State Ex Rel. Treadwell v. Hall

Supreme Court of Florida
274 So. 2d 537 (1973)

ELI5:

Rule of Law:

Under revised Article V of the Florida Constitution, a chief judge of a judicial circuit has the authority to temporarily assign a county judge to serve as a circuit judge, provided the county judge meets the constitutional qualifications for the office of circuit judge.

Facts:

E.D. Treadwell died, and the probate of his will was being administered in the Circuit Court of DeSoto County.
E.D. Treadwell, Jr. was the executor of his father's will.
Hon. Robert E. Hensley, the Chief Judge of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit, issued an administrative order.
The order assigned Hon. Vincent T. Hall, a County Judge, to act as a Circuit Judge in DeSoto County for all probate matters.
At the time of his assignment, Judge Hall had been a member of The Florida Bar for five years.

Procedural Posture:

E.D. Treadwell, Jr. filed a written objection with Respondent Judge Hall, challenging his jurisdiction to preside over the probate of his father's will.
Treadwell, as Relator, then filed a suggestion for a writ of prohibition directly with the Supreme Court of Florida, seeking an order to prevent Judge Hall from assuming jurisdiction over the case.

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Issue:

Does revised Article V, Section 2(b) of the Florida Constitution authorize a chief judge of a judicial circuit to assign a qualified county judge to preside over matters, such as probate, that are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the circuit court?

Opinions:

Majority - Justice Ervin

Yes. A chief judge of a judicial circuit is authorized to assign a qualified county judge to preside over matters within the exclusive jurisdiction of the circuit court. The court reasoned that revised Article V, Section 2(b) of the Florida Constitution explicitly grants the power to assign judges for temporary duty and to delegate this power to chief circuit judges. The key criterion is whether the assigned judge is 'qualified' for the temporary duty. Since Article V, Section 8 defines the qualification for a circuit judge as five years of membership in the Florida Bar—a qualification Judge Hall met—he was eligible for the temporary assignment. This interpretation is supported by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.020, which was adopted to implement the revised Article V and allows a chief judge to 'assign any judge to temporary service for which the judge is qualified in any court in the same circuit.' Therefore, the assignment was a valid exercise of judicial administrative authority.

Analysis:

This decision is significant for clarifying the administrative powers and flexibility of Florida's unified court system following the 1972 revision of Article V of the state constitution. It establishes that a judge's qualification for temporary assignment is based on meeting the constitutional requirements for the higher office, not on their current judicial title. This precedent allows chief judges to manage dockets efficiently by leveraging qualified county judges to handle circuit court matters, which is particularly crucial for the administration of justice in smaller or overburdened circuits. The ruling validates a key mechanism for judicial resource allocation and reinforces the principle of a unified judiciary.

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