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On starting a new career in the law, every Florida attorney takes an oath that includes the following: “I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed, or delay anyone’s cause for lucre or malice. So help me God.” In keeping with that promise, the Florida Supreme Court has set an aspirational goal of having every Florida lawyer annually contribute either 20 hours of volunteer legal service to the poor or make a $350 donation to a legal aid organization. While performing the work is voluntary, lawyers must report annually on their fee statements whether they met the pro bono goal. If you’re not exactly paid down on that commitment, you’re not alone.

Quince briefs legislators on the impact of budget cuts
Chief Justice QuinceFlorida’s court system has already seen its budget reduced by $44 million over the past two years and the elimination of 282 positions. Having to absorb another 10 percent cut would cost hundreds of more jobs and seriously compromise the courts’ ability to efficiently carry out its mission. That’s the message Chief Justice Peggy Quince had for legislative leaders in December.

Santa's special trip to Orlando

Santa (Jay White) and Mayanne Downs.

SANTA CLAUS MADE A SPECIAL TRIP to Orlando December 11 to brighten the holidays for 58 children in need. Bar President Jay White donned a Santa suit and handed out presents to less fortunate children attending an event hosted by the Board of Governors, the Orange County Bar, and the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar.

More News Barkett to headline SCHS dinner
Judge BarkettFederal Judge Rosemary Barkett, the first woman to sit on the Florida Supreme Court and to serve as its chief justice, will be the keynote speaker for the annual dinner of the Florida Supreme Court Historical Society January 29 in Tallahassee.
Coping With

the Crisis


Officials scramble to keep the courts running
The Florida Bar News contacted every chief judge, state attorney, and public defender in all 20 judicial circuits for concrete examples of what has been lost because of the budget crisis that threatens to become even worse. The projected state revenue shortfall is roughly $6 billion for the current and next fiscal year. How are they dealing with the challenge of fewer resources and fewer people, while caseloads grow? Something has to give. The News asked: What are you giving up in your circuit? The News also asked for personal opinions on this question: If it were up to you, what would you recommend no longer handling in Florida’s courts?

It's all about the money
Bill Cervone“We are being driven by monetary considerations in everything we do and I do not like it one bit.” Eighth Circuit State Attorney Bill Cervone, soft-spoken and direct, can list all of the tangible impacts that an approximately 12 percent budget cut has had on his office and what future cuts might do. But he is just as direct about the intangibles surrounding the ongoing state budget crisis and how it has affected his office.

Throwing the skeletons overboard
Judge Haworth“We’ve been sailing with a skeleton crew and now we’re throwing the skeletons overboard,” is how 12th Circuit Chief Judge Lee Haworth sums up the effect of the budget crisis on court operations. Saving money for the court system means more expense for a lot of civil litigants in Sarasota County, he said. That’s because the circuit has had to cut court staff at the South County Courthouse, the fastest growing area of the county. That’s where a county judge hears county court cases, and a circuit judge hears family and civil cases.
Domestic violence victims suffer
Chief Judge Joseph Farina More than 90 percent of litigants in Miami-Dade’s Domestic Violence Court represent themselves. In these highly volatile cases, victims are guided by case managers, who serve as “customer service representatives” to help pro se litigants maneuver through the courts. But because of a hiring freeze, only three case managers cover 14 judges handing civil injunctions.

What about the death penalty?
Judge Simmons“Death is different,” Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall is famously quoted as saying. Death is too costly, adds Florida’s 18th Circuit Chief Judge Clayton Simmons. When asked an open-ended question on what he would recommend no longer handling in Florida’s courts because of the budget crisis, Simmons answered: “One thing I would recommend is that we would get rid of the death penalty. It’s so darn expensive from the legal side to process a case and go through all pretrial and post-trial hearings you have to have.”

'Justice ought not be based on tight money'

Victims services take a hit

Judge Roby worries about 'Massive judicial burnout

Polk judges take the bench without judicial assistants

Decriminalizing minors offenses could bring courts some relief

Some Second Circuit PDs handling 250 misdemeanors

Fifth Circuit looks to pretrial diversion

Sixth Circuit PD down 20 employees


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Most Read News Stories
-Disciplinary Actions
-Bar Examiners to deal with character and fitness issues
-Sixth Circuit PD down 20 employees
-On the Move
-Polk judges take the bench without judicial assistants
-News and Notes
-Decriminalizing minor offenses could bring courts some relief
-Judge Roby worries about ‘massive judicial burnout’
-It’s all about the money
-Some Second Circuit PDs handing 250 misdemeanors

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[Revised: 01-05-2009 ]