Pro Se Handbook
– The Florida Bar –
Chapter 20
Jurisdiction (Florida Supreme Court)
ITEM 20A | OVERVIEW OF THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT
500 South Duval Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399. The Clerk’s Office’s telephone number is (850) 488-0125. A party may inquire into the status of his of her case by contacting the Clerk’s Office or by accessing the docket online at www.floridasupremecourt.org.
ITEM 20B | TYPES OF CASES THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT HEARS
1. Mandatory Jurisdiction.
The Florida Supreme Court’s mandatory jurisdiction includes direct appeals or petitions seeking review of:(b) decisions of District Courts of Appeal declaring invalid a state statute or a provision of the state constitution.
(b) actions of statewide agencies relating to rates or service of utilities providing electric, gas, or telephone service.
2. Discretionary Jurisdiction.
The Florida Supreme Court also has discretionary jurisdiction to hear certain matters. This means there are certain matters the court can, but does not have to, review. The supreme court’s discretionary jurisdiction includes the power to review decisions of District Courts of Appeal that:(b) Expressly construe a provision of the state or federal constitution. The ruling, opinion, or order must contain language explaining the meaning of a provision of the state or federal constitution.
(c) Expressly affect a class of constitutional or state officers. The ruling, opinion, or order must contain language that affects a class of constitutional or state officers.
(d) Expressly and directly conflict with a decision of another District Court of Appeal or of the Florida Supreme Court on the same question of law. The opinion from the District Court of Appeal must contain language contrary to the opinion of another District Court of Appeal or of the Florida Supreme Court. It is not necessary that the District Court of Appeal explicitly identify a conflicting appellate opinion in its decision to demonstrate conflict. However, it should address any legal principles applied as a basis for its decision.
(e) Pass upon a question certified to be of great public importance. The ruling, opinion, or order must contain language to the effect that the issues presented contain a question certified by the authoring court to be of great public importance.
(f) Are certified to be in direct conflict with decisions of other District Courts of Appeal. The ruling, opinion, or order must contain language to the effect that the issues presented contain a question certified by the authoring court to be of great public importance.
ITEM 20C | WHEN TO SEEK REVIEW IN THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT
ITEM 20D | HOW TO SEEK DISCRETIONARY REVIEW IN THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT
To start a proceeding to seek discretionary review, a party must generally file a document called a “notice to invoke jurisdiction,” which is similar to a notice of appeal. The notice to invoke jurisdiction must be filed:
(b) within 30 days of the date the order or decision sought to be reviewed was rendered by the District Court of Appeal.
The 30-day time limit for invoking the Florida Supreme Court’s jurisdiction is jurisdictional. That means that the “notice to invoke discretionary jurisdiction” must be filed no later than 30 days from the rendition of the order and filed in the court that issued the opinion. Failure to do so will bar the appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.
ITEM 20E | PROCEDURES AFTER FILING A NOTICE TO INVOKE DISCRETIONARY JURISDICTION
In preparing the jurisdictional brief, or any other briefs, in the Florida Supreme Court, a person should consult the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, especially Rules 9.120 and 9.210, and Chapter 5 of this Handbook on Writing an Appellate Brief. A party is responsible for following all of the rules, whether or not they are specifically addressed in this Handbook. Again, this Handbook is a general guide and cannot cover all of the rules and requirements.
The same general rules for all brief apply to the jurisdictional brief. The brief shall be printed, typewritten, or duplicated on letter-size paper. The brief shall be submitted in either the Times New Roman 14-point font or Courier New 12-point font in black lettering, double spaced, with margins no less than one inch. Immediately following the certificate of service, the party seeking review in the supreme court must certify that the brief complies with the font requirements.
The brief on jurisdiction must not exceed 10 pages, not including the tables of contents and citations, the certificates of service and compliance, and the signature block for the brief’s author. See Fla. R. App. P. 9.210. It must contain the following sections and information, as further discussed in Chapter 5, Writing an Appellate Brief:
2. Table of Contents. This shall include a table of the sections of the brief listing the issues presented for review, with the referencing page number.
3. Table of Citations. This shall include an alphabetical listing of citations for all cases, statutes, rules, and other authorities relied upon in the brief, with the pages of the brief on which each citation appears. Refer to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.800 to determine the proper citation form.
4. Statement of the Case and the Facts. This shall include information pertaining to the reason for the appeal, the course of the proceedings, and the disposition in the lower tribunal. This portion must include references to the appropriate volume and pages of the record or transcript.
5. Summary of Argument. This is a condensed version of the argument made in the body of the brief and should seldom exceed 2 and never 5 pages.
6. Argument. This section explains why the Florida Supreme Court should review this matter. References should be made to cases, statutes, and rules showing why the Florida Supreme Court has authority to review the case.
7. Conclusion. The conclusion states the relief sought and should not be more than 1 page. What does the party want the Florida Supreme Court to do? What relief is being sought?
8. Certificate of Service. Sample language: “I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing was served by (mail/e-mail/delivery) on (Date of Mailing) to (Name, Address of opposing party).”
9. Certificate of Compliance. This is a certification of the font and size type used in the brief.
10. An appendix. The appendix should only contain a copy of the order or decision to be reviewed.
ITEM 20F | WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE BRIEF ON JURISDICTION IS FILED IN DISCRETIONARY REVIEW CASES
The petitioner does not file a reply brief. Instead, after the parties’ briefs on jurisdiction have been filed in the supreme court, the parties wait for the supreme court to issue an order advising whether it will review the matter. If the Florida Supreme Court will review the matter, an order will be entered which provides the time for filing the petitioner and respondent’s briefs on the merits. It may also advise whether the matter will be heard for oral argument.
ITEM 20G | WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IF THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT ACCEPTS DISCRETIONARY JURISDICTION
After the petitioner’s brief on the merits is served, the respondent then has 20 days to serve his or her brief. The respondent’s brief will follow the same guidelines, and have the same sections as the petitioner’s brief on the merits. Of course, the big difference is that the respondent will most often be arguing why the petitioner is incorrect and will attempt to refute the petitioner’s arguments. So the respondent’s brief on the merits will also include argument with appropriate citations to case law, statutes, rules, and other authorities to show why the lower tribunal opinion is correct and should not be reversed. Then the petitioner may serve a reply brief within 20 days from the service of the respondent’s brief. A party who genuinely needs more time to file a brief, whether on jurisdiction or on the merits, should file a motion for an extension of time well before the deadline for filing the brief. Motions for extensions are further addressed in Chapter 4 of this Handbook, Motion Practice in the Appellate Courts.
ITEM 20H | THE RECORD ON APPEAL IN DISCRETIONARY REVIEW CASES
ITEM 20I | HOW TO INVOKE THE MANDATORY JURISDICTION OF THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT
the name of the court to which the appeal is taken;
the date the order appealed was rendered;
and the nature of the order to be reviewed, which would need to fall under one of the types of orders subject to mandatory review, discussed earlier in this Chapter.
You might need to reference it during your pursuit of justice.
For instance, you might need to examine one of these passages in order to protect yourself from organizations/judges/lawyers who break the law (see this example of a Florida judge who outright committed perjury).
Nevertheless – and as always – please get the justice you deserve.
Sincerely,
www.TextBookDiscrimination.com
