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Florida District Courts of Appeal

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The Florida First District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction of the Florida District Courts of Appeal
State courts

The Florida District Courts of Appeal (DCAs) are the intermediate appellate courts in Florida. There are six districts, each encompassing multiple counties. The courts were established in 1957. This marked the first intermediate appellate courts in the state. Prior to their creation, the Florida Supreme Court received all of the appeals from the state trial courts, and the docket was becoming congested.[1]

There were 71 DCA judges in Florida as of January 2023, up from 64 in 2015. In 1972, there were only 20 (five judges each in districts 1 through 4, while the 5th and 6th districts did not yet exist). When the 5th district was created in 1979, the total number of DCA judges had become 39. The number climbed over the years; there were 46 judges in 1982 and 57 in 1989. From 1999 to 2007, the total was 62. The number of judges in the 3rd district was reduced from 11 to 10 in 2007, bringing the number back to 61.[1][2][3] The creation of the 6th district in 2023 added nine judges.[4]

Cases in the DCA are heard by three-judge panels. Each district court has a chief judge, who is selected by the body of judges. In general, the decisions made in the DCA are viewed as final judgments. Further appeals can be made to the Florida Supreme Court, but the state's highest court is not required to accept a case.[1]

Districts

Six districts make up the District Courts of Appeal.

District Number of judges Location Jurisdiction
First District Court of Appeal 13 Tallahassee Circuits 1, 2, 3, 8, and 14
Second District Court of Appeal 15 Lakeland with a branch in Tampa Circuits 6, 12, and 13
Third District Court of Appeal 10 Miami Circuits 11 and 16
Fourth District Court of Appeal 12 West Palm Beach Circuits 15, 17, and 19
Fifth District Court of Appeal 12 Daytona Beach Circuits 4, 5, 7, and 18
Sixth District Court of Appeal 9 Lakeland Circuits 9, 10, and 20

Cases

The DCAs take appeals from the lower courts. They also hear administrative law appeals from the executive branch's governmental actions and review decisions from county courts that have overruled the Florida Constitution or state statutes.[1][5]

Number of DCA filings in each case category for fiscal year 2012-2013:

  • Administrative: 1,084
  • Civil: 6,102
  • Criminal: 9,342
  • Criminal Post Conviction: 5,305
  • Family: 1,382
  • Juvenile: 1,185
  • Probate/Guardianship: 230
  • Workers’ Compensation: 231[5]

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Florida

The justices of the Florida District Courts of Appeal are selected by a nine-member judicial nominating commission.[6] The commission screens potential judicial candidates, submitting a list of three to six nominees to the governor. The governor must appoint a judge from this list.[7]

Newly appointed judges serve for at least one year, after which they appear in a yes-no retention election held during the next general election. If retained, judges serve six-year terms.[7] Under the Florida constitution, a judge must retire at age 75; however, a judge who reaches 75 after serving at least half of his or her term may complete that term.[8]

Qualifications

To serve on one of these courts, a judge must be:

  • a qualified elector;
  • a resident in the jurisdiction of the court;
  • admitted to practice law in the state for 10 years before assuming the bench; and
  • under the age of 75.

Chief justice

The chief justice of the appellate courts is selected by peer vote. He or she serves in that capacity for two years.[7]

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

If a midterm vacancy occurs, the seat is filled as it normally would be if the vacancy occurred at the end of a judge's term. A judicial nominating commission recommends three to six qualified candidates to the governor, and the governor selects a successor from that list. The new appointee serves for at least one year before running in a yes-no retention election. If retained, judges serve six-year terms.[7]

Salary

See also: Florida court salaries and budgets

In 2025, the associate judges of the court received a salary of $223,318, according to the National Center for State Courts.[9]

Elections

To see results from district court of appeal elections, visit the individual district pages. For details about Florida's judicial elections, click here.

Ethics

The Code of Judicial Conduct for the State of Florida sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Florida. It consists of seven canons:

  • Canon 1: "A Judge Shall Uphold the Integrity and Independence of the Judiciary"
  • Canon 2: "A Judge Shall Avoid Impropriety and the Appearance of Impropriety in all of the Judge's Activities"
  • Canon 3: "A Judge Shall Perform the Duties of Judicial Office Impartially and Diligently"
  • Canon 4: "A Judge Is Encouraged to Engage in Activities to Improve the Law, the Legal System, and the Administration of Justice"
  • Canon 5: "A Judge Shall Regulate Extrajudicial Activities to Minimize the Risk of Conflict With Judicial Duties"
  • Canon 6: "Fiscal Matters of a Judge Shall be Conducted in a Manner That Does Not Give the Appearance of Influence or Impropriety; etc."
  • Canon 7: "A Judge or Candidate for Judicial Office Shall Refrain From Inappropriate Political Activity"[10]

The full text of the Code of Judicial Conduct for the State of Florida can be found here.

Removal of judges

Judges in Florida may be removed in one of two ways:


Jurisdiction

Each county in Florida falls within the jurisdiction of one of the six district courts of appeal.

First District Court of Appeal

Second District Court of Appeal

Third District Court of Appeal

Fourth District Court of Appeal

Fifth District Court of Appeal

Sixth District Court of Appeal

State profile

Demographic data for Florida
 FloridaU.S.
Total population:20,244,914316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):53,6253,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:76%73.6%
Black/African American:16.1%12.6%
Asian:2.6%5.1%
Native American:0.3%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0.1%0.2%
Two or more:2.4%3%
Hispanic/Latino:23.7%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:86.9%86.7%
College graduation rate:27.3%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$47,507$53,889
Persons below poverty level:19.8%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Florida.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Florida

Florida voted Republican in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, four are located in Florida, accounting for 1.94 percent of the total pivot counties.[12]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Florida had three Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 1.66 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respsectively.

More Florida coverage on Ballotpedia

See also

Florida Judicial Selection More Courts
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Courts in Florida
Florida Court of Appeals
Florida Supreme Court
Elections: 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017
Gubernatorial appointments
Judicial selection in Florida
Federal courts
State courts
Local courts

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named courts
  2. ↑ Florida Courts, "Judges - District Courts of Appeal 1972 Legislative Session through 2013 Legislative Session," accessed April 30, 2014
  3. ↑ Butler Meihmuller Katz Craig, "FLORIDIANS WILL SOON EXPERIENCE SWIFTER JUSTICE: COME JANUARY 1, 2023, FLORIDA WILL GET A SIXTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL," July 7, 2022
  4. ↑ Florida Courts, "6DCA Organization," accessed January 18, 2023
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Florida Courts, "Florida State Courts Annual Report 2013-2014," accessed August 29, 2015pages 55-59
  6. ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Florida; Judicial Nominating Commissions," archived January 13, 2012
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial selection: Florida," archived October 2, 2014
  8. ↑ Florida Constitution, "Article V, Section 8," accessed September 10, 2021
  9. ↑ National Center for State Courts, "2025 Salaries and Rankings," accessed October 8, 2025
  10. ↑ Florida Supreme Court, "Code of Judicial Conduct for the State of Florida," accessed September 13, 2021
  11. ↑ Florida Supreme Court, "Judicial Qualifications Commission Cases Pending in the Florida Supreme Court," accessed July 17, 2023
  12. ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.

Florida courts

Federal courts:

Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida

State courts:

Florida Supreme Court • Florida District Courts of Appeal • Florida Circuit Court • Florida County Court

State resources:

Courts in Florida • Florida judicial elections • Judicial selection in Florida


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State intermediate appellate courts
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