It’s official. The newly-established Florida Sixth District Court of Appeal has arrived (effective January 1, 2023). Members of KD’s Appellate and Coverage Practice Group attended a webinar put on by the Workgroup created by the Florida Supreme Court to establish the new Sixth District Court of Appeals titled – An Introduction to the Sixth District Court of Appeal.
The Sixth District Court of Appeal is based out of Lakeland, and, with the exception of the Third and Fourth DCAs, affects all the Florida DCAs. The Sixth DCA absorbed the following judicial circuits: Ninth (Orange and Osceola Counties); Tenth (Hardee, Highlands, and Polk Counties); and Twentieth (Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, and Lee Counties).
Some of the key takeaways from the webinar are:
- Change is coming – The Workgroup emphasized how important this opportunity is for them, and the legal community at large, a new court with new procedures is being established. The Workgroup focused on soliciting feedback from other judges as well as practitioners in order to make the Sixth DCA as efficient and effective as possible. Much of this input has gone into several of the new Administrative Orders issued by the Court, including Orders addressing briefing requirements, agreed extensions of time for briefs, and continuances of oral argument.
2. Mandatory mediation? – Pursuant to the recently issued Administrative Order 23-07, the Sixth DCA will not require mandatory appellate mediation. Given that much of the newly-formed Sixth DCA is comprised of territory that was previously included in the Fifth DCA, many appellate practitioners wondered whether the Sixth DCA would adopt the Fifth DCA’s unique mandatory appellate mediation requirement (the only DCA to have such a requirement). Wonder no more!
3. What law governs? – The biggest question on appellate practitioners’ minds at the moment is what law will govern in the Sixth DCA, as it has taken on circuits from multiple districts. While no definitive decision has been made, the Judges on the Workgroup indicated that the formation of the new Court would provide appellate advocates with the opportunity to present arguments as to why the Sixth DCA should deviate from established precedents from the First, Second, and Fifth DCAs. While the Court did not commit either way, it appears the judges will be receptive to reexamining current precedents from their respective circuits.
For more information, please contact our Appellate and Coverage Practice Group at appellateandcoverage@kubickidraper.com.