Florida First District Court of Appeal

Controversy over new courthouse

Main article: Florida Taj Mahal scandal

Before December 2010, the First DCA had been located two blocks from the Supreme Court of Florida in downtown Tallahassee. During December, the First DCA moved into a new courthouse on the southeastern outskirts of the city. The $48.8 million construction cost of the new courthouse generated considerable controversy, particularly given that the new building allegedly contained details and amenities such as "miles" of African mahogany-like sapele, granite top desks, and a sixty-inch flat screen television in each judge's chamber. The opulence of the new building led many critics to dub the new courthouse as the "Taj Mahal," and eventually led to the forced resignation of Paul M. Hawkes as the court's chief judge.

Investigation into the building's construction revealed that after receiving an initial $1.8 million appropriation in the 2006 state budget, then-Governor Jeb Bush threatened to veto the appropriation unless the judges considered remodeling and expanding their existing facility. After receiving letters containing such assurances, the governor left the money in the budget. In 2007, judges on the court had the Florida Legislature appropriate an additional $7.9 million toward construction of a new courthouse. In the final days of that year's legislative session, judges had lawmakers slip an amendment into a transportation bill authorizing a $33.5 million bond issue for the new building.

Sixth DCA

When the Florida Sixth District Court of Appeal was established in 2023, the caseload for the Fourth Circuit, including the counties of Duval, Nassau and Clay was shifted from the 1st DCA to the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal. The Jacksonville metropolitan area has a population of 1.6 million people.

Former Chief Judges

Judges who have served as Chief Judge of the First DCA include:

• Stephanie W. Ray (2019–2021)
• Joseph Lewis, Jr. (2013–2015)
• Bradford L. Thomas (2017–2019)
• L. Clayton Roberts (2015–2017)

Active Judges

References

References

1. Morgan, Lucy. (Jan 18, 2011). "Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady imposes order to prevent another 'Taj Mahal'". [[St. Petersburg Times]].
2. Morgan, Lucy. (Jan 15, 2011). "Judge behind lavish courthouse "lied" in his testimony, legislator says". [[St. Petersburg Times]].
3. "District Courts of Appeal". State of Florida.
4. "Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas Totals: 2010-2020". United States Census Bureau.
5. [http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/pub_info/documents/appointed.pdf Succession of Justices of Supreme Court of Florida] {{Webarchive. link. (2016-12-06 ''Florida First District Court of Appeal'')