DISCRETIONARY REVIEW OF THE DECISIONS OF INTERMEDIATE APPELLATE COURTS: A COMPARISON OF FLORIDA'S SYSTEM WITH THOSE OF THE OTHER STATES AND THE FEDERAL SYSTEM

• NCJ Number: 146834
• Journal: Florida Law Review Volume: 45 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1993) Pages: 21-134
• Author(s): G B Cope Jr
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 114 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Criteria for discretionary supreme court review of intermediate appellate court decisions are examined.

Abstract

This article, while focusing on the appellate system in Florida and comparing it to the system in other States, provides a comprehensive examination of the discretionary review process in State and Federal courts. The author concludes that: 1) Florida's criteria, established by constitutional provisions, relies excessively on inflexible constitutional limitations; 2) Florida's criteria for maintaining decisional uniformity are similar to the criteria used in the majority of jurisdictions; 3) Florida's remaining criteria for supreme court review are substantially more restrictive than those employed in the majority of States and are unusually restrictive because they are jurisdictional in nature; 4) Florida's written opinion requirement is the most restrictive system in the United States; and 5) that any proposals to expand the Florida Supreme Court's discretionary review powers must be evaluated in light of the ability of the court to absorb any additional workload. The author recommends that: 1) the Florida Supreme Court be granted explicit authority to review any district court of appeal decision on the basis of the importance of the question presented and plenary authority to promulgate rules and guidelines for the exercise of its discretionary review powers; 2) the requirement for a written opinion for discretionary review be eliminated; and 3) a unanimous jury verdict be required for the imposition of the death penalty thereby reducing the court's death penalty caseload. Five appendixes contain copies of Article V, Sections 3(b), 4(b) and 4(2) of the Florida Constitution, Rule 10 of the United States Supreme Court, a State-by-State listing of criteria for discretionary supreme court review of intermediate appellate court decisions, and 1990 state populations. 529 footnotes