Talk:Circuit court (Florida)

Removal of irrelevant text regarding tax liens

I removed the following text:

“ The latter two matters are significant under Florida's tax lien and tax deed sale process: once a lien has been outstanding for two years (technically, April 1 of the second year following the date when the tax lien was originally offered for sale), the tax lienholder may petition the circuit court (via the county tax collector) to begin the process for the forced sale of the property. ”

This isn't really relevant to a discussion of the types of matters which a circuit court has jurisdiction over. I've moved it here for discussion. Bradford44 (talk) 14:00, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

Public defenders/prosecutors

Aren't these people part of "the" court? Or some court? Along with bailiffs, etc. Student7 (talk) 20:16, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

That's a good question. I believe that technically the offices of Public Defender and State Attorney are consitutional offices, as they are created by Fla. Const. of 1968, Art. V, §§ 17 and 18. Article V is of course the Article dealing with the Judicial Branch of the State of Florida. Further, §§ 17 and 18 require that there be one elected Public Defender and State Attorney for each of Florida's twenty judicial circuits. Finally, the Florida Supreme Court has opined that a State Attorney is a "quasi-judicial officer," whatever that means. Gluck v. State, 62 So. 2d 71, 73 (Fla. 1952).

In conclusion, then, they are sort of part of the court, and I have no idea whether they should be discussed in this article. Certainly if the article were titled "Florida Judicial Circuits" I would lean more towards inclusion. As it is, I think the reader is expecting to read specifically about the courts, rather than other governmental agencies that also happen to be organized along the division of judicial circuits. So I therefore lean towards having information about the State Attorney and Public Defender's office in an article about the Florida Judicial Branch or Florida Constitution in general rather than here.Bradford44 (talk) 17:18, 2 September 2010 (UTC)

I forgot about the "bailiff" part of your question. In Florida, courthouse security is provided by the sheriff's office of the county where a particular courthouse happens to be located. So technically they are deputy sheriffs, and should only be referred to as "bailiffs" when they are performing the specific duty of guarding a jury and protecting them from improper communications. Otherwise, they get annoyed when you call them bailiffs. ;) Otherwise, the sheriffs appear to be treated like officers of the court, but the office of sheriff is created by Art. 8, § 1(d), authorizing counties to elect various officers, including the sheriff. Again it sounds more like it should be discussed in an article about the constitution in general, but I'm certainly open to discussion. Bradford44 (talk) 17:43, 2 September 2010 (UTC)

I understand what you are saying and I don't really care for repetitive text on the same material in different articles. In the US (and most English-derivative courts), there is a "court system" that I think needs to be explained to people who aren't from an English-culture country. Judges have a certain amount of actual power with "bailiffs" and deputies under their control. Therefore they are not totally helpless, as they are in some countries. The lawyers, too, are part of the "system" and are supposed to contribute to the discovery of "justice." In Europe, judges are often judge and prosecutor, which is a bit interesting, but definitely different from this system. Student7 (talk) 20:35, 2 September 2010 (UTC)

I definitely agree that there should be an article that explains the nature of the 'Florida court system' that is comprehensive enough to explain the relationship between the the laws, procedures, agencies, and officers of the system. My admittedly aesthetic judgment is that such an explanation is not a good 'fit' for this article, but neither do I know where it should go. There is no "Florida Judicial Branch" or "Florida justice system" article, so maybe one should be created. It would probably also be a good idea to take a look at how some other states' articles are organized. I am also certainly open to suggestions. Bradford44 (talk) 13:32, 3 September 2010 (UTC)