TAMPA, Fla — After months of meetings, hearings, and deliberation—the state committee tasked with determining if combining certain courts would make the entire system run better has released its recommendation.
In a 200-page report issued to the Florida State Supreme Court, the State Judicial Circuit Assessment Committee recommended against that move.
JCAC Final Report 12-01-2023 With Submission Letter by ABC Action News on Scribd
In it, the committee points to the plan's unpopularity as part of the reason for its decision.
It also added that our state's court system could instead be improved through things like hiring more courthouse staff and paying them better. And through the use of technology to streamline court services.
So what does this all mean? We sat down with Gary Weisman, the Chief of Staff for the State Attorney's Office in Hillsborough County, to get his take.
While he's not surprised by this decision, he said the process itself was also important.
"You know, I think it's good every so often to check in and see whether that continues to be what Florida needs and where we can do better to serve people who need court services," said Weisman.
And it's a process he said we should all care about.
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"Circuit consolidation of the boundaries of circuits means where am I going to go when I need to file a lawsuit? Or I need to get divorced? Or I need to contend or sue a contractor who defrauded me? Those are the kinds of things that we use our court system for, [and] many other things, but where are going to go for that?" he said.
It's important to note that while this committee has made its recommendation, this process isn't done just yet.
Keeping that report in mind, the State Supreme Court now has to make a final recommendation of its own to the state legislature.
"And then after that, the legislature can consider either overriding the findings or adopting the findings. If they choose not to adopt the findings of the Florida Supreme Court, they have to get two-thirds of the membership of each chamber of the Florida legislature to override, essentially, the Florida Supreme Court's final opinion," said Weisman.
