BILLIE BOLLINGER, PETITIONER,
v.
THE HONORABLE GEOFFREY D. COHEN, CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE, 17TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, AND THE STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENTS; DANIEL HOLSMAN, PETITIONER, V. THE HONORABLE GEOFFREY D. COHEN, ETC., ET AL., RESPONDENTS; MARK STLUKE DANIEL, PETITIONER, V. THE HONORABLE GEOFFREY D. COHEN, ETC., ET AL., RESPONDENTS; DAVID R. CANIPE, PETITIONER, V. THE HONORABLE GEOFFREY D. COHEN, ETC., ET AL., RESPONDENTS
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The Fourth District Court of Appeal denied petitions for writs of prohibition challenging a circuit court judge's authority to preside over misdemeanor domestic violence cases in Broward County's newly established domestic violence court. The court held that the judge, though a circuit judge, had been assigned temporary duty as a county court judge with appropriate jurisdiction, but certified a question to the Florida Supreme Court regarding the propriety of regular part-time county court assignments for circuit judges.
The court held that Judge Cohen had jurisdiction to preside over the misdemeanor prosecutions because he was acting as a county court judge pursuant to administrative assignment, not as a circuit judge. However, the court certified the underlying question of whether circuit judges may be regularly assigned to part-time county court duties on a recurring basis to the Florida Supreme Court as a matter of great public importance.
[1] A circuit judge may be assigned to temporary duty in county court to hear and dispose of matters within the jurisdiction of a county court judge.
[2] A circuit court generally lacks subject matter jurisdiction over misdemeanor prosecutions unless the misdemeanor arises from the same circumstances as a pending felony ch…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“where an information charges only a misdemeanor, a circuit judge does not have jurisdiction to preside over its prosecution, and thus any judgment the court renders is void”
Establishes the general rule that circuit judges lack jurisdiction over misdemeanors, which petitioners relied upon
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceFour defendants charged with misdemeanor battery involving domestic violence sought to challenge the jurisdiction of Judge Geoffrey D. Cohen to presid…
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PER CURIAM.
We deny the petition for writ of prohibition in each of these four eases, which we consolidate for the purpose of this opinion. The cases involve virtually identical challenges by the public defender on behalf of four different defendants to the subject matter jurisdiction of the Broward circuit court, and particularly the Honorable Geoffrey D. Cohen, to hear some 20% of the misdemeanor prosecutions in Broward County’s new domestic violence court.
Each of the four petitioners is charged with one count of misdemeanor battery involving domestic violence. No related felony counts are charged against any of them. Each is about to be tried for the misdemean-or in the domestic violence division of the Broward circuit court.
On October 11,1994, the Supreme Court of Florida approved 17th Judicial Circuit Local Rule 1-B, effectively approving Administrative Order II-94-H-1 as a local rule which established a domestic violence court for the circuit. This administrative order, now local rule, provides for disposition of misdemeanors as well as felonies.
Petitioners correctly note that where an information charges only a misdemeanor, a circuit judge does not have juris diction to preside over its prosecution, and thus any judgment the court renders is void. However, the premise that Judge Cohen will be acting as a circuit judge in presiding over the misdemeanors is incorrect, as Judge Cohen will be acting as a county court judge, based on a series of administrative orders assigning him to “temporary duty in the County Court of Broward County, Florida, for the purpose of hearing and disposing of all matters which may come before him ... having all the power and jurisdiction of a County Court Judge in said cases.” The latest such order, dated February 15, 1995, assigns Judge Cohen to county court from March 1 through March 31, 1995. Based on a December memorandum from Chief Judge Dale Ross, it is apparent that the chief judge will continue to issue orders of “temporary assignment” to Judge Cohen to preside over county court misdemeanor prosecutions, at least for twenty percent (20%) of all misdemeanor trials in domestic violence court.
We have considered Dozier v. Wild, 20 Fla.L.Weekly D199, — So. 2d - [1995 WL 15686] (Fla. 4th DCA1995), rev. granted, 652 So. 2d 819 (Fla.1995), in which this court held that a county court judge cannot be assigned successively and repeatedly in six month assignments to preside in the circuit court over half of all felony cases in a county. We also considered Payret v. Adams, 500 So. 2d 136 (Fla.1986), holding invalid a county judge assignment for over a five year period to successive and repetitive assignments as an acting circuit judge in a special jury district. We deem these authorities inapposite. Nevertheless, we certify the following question to the supreme court as one of great public importance:
WHETHER A CIRCUIT JUDGE MAY BE ASSIGNED ON A REGULAR BASIS TO PART-TIME DUTIES AS A COUNTY JUDGE, PRESIDING OVER MISDEMEANOR PROSECUTIONS, NOT ARISING OUT OF THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCES AS A PENDING FELONY, INCIDENT TO THE OPERATION OF A DULY INSTITUTED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COURT.
The petition is also denied as to an additional issue raised by Petitioner Canipe.
GLICKSTEIN, STONE and FARMER, JJ., concur.
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Rodriguez v. The Honorable Geoffrey D. Cohen, 658 So. 2d 1049 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)…PER CURIAM. We deny the writ of prohibition. See Bollinger v. Cohen, 656 So. 2d 205 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995). Because the same issue is involved here as in Bollinger, we certify the same question to the supreme court as one of great public importance: WHETHER A CIRCUIT JUDGE MAY BE ASSIGNED ON A REGULAR BASIS TO PART-TIME DUTIES AS A…
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Walker v. Honorable E. Randolph Bentley, 660 So. 2d 313 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)…rmined that these eases should be filed and litigated in a county criminal court and not in a circuit civil court. Indeed, it may be possible for the circuit judge simply to act as a county judge. See, e.g., Bollinger v. Honorable Geoffrey D. Cohen, 656 So. 2d 205 (Fla. 4th DCA), review dismissed, 660 So. 2d 712 (Fla.1995). The court’s existence and its due administration of justice are not threatened by a statute that simply moves the proceeding to a different room in the courthouse. Moreover, the statute d…
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Holsman v. Cohen, 667 So. 2d 769 (Fla. 1996)…OVERTON, Justice. We have for review Bollinger v. Cohen, 656 So. 2d 205, 206 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995), in which the district court denied petitions for writs of prohibition filed in that case and certified the following question to be of great public importance: WHETHER A CIRCUIT JUDGE MAY BE ASSIGNED ON A REGULAR BASIS TO…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Payret v. The Honorable Don T. Adams, 500 So. 2d 136 (Fla. 1986)