Measures seek annual 'report cards' for Florida judges
Rep. Nathan Boyles
Florida trial judges would receive annual report cards that include caseloads and clearance rates under bills that have been filed for the January session.
Republican Rep. Nathan Boyles, an attorney and business owner from Baker, is sponsoring HB 421, the “Judicial Efficiency and Transparency” or “JET” act.
Boyles said in a statement that he wanted to bring “sunlight to judicial operations” and give citizens “straightforward, consistent data” on court performance.
“Floridians deserve a court system that operates with the same transparency, accountability, and efficiency expected of any other branch of government,” Boyles said.
The measure would require Florida court clerks, beginning in 2028, to file an annual report for each circuit and county judge that would include number of cases assigned, cases that reached “final disposition,” and a clearance rate defined as “the total percentage of cases filed during each reporting period that were disposed of.”
The reports would also include the average age of a judge’s active pending cases, the number of active civil cases assigned that have been pending for more than three years, and the average scheduling to hearing time for all hearings before the judge. Clerks would be required to post the reports on their websites and the court website by April 1 of each year. The reports, “shall remain posted for the duration of the tenure of the subject judge,” according to the bill.
Judges would be authorized to post explanatory statements “detailing the basis for any extenuating circumstances,” if a chief judge approves.
HB 421 faces hearings in the Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee, the Justice Budget Subcommittee, and Judiciary.
Sen. Mack Bernard
Democratic Sen. Mack Bernard, a West Palm Beach attorney, is sponsoring a related measure, SB 452, “Family Court Report Cards.”
The bill would require the Office of State Courts Administrator to file annual performance reports for family court judges serving in every judicial circuit.
The reports would contain such things as the average time to final judgment in dissolution and timesharing cases, the percentage of cases resolved through mediation or settlement, the number and percentage of cases requiring court-appointed psychological evaluations, and the average cost to parties for court-appointed professionals, if available.
Other data would include the rate of post-judgment modifications within three years after the entry of a final judgment, and compliance rates with statutory timeframes for rulings on motions and reports.
“The report card is intended to promote transparency, accountability, and public confidence in the family law system by providing standardized performance metrics regarding case management, timeliness, and outcomes,” the bill states in a declaration of public purpose.
The bill requires OSCA to maintain a publicly accessible, searchable, online database of report cards and to submit an annual summary to the House speaker and Senate president.
SB 452 faces hearings in Judiciary, the Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice, and Fiscal Policy.
