Judicial Branch Governance Study Group

Authority

The Judicial Branch Governance Study Group was established by the Supreme Court in 2009 (see Administrative Order AOSC09-43) and directed to undertake an in-depth study of the current governance system of the judicial branch of Florida.

Study Group Members - appointed through December 31, 2010

• The Honorable Ricky L. Polston, Justice (Chair)
• The Honorable Joseph P. Farina, Judge (Vice-Chair)
• The Honorable Alice Blackwell, Judge
• The Honorable Gerald B. Cope, Jr., Judge
• The Honorable Brian J. Davis, Judge
• The Honorable Jorge Labarga, Justice
• The Honorable Peter Marshall, Judge
• The Honorable Richard B. Orfinger, Judge
• The Honorable Debra Roberts, Judge
• Mr. John G. White, III, Attorney

Final Report and Recommendations

The final report and recommendations were submitted to the Court on January 31, 2011, and the Study Group formally presented the recommendations to the Court for their consideration on February 22, 2011.

• Main report (PDF - 36 pages)
  • Appendix A: Administrative Orders (PDF - 10 pages)
  • Appendix B: The National Center for State Courts Executive Summary Report (PDF - 17 pages)
• The National Center for State Courts Final Report (PDF - 76 pages)
  • Appendix C: State Court Systems Profiles Comparative Research (PDF - 122 pages)
• Download full report (PDF - 261 pages)

Supreme Court Implementation of Recommendations

The opinions below reflect the Supreme Court decisions regarding implementation of the Study Group recommendations.

• SC11-1374 – Original order, February, 2012
• SC11-1374 – Order after re-hearing, December, 2012