Court consolidation plan seems worse than ever | Editorial

Prosecutors, public defenders, judges — pretty much anyone involved in Florida's judicial system — all seem to agree that a plan to consolidate Florida's 20 judicial circuits into five is an extremely bad idea.

A parade of prosecutors, public defenders, lawyers, retired court officials and others closely familiar with Florida’s judicial system issued dire warnings Friday about a proposed overhaul of the judicial system in Florida.

Every single person who testified opposed plans that could dramatically reduce Florida’s judicial circuits from 20 to five. This would make the courts less diverse, less responsive, more remote and more bureaucratic than ever, and it would strip away the autonomy left in the system. Theoretically, for example, a system with five mega-circuits would combine Broward and Palm Beach counties, with a total population of nearly 4 million, with smaller counties on the Treasure Coast to create a 100-mile long system.

At the urging of House Speaker Paul Renner, the Florida Supreme Court created a Judicial Circuit Assessment Committee to recommend “efficiencies” to the Legislature in advance of the 2024 session. The 13-member committee has already heard overwhelming opposition from throughout the court system, and it got another earful Friday.

Citing Florida’s enormous size and population, some speakers said that what’s needed are more judicial circuits, not fewer. Others warned of dire consequences for relationships with local law enforcement.

The view from Broward

Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor oversees a circuit that must share information and have the trust of 17 municipal police departments and the Sheriff’s Office, which provides services for 14 more cities.

“Consolidation will hurt us gravely as a state,” Pryor testified.

Defense lawyers across the state, including many elected public defenders, echoed that challenge.

Others talked about the time and effort it would take for one elected state attorney, public defender or chief judge to stay in touch with hundreds of workers spread across hundreds of miles. The potential disruption to the Florida Keys is massive in a circuit so elongated that court orders already include mile markers on the Overseas Highway that links Key West to the mainland.

Logistical nightmares

Matthew Metz, the elected public defender from the 7th Judicial Circuit anchored in Daytona Beach, described the logistical nightmare of getting offices with differing software systems and policies to work smoothly.

Rural county leaders voiced fears that their more conservative policies would be overwritten if their smaller counties were swept into circuits dominated by large urban counties. They agreed with more progressive colleagues, including a sizable number who called this plan out for what it appears to be: An attempt to redraw jurisdictional lines to tilt judicial power toward the political right, even in communities where the majority of residents favor more progressive court policies.

In other words, gerrymandering nearly half of Florida’s voters out of the chance to vote for prosecutors whose values match their own. (All 20 circuits have partisan elected state attorneys and public defenders, chosen by the voters of each circuit. One often-unspoken but obvious motivation for consolidation is to merge counties in a way that forces liberal prosecutors and public defenders out of office.)

A common theme was Florida’s great diversity: Voters in different places expect different things from their elected court leaders.

One victim’s story

The panel heard compelling testimony from Ida Eskamani, an Orlando lobbyist and advocate for racial and economic justice. She described working closely with State Attorney Monique Worrell and law enforcement after she was the victim of a strong-arm robbery, and the personal connection she felt would be missing in a larger circuit. (Worrell was recently suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis, an unjustified and outrageous action in response to her being perceived by DeSantis as soft on crime).

Florida courts are overburdened and underfunded, and many residents already must travel too far to meet with prosecutors or defense attorneys, resolve civil cases or untangle family legal matters. Even with those burdens, however, elected state attorneys, public defenders and judges across the state work to protect the rule of law, while tailoring policies — such as special court programs for veterans, people struggling with addiction or those with mental-health problems — that their communities want and value.

In Tallahassee, legislators can’t claim that court operations are wasteful. In fact, Florida’s judicial branch pays for itself through court fees, fines and other revenue with enough left over for the Legislature to sweep away to pay for its own priorities.

Friday’s hearing also revealed this: Members of the committee considering changes to the judicial circuits handle their job with courtesy and grace, even though by now they must have heard every possible reason to oppose consolidation.

At least Renner’s idea is getting close study with a lot of public input. That’s in marked contrast to the plan, rammed through the Legislature last year, to add a new appellate district to Florida’s middle layer of judicial administration.

More hearings are scheduled, but a statewide consensus is very clear. It’s time for Speaker Renner and legislative leaders to listen closely to this resounding message: This is a very bad idea.

The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney, editorial writer Martin Dyckman and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Editorials are the opinion of the Board and written by one of its members or a designee. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.