by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
The judges of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals tackled a full schedule in Jacksonville this week, packing in about 20 cases in four days.
It was an average session. With two surprises.
“We heard everything,” said Judge Susan Black. “It was a full range of cases, both civil and criminal.”
Averages are hard to compute, but the number of cases normally heard by the court hovers around 20, sometimes 22.
“At the appellate level, you wouldn’t expect to have a case settle during that session,” she said. “But we had two that settled this week.”
As a rule of thumb, cases are decided in about 30 days, “but there are cases that take longer,” she said. “And there are some cases we can do within a week.”
Although the court has sat in Jacksonville many times before, this session was the first one to be held in the new U.S. Courthouse at Jacksonville.
“The acoustics are really, really good in the courtroom,” said Black. “We didn’t use any of the new equipment that’s there, but I think you’d be less likely to use that in an appellate argument than you would in the district court.”
She has heard that attorneys in District Court were bringing their laptops, “using the retractable screens, using all the technology that’s available in there that wasn’t available before.
“As far as the technology is concerned, from what I hear, the district judges are very pleased.”
Dedication ceremonies at the new courthouse will begin at 1 p.m. today.
President Jimmy Carter nominated Black to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in 1979. She was elevated to chief judge in 1990 and served in that capacity for two years until President Bush nominated her for the 11th Circuit.
The circuit covers Florida, Georgia and Alabama, and sits in Jacksonville four times a year, “generally following the seasons,” she said.
The seat of the court is Atlanta, which is where the judges primarily convene. However, they also sit in Miami and Montgomery, Ala.
“That doesn’t mean all of us will go,” Black said. “For instance, I haven’t been to Montgomery for a few years.”
In addition to sessions in Jacksonville, the court usually meets four times a year in Montgomery, 13 times in Miami and about 25 times in Atlanta. The schedule requires the judges to travel about one week a month for the four-day sessions.
The active bench includes 12 judges — three from Alabama, four from Georgia and five from Florida.
“We also have senior judges, who will come back and help,” said Black. “And we have visitors, who will help, especially when we’re one short, as we are now.”
The vacancy is in Alabama, which has been operating with only two active judges for the past two years.
The members came to town Sunday, ready to begin their session Monday morning. A seat had been slotted for the vacant Alabama position, “since we projected we would have had another judge by this time,” said Black. “But we don’t.”
That absence was filled by two district judges from the Southern District of Florida who each took two days of the session.
The court will sit in Jacksonville again in November.