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The Florida First District Court of Appeal, also known as the First DCA, is headquartered in
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 contained details and amenities such as "miles" of African mahogany,
Florida First District Court of Appeal WebsiteWebsite of the Florida District Courts of Appeal
{{Florida Court System Florida appellate courts Courts and tribunals with year of establishment missing
Tallahassee
Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...
, Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, the state capital. It is unique among the five Florida District Courts of Appeal in that, much like the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at the federal level, it handles most of the appeals in state administrative law
Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regulations"), ad ...
matters. It is also solely responsible for handling appeals in workers' compensation cases. It is the Court of Appeals for 32 Florida counties, covering the Panhandle as well as the northeast and north-central parts of the state.
New Courthouse Controversy
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 contained details and amenities such as "miles" of African mahogany, granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
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
John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush ...
threatened to veto
A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. 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.
Composition
See also
* Florida Second District Court of Appeal * Florida Third District Court of Appeal * Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal *Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal The Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida.
History
The Fifth District Court of Appeal was created by the 1979 session of the Florida Legislature.
The Fifth District handles cases from the following coun ...
References
External links
Florida First District Court of Appeal Website
{{Florida Court System Florida appellate courts Courts and tribunals with year of establishment missing