget allocation capable of spending some $65.81 per citizen. 

Ensuring that Florida’s court system effectively, efficiently, and uniformly serves the people is not only a constitutional requirement – all Floridians are entitled to “access to courts” – but a hallmark of good governance.  

Florida recently reexamined the boundaries of its appellate districts and added a new district court of appeals. The “primary rationale” for pursuing this realignment was that the “creation of an additional [district court of appeals] would promote public trust and confidence,” a justification that that is specifically required under the rules governing judicial administration in the state. Notably, this was the first time since 1979 that the State had created a new appellate district. 

Against this backdrop, Speaker of the House Paul Renner recently called on the Supreme Court to analyze whether the consolidation of circuits might increase efficiency and uniformity and lead to cost savings.

Chief Justice Carlos Muniz responded to Renner’s call by appointing an assessment committee to study the issue. That review is currently underway. Investigating whether a consolidation of the circuit courts could more effectively serve the state is essential to protecting Floridians’ access to the courts and the efficient use of taxpayer resources.  

Jason Gonzalez is an experienced appellate and litigation attorney and regularly consults on executive branch government affairs.