‘Great news’ for the Keys. Panel rejects proposal to consolidate Florida’s judicial circuits
A committee made up of attorneys and judges from across the state unanimously voted Friday afternoon not to recommend a proposal to consolidate some Florida judicial circuits.
The move, recommended by state House Speaker Paul Renner, would mean certain court circuits, including Monroe County in the Florida Keys, would merge with larger neighboring districts, such as Miami-Dade County’s.
“I want to thank the committee for its diligence and hard work,” Monroe State Attorney Dennis Ward, a vocal opponent of the proposal, told the Miami Herald on Friday.
Not only was Ward against the proposal, so were almost all of the lawyers practicing in the Keys and on the mainland. Keys Public Defender Robert Lockwood joined Ward last month at a rally in Key Largo attended by almost 100 residents who urged for the plan to be rejected.
People at the rally said consolidating Monroe’s and Miami-Dade’s circuits would mean people from Key West would have to travel hundreds of miles to downtown Miami for court appearances, testimony and jury duty. They also worried mainland judges and prosecutors might not appreciate unique local legal concerns in the Keys.
One frequent example brought up was the difference in punishments for people caught violating fisheries laws in the Keys versus Miami-Dade. In Dade, a violation will likely mean a ticket and an order to appear in court. In the Keys, it often means jail time. And, many citizens want to keep it that way given the importance of fish and other natural resources to the Keys’ economy.
“It was impressive to have our citizens realize the importance of this issue and actively participate,” Ward said.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle also opposed the proposal, stating in a letter to the committee that it would be “very disruptive to our law enforcement and our criminal justice systems.”
“Like education, law enforcement is, and should be, local and reflect common values; judicial consolidation would serve neither of those two ideals,” Fernandez Rundle wrote.
In a June 15 letter to the Florida Supreme Court, Renner said consolidation needed to be studied because the same boundaries of the 20 judicial circuits have been in place since 1969 despite a huge increase in the state’s population.
The committee’s recommendation will next be forwarded to the state Supreme Court for further consideration. The issue could ultimately be decided by the Legislature when it meets in January.
However, judging by the dozens of letters sent to the committee by a variety of stakeholders, including attorneys, judges and law-enforcement agencies statewide — almost all urging against consolidation — there appears to be little appetite for the move.
News of Friday’s committee vote was praised within the Keys’ legal community and local government.
“This is great news for Monroe County as this takes us one step closer to making sure Monroe County and Miami-Dade’s circuit courts are not combined, which could have detrimental consequences for our local legal system,” Monroe County Attorney Bob Shillinger said in a statement. “I would like to thank the stakeholders and the community members who came together in one voice to express opposition to this proposal.”
This story was originally published November 3, 2023 at 3:52 PM.
