A Message from Chief Justice Anstead FULL COURT PRESS …Governor Jeb Bush Releases Budget 2-3 Florida TaxWatch Recommends Higher Level of State Courts Funding 3 ... Justice Barbara

january - february 2004the official newsletter of the state courts system of florida

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ContentsGovernor Jeb Bush Releases Budget 2-3Florida TaxWatch Recommends Higher Level of State Courts Funding 32004 Legislative Session 4-6Judicial Branch Records Management Workshop Addresses Retention Issues 6Supreme Court Recommends Judgeships 7Chief Justice Anstead Asks New Judges to “Answer the Call” 8Justice Barbara Pariente Speaks on Unified Family Courts 9Conference of County Court Judges 10Justice Barbara Pariente Visits With Local Courts 11Finding a Mediator Only a Click Away 11Court Interpreter Orientation and Written Exam 12Article V Indigent Services Advisory Board Releases Recommendations 13GAL Transfer, Executive Director Appointed 13Diversity Workgroup 145th Annual Drug Court Graduation 15Attorney and Law Firm Honored with Pro Bono Award 15Courts Gear Up for Use of Electronic Procurement System 16In Memory 16Courtside Events 17

A Message from Chief Justice AnsteadFU

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Inside This EditionThe 2004 Legislative Session be-gan on March 2nd and is sched-uled to end April 30th. GovernorJeb Bush released his 2004-05budget in January, stating “fiscalstewardship grows budget, in-creasing opportunity and securityfor Floridians.”

(complete story on pages 2 & 3)(continued on back page)

Headlines across the state are filled with concerns about court funding. Whetherin the Miami Herald or the Pensacola News Journal, questions about court fundingcontinue to echo for businesses, families, and civic leaders. We are all familiar with themaxim “if justice is delayed, justice is denied.” On that dictum about the court systemrests the work of the next few months. The issue is simple, if the courts do not receiveadequate funding, backlogs and delays, already occurring in other states, will be inevi-table.

We have repeatedly voiced our needs and concerns to the Governor, Legisla-ture, business leaders, local governments, citizens and civic groups. However, withsession beginning and less than four months until Article V, Revision 7 is implemented, much remains to be done.We must be active to seek adequate funding at both the state and the local level.

While we have questions about the fate of the courts’budget at the state level, some of our concerns were alleviated whenGovernor Bush released his budget recommendations on January 20.Governor Bush has recognized the need for proper funding of the Judi-cial Branch, and he has not recommended any reductions in currentfunding for the Branch. For that we are thankful.

The courts do differ, however, with the Governor on some im-portant issues and the actual implementation of Revision 7 in 2004.When Florida voters passed Revision 7 in 1998 to shift many judicialfunding responsibilities from the counties to the state, they did so withthe intent of eliminating funding inequities, and funding a judicial branchin which justice is dispensed adequately and equally throughout all ofFlorida, even in the tax poor counties and circuits that have heretofore

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Governor Jeb Bush Releases FY 2004 - 2005 Budget RecommendationsBy Brenda G. Johnson, Director of Community and Intergovernmental Relations, OSCA

Article V, Revision 7 Funding Recommendations by Governor Bush

Implementation Requirements 18.5 $ 1,588,867Contingency Funding $ 5,000,000Court Administration 241.5 $ 16,149,901Court Reporting 260.5 $ 24,826,006Court Reporting Services Paid to the Clerk $ 865,600Court Interpreting 102.0 $ 8,185,548Expert Witness 14.0 $ 5,943,613Case Management 212.5 $ 12,469,103Master and Hearing Officers 198.0 $ 10,885,640Mediation and Arbitration 146.5 $ 10,000,152Law Clerk 12.0 $ 696,190Judges and Judicial Assistant $ 2,300,000TOTAL Revision 7 $ 99,090,620Certification of New Judgeships 219.0 $ 3,723,265TOTAL 1,424.5 $ 102,633,883

When Governor Jeb Bush released hisbudget recommendations for fiscal year 2004-2005, the courts across the state were pleasedto see no additional reductions in current fund-ing. However, the Governor’s approach toimplementing the constitutional amendmentknown as “Revision 7” to Article V of the stateConstitution did differ from that taken by the TrialCourt Budget Commission. The main reasonfor this difference is one of philosophy. Gover-nor Bush recommended that the state only paywhat counties are currently paying for supportof each circuit. The Trial Court Budget Com-mission developed a budget with the understand-ing the voters approved Revision 7 because theywanted to eliminate disparities in funding of es-sential court services. These court services havehistorically been based entirely on availability oflocal economic resources and not on a seamlessapproach to the delivery of justice across thestate of Florida. The Governor’s proposed bud-

get did not recognize the need for additional re-sources to ensure that, regardless of where theylive, citizens have access to the same court ser-vices. In addition, the Governor recommendedfunding 40 new judges and 40 new support stafftotaling $3.7 million. This recommendation fellshort of the Supreme Court’s certification of need(see page 7) but would represent the first increasein two years.

In the last edition of the Full Court Presswe provided an overview of the Judicial BranchLegislative Budget Request. The following chartshighlight Article V, Revision 7 funding recom-mendations by the Governor, (chart 1) and showthe differences between his recommendations andthe State Courts System’s Revision 7 request.In the March/April edition of the Full Court Presswe plan to provide you an overview of the bud-get recommendations from the House and the Sen-ate.

(continued on next page)

Chart 1

FTE


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Florida TaxWatch, an independent tax payer re-search institute, recently released an independent studyof the court system’s funding needs. The 74-page reportrecommended an additional $35.6 million over GovernorJeb Bush’s recommendation to adequately fund Florida’scourt system. The recommendations are part of a spe-cial report titled “Proper Funding of the State CourtsSystem is Crucial to Rule of Law, Taxpayer Confidence,and a Healthy Economy.” The report concludes that in-adequate funding may result in justice delayed and justicedenied.

To access the full report, go to the Florida TaxWatchwebsite at www.floridataxwatch.org.

Florida TaxWatch Recommends Higher Level of State CourtsFunding

FY 2004-2005 Revision 7 Budget: Highlights of Differences

Issue Court System’s Governor’s DifferenceRequest RecommendationsFTEs Total FTEs Total FTEs Total

EQUITY ISSUES : Funding requested by the courts to attain minimum service levels and thereby achievemore equitable funding of courts across the state.

Court Administration 241.5 $20,462,526 178.0 $16,149,723 63.5 $4,312,803Masters & Hearing Officers 198.0 $18,619,182 105.5 $10,885,534 92.5 $7,733,648

ACTUAL DOLLARS REQUIRED: Items on which the courts and the Governor differ on the dollars necessary thisbudget year to ensure successful implementation of the Revision 7 funding transition.

Judge & JA Expenses(operating costs) $12,069,210 $2,300,000 $9,769,210Technology 17.0 $7,175,382 0.0 $0 17.0 $7,175,382Total Contingency Funds* $11,870,308 $5,000,000 $6,870,308

LEGAL RESOURCES : Additional positions requested to improve the judge-to-law clerk ratio, currently paidby the state (not currently a county obligation, as are most other Revision 7 issues),which would enhance research assistance and other legal support for judges in orderto expedite cases.

Law Clerks 353.0 $25,777,924 10.0 $696,180 343.0 $25,081,744

Chart 2


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The 2004 Legislative Session is fast-paced and one of the most important sessionsfor Florida’s Judicial Branch. One of the rolesof the Office of the State Courts Administrator’s(OSCA) Office of Community and Intergovern-mental Relations is to track all legislation whichmay impact the judicial branch. Over the lastfew years we have tried to usetechnology to provide judgesand court staff with legislative in-formation timely without anoverload of information that isnot useful. This year, it is moreimportant than ever that we havea successful communication pro-gram in place because of Revi-sion 7 to Article V of the Con-stitution. The Full Court Pressis only issued bi-monthly. Weplan to give you a legislative session update dur-ing the March/April issue and then an end ofsession report in the May/June issue. We alsoplan to have a “Legislative Action” site availablewith weekly status reports on what is happen-ing in the legislature that you can access at anytime. We will provide more information aboutthis site soon. In addition, for the status of overalllegislation, please refer to the Legislature’s on-line site at www.leg.state.fl.us .

The following is a very brief overview of the2004 Session Highlights. The bill filing dead-line for the Senate and House was March 2nd.In our mid-session report we will provide youwith more details regarding the LegislativeSession. Please call for additional informa-tion regarding any issue.

Revision 7 to Article V

The House and Senate committees are still work-ing on necessary adjustments to legislation en-acted in 2003 (HB 113A). They are address-

ing revisions or additions to cost controls andaccountability measures that may be needed, andany temporary measures during the funding tran-sition period. Members of the Trial Court Bud-get Commission, Conference of Circuit Judges,County Judges Conference, and the OSCA haveboth testified before key committees and pro-

vided information as requestedby legislators and staff. We an-ticipate draft legislation will beavailable during the first twoweeks of session.

2004 Legislative BudgetIssues

The Courts’ Legislative BudgetRequest continues to be dis-

cussed by legislative committees. Budget allo-cations to the subcommittee have not been ap-propriated yet by the President of the Senate orthe Speaker of the House of Representatives.We expect the budget subcommittees to have aproposed recommended budget during the firstthree weeks of session.

Judicial Certification

SB 1688, by Senator Villalobos reflects the Su-preme Court Opinion requesting a total of 88additional judgeships. This bill has had no leg-islative action at this time. We understand theHouse will have a proposed committee bill,(PCB) for judicial certification, but have no in-dication of what may be recommended in thebill.

Criminal Justice Issues

We are currently tracking over a hundred crimi-nal justice bills. These bills address issues suchas plea agreements and speedy trial rights. Oth-

2004 Legislative SessionAn Important Session for the Judicial Branch of FloridaBy Brenda G. Johnson, Director of Community and Intergovernmental Relations, OSCA



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ers increase, change or provide additional of-fense classifications, and revise penalties.OSCA staff is working with legislative staff pro-viding information, as requested, and becauseof the volume of potential changes, stressingthe importance of making the effective date ofmost criminal justice bills in October. This willensure successful implementation by allowingthe time for judges to receive legislative up-dates through scheduled education programs.

Constitutional Issues

The House and Senateboth established a SelectCommittee on Constitu-tional Amendment Re-form this year to con-sider whether the cur-rent amendment pro-cess should be revised.The committees arewrapping up their workand a final report will bepresented to the Presi-dent of the Senate andthe Speaker of the House of Representativesvery soon.

On March 3, the House Public Safety andCrime Prevention Committee passed HJR1741 that would divest the Supreme Court ofits authority to adopt rules of practice and pro-cedure in the courts. In addition, many billsregarding constitutional issues have been filedand we will report on what passed at the endof session.

Family Issues

SB 586 and CS/HB 447, Family Court Ef-ficiency CS/HB 447 was heard in HouseJudiciary Committee on February 3, andpassed out successfully. This bill would facili-tate the identification and coordination of re-lated cases in the family court division. We

anticipate the House Committee on the Futureof Florida’s Families to consider it at its next meet-ing and Senate activity should take place duringthe first two weeks of session.

CS/SB 316 and CS/HB 281 - SubstanceAbuse/Intervention had successful first com-mittee of reference action in both the House andSenate. This bill, supported by the SupremeCourt’s Task Force on Treatment Based DrugCourts, would revise five sections of the FloridaStatutes to further enhance Florida’s drug courtsystem.

Bill numbers pending - Reorganization ofChapter 985, Florida Statutes (Juvenile Jus-tice)

This proposed legislation is technical in nature,and is designed to make the juvenile delinquencystatutes more “user-friendly” for all the stake-holders involved: state attorneys, public defend-ers, children, parents, judges, employees of theDepartment of Juvenile Justice, and private ser-vice providers. Senator Alex Villalobos has filedthe bill with Senate bill drafting and the Househas approved the bill to be a proposed commit-tee bill out of the Juvenile Justice Committee andThe Public Safety and Crime Prevention Com-mittee.

Additionally, OSCA’s Legislative Office will con-tinue to monitor and report on a variety of billsfiled on issues relating to juvenile justice, childsupport, teen court, protective injunctions, adop-tion records, and psychotropic medications.

Mediation

SB 1970 and SB 1972 (Pending PCB in theHouse) “Florida Mediation Confidentialityand Privilege Act” The Supreme Court Com-mittee on Alternative Dispute Resolution Rulesand Policy recommended this legislation to pro-vide uniformity and predictability regarding whichmediation communications will be confidential.



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SB 1972 is a public-records requirement for docu-ments produced during mediation proceedings.

Personnel

OSCA is currently tracking over thirty personnelbills. Many of these bills relate to retirement. Oth-ers relate to per diem and travel expenses, healthinsurance, and employee screening criteria. Person-nel issues change frequently during session and areoften not decided until the final days.

Public Records

A number of public records bills have been filedand we will report on these at the end of session.

Probate/Guardianship

SB 700 and HB 463, Mental Health.This legislation, if passed, will significantly alter pro-ceedings under “The Baker Act” and redefine someof its terms. It also amends provisions regardingguardian advocates. Senate Bill 700 was amendedand passed out of the Senate Children and Fami-lies Committee on February 18. We will continueto work on this legislation and report on any amend-ments adopted during session.

SB 1782, Guardianship. Provides forthe “Joining for Public Guardianship Act” and es-tablishes a grant program under the administrationof the Statewide Public Guardianship Office.

Traffic

The OSCA is currently tracking over 40 traffic billsthat relate to changes in DUI, high-speed motorvehicle pursuits, drivers licenses, and Florida’sSafety Belt Law. This will be a very active topicarea this session.

Judicial Branch RecordsManagement WorkgroupBy Laura Rush, General Counsel, OSCA

A newly-established Judicial BranchRecords Management Workgroup will ad-dress records retention issues in the trial andappellate courts. The five-member group ischarged with developing uniform proceduresfor adding record categories to the retentionschedule; notifying trial and appellate clerks ofcourt and other court personnel about changesto the retention schedule; creating a protocolincluding training of trial and appellate clerks ofcourt and court personnel to ensure that recordcategories are interpreted consistently anduniformly in all state courts; definingresponsibilities of a branch records manage-ment liaison officer within the Office of theState Courts Administrator (OSCA) and theresponsibilities of records management liaisonofficers within the trial and appellate courts;and recommending rule changes needed toeffect retention schedule requirements. Theworkgroup will advise the Chief Justice andSupreme Court, the OSCA, and state trial andappellate courts about records management,retention, and destruction issues.

The following five members wereappointed to the workgroup, which will expireon December 31, 2005:

The Honorable Robert K. Rouse, Cir-cuit Judge, Seventh Judicial Circuit; Tom Long,Records Management Officer with the OSCA;Lynn Rawls, Government Operations Consult-ant, Bureau of Archives and Records Man-agement, Department of State; ThomasMcKendree, Records Management LiaisonOfficer, Second Judicial Circuit; and Mary CayBlanks, Clerk, Third District Court of Ap-peal.


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The Supreme Court of Florida releasedits certification opinion for 2004, IN RE:CERTIFICATION OF NEED FOR ADDI-TIONAL JUDGES, on December 18, 2003,fulfilling its annual constitutional obligation toprovide the Legislature with a certification ofneed for additional judgeships. The opinionacknowledges the historically positive role theLegislature has played in ensuring the adequatefunding of the judicial branch. The SupremeCourt cautions, however, that this is a criticaltime for the Third Branch of government, in lightof the pending unification of its funding systempursuant to Revision 7, to Article V of theFlorida Constitution.

In certifying the need for four (4) newdistrict court of appeal judges, fifty-one (51)circuit court judges and thirty-three (33) countycourt judges, the Supreme Court recognizes theefforts of chief judges throughout the state inimplementing cost-effective alternatives, wherepossible, to reduce the growing workloadburden facing Florida’s trial and district courtjudges. The Supreme Court specifically notesthe critical role of judicial support staff andsupplemental resources in ensuring the mostefficient use of judicial time. The opinionemphasizes the need for continuous funding ofthese and other critical judicial services, citingthe recent experiences of other states forced tocurtail services in response to budget shortfalls.

The Supreme Court notes that itcontinues to rely upon its weighted caseloadsystem, developed in 1999 in response to alegislative mandate, when addressing themethodology used to identify judicial need forboth trial and district courts. The statisticallyrigorous methodology effectively translatesjudicial caseload into judicial workload, byassigning case weights, in minutes, to the variouscase types established for all divisions of court.

In justifying its recommendations to theLegislature, the Supreme Court attributes therelatively high judicial need to two primaryfactors: (1) the absence of funding for previouslycertified judgeships, and (2) continuing in-creases in judicial caseloads statewide. TheSupreme Court identifies a number of criteriadriving the caseload increases, notably popula-tion growth, changing demographics, and anoverall reduction in supplemental court re-sources according to last year’s budget cuts.

The opinion also notes a recent changein the workload criteria used to assess the needfor district court judges. In response torecommendations from the District Courts ofAppeal Performance and Accountability Com-mission (DCAP&A), the Supreme Court hasadopted a new workload standard for districtcourt judges, increasing the current standardfrom 250 case filings per judge to 350 filings perjudge. This increase is possible due in part toimprovements in case processing times throughthe use of senior judges, enhanced informationtechnology and case management systems, andthe expanded use of staff attorneys. This is oneof many steps taken by the judiciary to ensure themost efficient use of its resources.

The Supreme Court has made a case forfunding its 2004 judicial certification. TheBranch now awaits legislative action to seewhether the judgeships requested will be fully orpartially funded.

Senator Alex Villalobos filed legislation(SB 1688) that calls for implementing thecertification order. This bill can be found athttp://www.flsenate.gov/data/session/2004/Senate/bills/billtext/pdf/s1688.pdf.

Supreme Court Recommends Judgeships; Certification Opinion ReleasedBy Frank Funderburk, Senior Court Analyst, OSCA


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Showing support for the Florida Judi-cial College, Chief Justice Harry Lee Anstead,accompanied by Justices Quince, Cantero, andBell, attended the opening day luncheon ses-sion of the College on Monday, January 5. Inan address to the twenty-five newly appointedjudges in Tallahassee for a week of rigorous trialskills instruction and orientation, Justice Ansteadwelcomed the new members of the court familyand praised them, as well as the deans, facultyand staff for their intense commitment to the high-est educational standards. Justice Anstead saidthat in prior years he might simply have empha-sized the importance of continuing educationand would have encouraged judges to learn allthey could about their adjudicative responsibili-ties. He explained that this year, in light of Re-vision 7, to Article V of the Florida Constitu-tion, embraced by the electorate in 1998, hehas to call on them, and on all Florida judges,to do even more. The reason, he shared, is thatthis constitutional amendment, designed to shiftmost of the cost for funding the judicial branchfrom counties to the state, is scheduled for fullimplementation on July 1, and the stakes arehigher than they have ever been if Florida’scourts are to continue to be viewed as amongthe very best nationwide.

Justice Anstead told the attentive groupthat he became involved in the judicial system inthe 1960’s during the Kennedy Administrationand in his more than 40 years working as anattorney and as a judge, he has never seen apotential threat like the one that exists with theshift to state funding under Revision 7. The in-tent behind the shift required by the amendmentwas to ensure that justice is equally dispensedregardless of geography, local tax base, or mill-age caps, and to guarantee that rich and poorcounties alike receive the same quality of es-sential court services. As Justice Anstead ex-plained it, however, even if the transition is fullyfunded during the 2004 legislative session, thisdoes not mean that the need for local funding

goes completely away. Despite the worthy aimof Revision 7, even under the best scenario, therewill still be a need to support some critical courtfunctions at the local level. And it will take judgesspeaking in a unified voice statewide and locallyto get that message across and make it clear totheir community leaders and elected officials justhow much they and their constituents benefit bythe continuation of a strong judicial branch.

Invoking the judicial oath of office, Jus-tice Anstead reminded the audience, “As partof your oath, you pledged to maintain the qual-ity of justice that now exists.... Every judge’sprimary responsibility is to maintain and improvethe justice system.” Specifically, he said he needshelp in the form of advocacy with local legisla-tive delegations, community and business lead-ers, and county commissions. It is incumbent onall Florida judges, said the Chief Justice, to dowhat they can in their own communities to edu-cate and inform government officials and citi-zens about what it will take to sustain and im-prove the legal system and the administration ofjustice. That means doing more than he wouldhave asked of a new judicial college class in thepast; it means more than handling dockets com-petently, expeditiously, and with dignity and re-spect for the judicial office. It requires “answer-ing the call” to accept responsibility for the wholeof Florida’s justice system.

Justice Anstead closed with an analogyto the image of the storied “long gray line” atWest Point, saying that between now and theend of the legislative session he is asking for a“long line of black robed judges in Florida” in-cluding those assembled as students at the Col-lege, who are ready to do their part to cham-pion funding for the whole branch. “That robe,”said Justice Anstead, “ is a privileged mantle ofresponsibility.”

Chief Justice Anstead Addresses New Judges - Asks All Florida Jurists to“Answer the Call” to Advocate for Court FundingBy Blan Teagle, Deputy State Courts Administrator, OSCA


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Speaking to 25 newly appointed judgeswho were attending Phase I of the FloridaJudicial College in Tallahassee on January 6,Justice Barbara Pariente, Chair of the SupremeCourt Committee on Families and Children inthe Courts (FCC), spoke eloquently about whythere is a move to unified family courts.

While her audience included thosenewest to the bench, her message was meant forall judges and court staff. Justice Pariente saidthat the bottom line is the number of familyrelated cases requiring a holistic approach. Shewas well equipped with research data to supportthe assertion that a unified family courtsapproach that does not stove-pipe domesticrelations, domestic violence, juvenile depen-dency, and juvenile delinquency into separatedivisions of court results in justice that is botheffective and efficient for Florida’s families.

Emphasizing the volume of cases,Justice Pariente said that in the year 2000, familyrelated cases accounted for 44% of trial courtcivil caseloads. Focusing on domestic violencealone, Justice Pariente pointed to statisticsshowing a 96.2% increase in injunction filingsbetween 1992 and 2002.

Justice Pariente emphasized that thedriving force behind the initiative is the fact that“minimizing conflict will maximize efficiency.”Citing assistance judicial education and theCourt’s website can provide, she remindedrecent judicial appointees that the 2001Supreme Court Opinion and the Unified FamilyCourt Tool Kit are available at www.flcourts.org.

In a Revision 7 context, Pariente zeroedin on data demonstrating that what works forfamilies is also efficient for courts and canimprove not only outcomes for people, but

expedite those outcomes, resulting in fasterclosure rates for a variety of cases. UnifiedFamily Courts are a Court Improvementinitiative, because we have to pursue standardsof excellence that address our citizens’ legalneeds and we have to be accountable forefficient administration at the same time. TheFCC approach offers a chance to partnerexcellence and accountability and guaranteejustice for all Floridians.

Justice Pariente Speaks on Unified Family Courts Concept asSound Case ManagementBy Blan Teagle, Deputy State Courts Administrator, OSCA

New judges take a break from training for agroup photograph


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Florida Conference of County Court JudgesBy Susan Morley, Senior Attorney, OSCA

The Conference of County CourtJudges of Florida held its Annual Education Pro-gram on January 13 -15, where approximately180 county judges attended. The agenda fea-tured a combination of general course offeringsand specific Civil and Criminal tracks developedby the Conference’s Education Committee andits Chair, Judge Karl Grube. The EducationProgram kicked off the conference with a Leg-islative Update, presented by Senator RodSmith (Chair, Senate Appropriations Subcom-mittee on Article V Implementation and Judi-ciary) and Representative Holly Benson(Chair, House Select Committee on Article V),along with co-panelists, Judge C. Jeffery Arnold,Judge Tim Harley, and Judge Shelley Kravitz.Issues discussed included court funding and theRevision 7 “glitch” legislation to be offered dur-ing the coming legislative session, the Governor’sbudget proposal, and the probability that fund-ing will be provided for additional judgeshipsthis year. Subsequent course offerings included“The Judge as Fact-finder and Decision Maker”(Judge Michael Raiden), “Video Technologyand the Courts” (Judge Nelson Bailey, Assis-tant State Attorney Mark Lewis, and RexDimmig, Administration Division Director, Pub-lic Defender, Bartow), and a session on recog-nizing and reporting the Unlicensed Practice ofLaw, presented by Judge Louis Schiff.

The second day of the conference be-gan with a presentation to all judges on JudicialImmunity, offered by Dee Beranek, formerDeputy State Courts Administrator; Laura Rush,OSCA’s General Counsel; and Greg Smith,Senior Attorney, OSCA. They were followedby a session on the Psychology of Stalking, pre-sented by Dr. Sherrie Bourg-Carter and Dr.Michael Brannon. Program participants thenmoved outdoors for a luncheon presentation byChief Justice Anstead and Judge Jeffrey Colbathon Ethics: Beyond Canon 7 (although pursuant

to his continuing commitment, the Chief Justicealso addressed Revision 7 issues). The remain-der of the afternoon was spent in two tracks,during which Civil Judges heard presentationson Replevin and Break Orders (Judge PeterEvans and Judge Doug Henderson), and FairDebt Collection Practices (Attorney MarkTischhauser), while Criminal Judges attended aCriminal Law Update by Judge David Demersand a session on the use of the DMV’s newInterlock Device (Peter Stoumbelis).

On the last day of the conference, thejudges convened to discuss the Service mem-bers Civil Relief Act (new Federal legislationpassed in November 2003 amending the previ-ous Soldier’s and Sailor’s Relief Act), by JudgeAugustus Aikens and Captain Kevin Flood,JAGC. A panel discussion titled “Judging theJudge: Views from the Other Side” followed,with a panel including Nancy Daniels (President,Statewide Association of Public Defenders),Lynn Drysdale (Jacksonville Legal Aid attorney),Brad King (State Attorney, Ocala), John Rivera(President, Dade County Police BenevolentAssociation) and Paul Pinkham, (Legal AffairsReporter, The Florida Times Union). JudgeSheldon Schwartz served as moderator for thesession, encouraging both panelists and attend-ing judges to engage in a frank discussion of ar-eas of concern. The Education conferenceclosed with a presentation by Judge Phyllis Koteyon Ethics and Elections.

The next Conference of County CourtJudges will be held on July 14 - 16, 2004.


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Justice Pariente Visits with LocalCourtsBy Christopher Hill, Court Operation Con-sultant and Aaron Gerson, Court Analyst,OSCA

On January 23, 2004, Justice BarbaraJ. Pariente visited the Fourteenth Judicial Cir-cuit to observe and learn more about the circuit’sapproach to handling cases involving families andchildren. This was Justice Pariente’s eighth cir-cuit site visit as part of her efforts to promotethe implementation of unified family courtsthroughout the state. The site visit, which washosted by Chief Judge Judy M. Pittman andCourt Administrator Jennifer Dyer Wells, in-cluded a tour of the new Bay County JuvenileJustice Courthouse, and a luncheon at which Jus-tice Pariente met with judges from the six coun-ties that make up the Fourteenth Judicial Cir-cuit.

One theme that emerged from the sitevisit was the importance of building strong com-munity connections, especially when financial re-sources are scarce. As one example, local at-torneys volunteer their time on the first Satur-day of each month to assist pro se litigants whoare involved in complex family law litigation andcan not afford an attorney. This program, whichis known as the First Saturday Legal Clinic, wasjointly developed by the Bay County Self-HelpProgram and Northwest Florida Legal Aid, Inc,and it is one of the ways the Fourteenth JudicialCircuit is meeting the needs of families and chil-dren in the court system.

Justice Pariente returns from each ofthese visits with a renewed appreciation for thegreat strides circuits are making in improving theirfamily courts. The Office of Court Improve-ment uses the knowledge gained from these sitevisits to develop and disseminate best practicepublications, such as Florida’s Family CourtTool Kit: Volume I, with the goal that other cir-cuits will replicate these practices and reap theimprovements.

Finding a Mediator is Now Only aClick AwayBy Sharon Press, Court Program Manager,OSCA

As of mid-December, anyone can accessand search the complete list of Florida SupremeCourt Certified Mediators through the Court’swebsite. The new “Find a Certified Mediator”link, not only allows the trial courts to run theirrotation lists, but also enables individuals who havebeen referred to mediation to run a list of certifiedmediators who meet criteria based on circuit orcounty residence, type of certification, or demo-graphic information which was self-reported on amediator’s initial application for certification. Thisinformation is “up-to-the-minute” accurate. Assoon as information is added or deleted in Talla-hassee, it is available on the website. For the trialcourts, this means as soon as a new mediator iscertified or lapses from certification, you will beable to see the mediator’s status and there will beno more waiting for the rotation lists to be sent toyou by the Dispute Resolution Center (DRC).

To search for the status of a certified me-diator, first go to the Court’s website at http://www.flcourts.org. From the side menu, click onJudicial Administration and then Alternative Dis-pute Resolution (ADR) for the ADR Index Page.Click on the Find a Certified Mediator link andthe Main Menu page will open, providing accessto the DRC Mediator Reporting System.

Front page of the new “Find a CertifiedMediator” webiste


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Can you imagine how frightened andoverwhelmed you would be to find yourself fac-ing a judge in a foreign country where you can-not speak the language? Your fate rests in thehands of the judge, but you cannot understandher. And she cannot understand you. That is astark reality for thousands of non-English speak-ing persons living in Florida.

To lessen this problem, the State CourtsSystem now offers training and testing of for-eign language court interpreters. The trainingconsists of a two-day orientation workshop, andtesting includes both a written and oral exami-nation. Sessions already have been held recentlyin Fort Myers, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, andPanama City. More sessions will be added inFiscal Year 2004/2005.

Regarding the training, interested par-ticipants first attend a two-day workshop whereemphasis is given to educating interpreter can-didates or practicing interpreters. The orienta-tion includes information about:

• what is expected of them when work-ing in the State Courts System of Florida;

• how they can improve their languageproficiency;

• what techniques they can use to developthe specific skills required for interpret-ing; and

• where they can go to receive profes-sional skills training in more formal,longer-term educational settings.

After attending the workshop, candi-dates may take a written examination which testsone’s English proficiency, knowledge of legal ter-minology and courtroom structure, and under-standing of ethics and professional conduct re-lated issues. Following completion of the writ-ten exam, successful candidates may register fororal proficiency testing in Spanish, Haitian Cre-

ole, Russian, Vietnamese, Korean, Polish, Ara-bic, Mandarin, Cantonese, Laotian, and Hmong.Test development in other languages is antici-pated and will be offered when available.

The testing and training of interpretersis of special importance to Florida as the in-creased number of Non-English or limited-En-glish speaking persons in our state has turnedlanguage barriers into a growing problem for thecourts. Judges are aware that interpreters mustbe recruited and trained to work in the court-room environment, but are often faced with therisk of appointing an interpreter whose qualifi-cations are insufficient to effectively representthe interests of Non-English speaking persons.

The training and testing sponsored bythe Office of the State Courts Administrator(OSCA) is an excellent judicial support mecha-nism since judges, who are not fluent in the lan-guage to be interpreted, may not be in a posi-tion to assess the interpreter’s language fluencyand interpreting skills. Quality service is en-hanced as a result of the testing and workshopsoffered by the current Court Interpreter Pro-gram within OSCA. Moreover, those who suc-cessfully complete the entire program are eli-gible to be listed on the State Courts’ Registryof Tested Interpreters, which serves as an on-line locator system for qualified interpreter re-sources, and qualified interpreters are paid fortheir work.

The OSCA encourages judges and staffin our courts to refer potential candidates to thisprogram so we can increase the pool of quali-fied interpreters. Registration materials and ad-ditional information are available on the Web at:http://www.flcourts.org/osca/divisions/interpret/index.html. For further information please con-tact Lisa Bell at (850) 922-5107, or Suncom292-5107.

Court Interpreter Training and TestingBy Lisa Bell, Court Opertaions Consultant, OSCA & Craig Waters, Public Information Director,Florida Supreme Court


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Guardian ad Litem Transition

For over twenty years, the FloridaGuardian ad Litem (GAL) Program has beenhoused in the judicial branch. In 2003, the Leg-islature transferred the Program to provide astatewide infrastructure to increase functioningand standardization among the local programs.To accomplish this, on January 1, 2004, theGAL Program was transferred to a newly cre-ated Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office, ad-ministratively housed within the Justice Admin-istrative Commission (JAC). The state officewill provide supervision and direction to thelocal GAL programs.

On December 5, 2003, Governor JebBush announced the appointment of Angela H.Orkin as Executive Director of the newly cre-ated Statewide GAL office. Prior to her ap-pointment by Governor Bush, Ms. Orkin wasa Senior Attorney at theOffice of the State CourtsAdministrator and servedas the leader of the GALtransition team. Prior tojoining OSCA, Ms.Orkin served in the Attor-ney General’s Office andalso previously workedfor KidsVoice, a legal aid program for childrenin Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

For further information on the Statewide Guard-ian ad Litem Office, Ms. Orkin can be reachedat:

Phone: 850.922.7213Fax: 850.922.7211E-mail: [email protected]

When the Florida Legislature passedHouse Bill 113-A during last year’s special ses-sion, it created the Article V Indigent ServicesAdvisory Board under section 29.014, FloridaStatutes. The Board, staffed by the Justice Ad-ministrative Commission (as required by the stat-ute), consists of twelve members appointed forfour year terms that began July 1, 2003.

The Board advises the Legislature oncost containment strategies and policies andqualification and compensation standardsgoverning the expenditure of state appropriateddue process services for indigents providedthrough the courts, state attorneys, publicdefenders, and private court-appointed counsel.These services include, but are not limited to,court-appointed counsel, court reporters andtranscription services, court interpreters, andexpert witnesses.

Over the past six months, the Board hasheld several meetings and reviewed numerousdocuments submitted by stakeholders andagencies within the judicial branch. In doing so,the Board has approved its recommendationsthat include qualifications for those providing dueprocess services, adjustments to existingcompensation standards for service providers,cost containment policies and strategies, anduniform standards to be applied by the PublicDefender and the court in making conflict ofinterest determinations. The Board hassubmitted its recommendations to the Legisla-ture and will continue to amend any initialrecommendations requiring modification. Toreview the entire executive summary, includingthe recommendations, visit the State Courtsintranet website under “What’s New” at http://intranet.flcourts.org/.

Article V Indigent Services AdvisoryBoard Sends Recommendations tothe LegislatureBy Jennifer Hirst, Communications CoordinatorOSCA


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The OSCA Diversity Work Group con-tinues to provide recommendations to the StateCourts Administrator on improving diversity andmorale within the Office of the State Courts Ad-ministrator.

The Work Group continues to pursuethe four tasks with which it was originallycharged. These tasks are:

1. Review and propose strategies to improveminority representation among OSCA staff;

2. Develop and coordinate staff training ondiversity;

3. Propose strategies to improve internal com-munications and employee relations; and

4. Recommend other diversity and culturalmatters that may need to be addressed bythe OSCA.

In addition to these tasks, the WorkGroup has been asked on occasion to providerecommendations to the State Courts Adminis-trator on other more specific issues, such as rec-ommendations recently adopted by LisaGoodner on an improved OSCA dress code.The membership on the Work Group is madeup of a cross section of OSCA employees rep-resenting each of the sections within the OSCA;representing support, professional, technical,and administrative staff; and representing theethnic, racial, and gender diversity within theOSCA.

Since its inception, the Work Group hasaggressively pursued the completion of itscharge. An all-inclusive list of the Work Group’saccomplishments to date is simply too exten-sive to include here. However, highlights fromthis list are:

1. Developing an OSCA employee directorywith staff photos;

OSCA Diversity Work Group Steadfastly Committed to Its ChargeBy Greg Cowan, Court Operations Consultant, OSCA

2. Organizing two building-wide holiday socialsas well as other onsite and offsite events;

3. Establishing an OSCA awards program;4. Establishing monthly brown bag luncheons;5. Developing principles regarding employ-

ment;6. Participating in the Tallahassee race relations

conference;7. Proposing changes to OPS hiring practices;

and8. Increasing awareness and reflection on di-

versity issues.

For all that has been completed, thereis a certain pride in accomplishment among themembers of the Work Group. Nevertheless,there is also recognition that difficult issues stillremain to be addressed, and along with this rec-ognition exists a steadfast commitment to theprinciples and actions necessary to achieve amore diverse OSCA. For more information con-tact Sharon Press at (850) 921-2910.


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Tampa Lawyer Edward M. Waller & Miami’s Kozyak Tropin &Throckmorton, P.A., Law Firm Receive Top Pro Bono Awards

By Craig Waters, Public Information Director, Florida Supreme Court

In courtroom ceremonies on January 29, Chief Justice Harry LeeAnstead awarded the state’s top legal public service honor–the Tobias SimonPro Bono Service Award–to an attorney active in the state and national pro-fessionalism movement, Edward M. Waller of Tampa. Justice Anstead alsohonored the Miami law firm of Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton, P.A., for itswork in providing legal services to those who otherwise could not afford them.

With 36 years’ experience practicing law, Waller received his awardnot only for contributing hundreds of hours of legal work to pro bono clients,

but also for helping obtain funding for the Tampa Bay Area Legal Services organization. Waller also isa member of the Florida Supreme Courts Commission on Professionalism and Chair of the AmericanBar Association Standing Committee on Professionalism.

Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton, P.A., received theLaw Firm Award for its continuing commitment to pro bonowork. For many years the firm has encouraged its attorneysto donate 20 hours of their time annually to pro bono work,for which they receive credit toward billing requirements. Thishas resulted in thousands of hours of time spent helping theunderprivileged of South Florida with their legal needs.

Members of the firm also have provided legal services and sought financial support for pro-grams to provide pro bono bankruptcy services in South Florida. The Chief Justice’s Law Firm awardis not awarded annually, but only when a truly deserving firm achieves the honor.

5th Annual Statewide Drug Court Graduation On The WayBy Jennifer Grandal, Senior Court Analyst, OSCA

For the past four years, Florida has celebrated National Drug Court Month in May by hostinga statewide drug court graduation . This year’s statewide graduation will be hosted by Polk County(Bartow, Florida) in the Tenth Judicial Circuit and will take place on Friday, May 14, 2004 at 2:00 p.m.EST. Simultaneous graduation ceremonies will occur with those participating drug court programs whowill first view the opening ceremony live through the Court’s video-conferencing technology. It isanticipated that Governor Jeb Bush and Justice Barbara Pariente will participate again this year.

The OSCA encourages all drug court programs both to participate in this statewide event, andto celebrate National Drug Court Month in some other fashion. This is always an excellent opportunityfor drug courts to showcase their programs and to gain exposure locally and statewide. Approximately10,000 participants graduate each year from drug court! If you would like additional information on thisupcoming event, please contact Jennifer Grandal in the OSCA at (850) 922-5101 [email protected].

(Photo courtesy of The Florida Bar)


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Courts Gear Up for Use of Electronic Procurement SystemBy Tom Long, Chief of General Services, OSCA

MyFloridaMarketPlace, a new web-based procurement system, will soon be the primarypurchasing tool for the Judicial Branch. The MyFloridaMarketPlace system combines the use of Internet

technology with procurement best practices to streamlinethe purchasing process and reduce costs. This system willreplace the current non-automated Judicial Branchpurchasing process.

Many people have asked, what are the advantages of using MyFloridaMarketPlace? There areseveral benefits over the Branch’s current procurement process. To begin with the system will havestate-of-the-art tools that will permit users to conduct activities such as access to on-line catalogs, on-line quoting and sourcing, automated workflow and on-line approvals and receiving. The system allowsfor leveraging the state’s purchasing power with the potential of reducing the cost of goods andservices. Using this system will allow its users to have improved reporting because it has the ability togenerate detailed reports and track contract compliance at both a Court and Branch level of detail. And,as with most systems that turn primarily “paperless”, the system will be fast and have more accurateordering from the time a buyer enters a purchase request into the system until the time the invoice is paid.The entire process is one seamless transaction, reducing the risk of errors caused by duplicate entry.

As we continue preparing for the MyFloridaMarketPlace implementation, in the next fewmonths, each court will be requested to designate one person to serve as the primary trainer for thepurchasing process within a particular court. A “Train-the-Trainers” session will take place in June,2004, to educate participants on the capabilities and various components of the system. Each court willbe able to customize the purchasing procurement process to conform with the various policies andpreferences within a particular court. We anticipate “going live” this August, with full, branch-wideimplementation of the MyFloridaMarketPlace by September 1. For more information onMyFloridaMarketPlace visit the website found at http://marketplace.myflorida.com.

In Memory of our Friends Who Served the Courts

Retired Judge Marvin U. Mounts, Jr., one of the state’s longest serving judges died on January3, at age 71. Judge Mounts began his career 44 years ago as a county prosecutor and spent 30 yearson the bench. He made significant contributions to the court system including hiring the first black,female, Hispanic, and Jewish prosecutors.

All who knew Judge Mounts have no doubt that had there not been a state law preventingjudges to seek re-election after the age 70, he would have still been working on the bench, proudlyserving Florida’s courts.


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CourtsideEvents

(continued from front page)

Harry Lee Anstead, Chief JusticeLisa Goodner, State Courts Administrator

Jennifer Hirst, Art Director & Editor

Office of the State Courts Administrator500 South Duval Street

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1900(850) 922-5081

www.flcourts.org

MARCH 20042 Florida Legislature Convenes, Tallahassee7 - 12 Florida Judicial College, Phase II, Tallahassee18 - 19 Supreme Court Committee on ADR Rules and Policy

Meeting, Orlando

APRIL 20049 Good Friday Holiday - Court Closed18 - 22 Justice Teaching Institute, Supreme Court, Tallahassee30 Last Day of Session

not been able to provide modern court services and innovations.

Governor Bush has suggested that in 2004 the state pay only for what the counties are currently paying,regardless of the fact that courts in many Florida communities have been chronically underfunded by the counties.This underfunding, and the two class system of justice that has resulted was the major target of Revision 7’sprovision for uniform state funding of court services. Our goal this session is to ask the Legislature to find theresources to ensure the quality of existing courts services are adequate for all Floridians wherever they reside inFlorida as of July 1, 2004, and to insure that services improve in communities that were too tax poor to provide themin the past. This is the mandate of Revision 7.

Florida’s courts are modern, efficient, and effective, working with fewer judges per capita than other courtsacross the United States. Our ability to serve Florida’s citizens well is due in large part to the skills, talents anddevotion of the judiciary and court staff. When people start talking about our achievements, I always think of theactual people in the judicial branch and the role each person plays in serving the justice system of this great state.You are all very much deserving and appreciated for your passion and commitment.

I hope every one of you will join me over the next few months as we all speak to the need for the citizens ofFlorida to have ready access to their courts system to assist them in the countless ways our courts touch their lives.Good things happen when people work together for a noble and common purpose.

Sincerely,

Harry Lee Anstead

Documents

A Message from Chief Justice Anstead FULL COURT PRESS …Governor Jeb Bush Releases Budget 2-3 Florida TaxWatch Recommends Higher Level of State Courts Funding 3 ... Justice Barbara