Arthur J. England, Jr. passed away on August 1, 2013. He made many important contributions to Florida law, including helping to write important laws and serving as a judge. One of his most significant accomplishments was reforming the Florida appellate judicial structure, which still exists today. This article pays tribute to his important efforts in this area. Between 1845 and 1957, the Florida Supreme Court was the state’s only court for appeals. But as the number of cases increased, so did the delays in deciding them. In 1956, people changed the Florida Constitution to create district courts of appeal to help with the workload. However, the Supreme Court started reviewing more cases than it should have, which actually made things worse. One example of this was when the Supreme Court had to decide if it could review cases where the district court had simply agreed with the lower court without giving a written explanation. This led to more delays and didn’t help the problem it was supposed to solve. The Florida Supreme Court originally said it couldn’t look into the record behind a PCA, but changed its mind in 1965. This decision led to more cases being brought to the Supreme Court and a backlog of cases. Justice England arrived in 1975 and criticized this decision, saying it eroded the finality of district court decisions. He eventually called for the decision to be scrapped in 1977, arguing that it was based on a faulty assumption. In addition to writing many passionate opinions calling for more restrictions on the types of cases the court can hear, Justice England also co-authored a study about the court’s workload. The study found that the court had too many cases to handle and that it was affecting the quality of justice. When Justice England became the chief justice, he formed a commission to look at the entire appellate system and make recommendations for changes. The commission suggested ways to restrict the types of cases the court could hear, and the court agreed with many of these suggestions. They also recommended that the changes be made through a constitutional amendment. The chief justice and the other justices all agreed on this, which was surprising because just two years earlier, Justice England had criticized his colleagues for not wanting to make changes. Under Chief Justice England, the Florida Supreme Court proposed a new amendment to limit its jurisdiction. After months of debate, the amendment was approved by the Florida House and Senate and passed by 67% of voters in a 1980 election. This amendment restricted the types of cases the Supreme Court could hear and gave more power to lower courts. Overall, it strengthened the appellate court system as envisioned in the 1956 Constitution. Chief Justice England didn’t stop at just getting the amendment passed – he wrote a big article explaining it all and how it should work. Then, he and the court made some big decisions that changed the way cases were handled in Florida. He also wrote another article about how the court was doing under the new rules, and then he left the court, saying his work there was done. Overall, his efforts helped make the court work the way it was supposed to. In the 1980s, Justice England helped make important changes to the court system. He wanted to give more power to the district courts and reduce the number of cases the Supreme Court had to deal with. This would help the Supreme Court focus on the most important cases. He also worked to improve the integrity of the court after some scandals. His efforts were selfless and helped make the court system better for everyone. Justice England, along with other key figures like Justice Thomas, Chief Justice Ben Overton, and Justice Alan Sundberg, played a crucial role in reforming Florida’s appellate judicial structure. Their actions included lobbying for constitutional amendments, writing dissenting opinions, and proposing and overseeing the Appellate Structure Commission. Ultimately, Justice England’s efforts were instrumental in shaping Florida’s modern-day appellate judicial system. In 1980, the Florida Supreme Court’s power to decide cases was changed. Before 1980, the court could choose to hear cases from different areas in the state, but this was removed. There were many cases where Justice Arthur J. England, Jr., disagreed with the majority opinion and wrote his own opinion. He even wrote an article about how the court handles a large number of cases. Overall, the Florida Supreme Court’s ability to decide cases changed in 1980, and Justice Arthur J. England, Jr., had some different opinions about cases. This passage discusses a law review article about the jurisdiction of the Florida Supreme Court and the reforms it underwent in 1980. It also mentions court cases and legal reforms related to the Florida Supreme Court. It ends with the resignation of Justice Arthur England. Arthur J. England, Jr. continued to write about legal matters even after leaving the court. He received an award for an article he wrote in 2004. There are also books written about scandals and reforms in the Florida judiciary. The Florida court system has different levels, including district courts of appeal. There are also examples of cases where different judges have different opinions. Andrew L. Adler is a lawyer in Ft. Lauderdale. This information was shared by the Appellate Practice Section.
Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/a-tribute-to-justice-arthur-j-england-jr-father-of-floridas-modern-day-appellate-judicial-structure/
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