Four appellate judges from the Florida First District Court of Appeal visited Gadsden County on Wednesday, June 26 to hear two cases.
That afternoon a panel of three judges–Judge M. Kemmerly Thomas, Judge Adam Tanenbaum, and Judge Rachel Nordby–heard two cases. One was a criminal case, and the other a civil lawsuit case.
The cases were heard in Judge David Frank’s courtroom.
Each party was allowed 15 minutes to make their arguments.
Following the arguments, the judges held a conference to discuss the case.
Judge Kevin Taylor, who serves as the Marshal of the First District Court of Appeals said this was the first time the appellate judges travelled to Gadsden County to hear cases.
The Florida First District Court of Appeals, which is headquartered in Tallahassee, was established in 1957.
The Florida Legislature created three district courts of appeal to assume a portion of the appellate jurisdiction of the state court system.
The district consists of 29 counties. Those counties are divided up into five circuits.
Gadsden County is in the Second Judicial Circuit.
Taylor said the visit is a part of a judicial outreach program created so the judges can get out in the surrounding counties, and the citizens can witness how the appeals court process works without having to travel to Tallahassee.
“Last year it was Franklin,” Taylor said. “This year it’s Gadsden. We’ve also been to Fort Walton and Mayo.”
There are a total of 13 appellate judges. Taylor said usually each month a panel of three or four judges travels to the courts in the district. He said the panels are randomly selected at the beginning of the year.
Although the cases were heard in Gadsden County, they may not be Gadsden County Cases.
It is unique among the six Florida District Courts of Appeal in that, much like the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at the federal level, it handles most of the appeals in state administrative law matters. It is also solely responsible for handling appeals in workers’ compensation cases.
Erin Hill – Gadsden County News Service
