The Online Catalog allows searching and browsing of information about the Florida State Archives’ holdings of over 48,000 cubic feet of state and local government records and historical manuscripts. The catalog provides descriptions of over 3,400 collections and lists the contents of containers and folders in many of those collections. For assistance with accessing and using State Archives collections, call our Reference Staff at 850.245.6719 or email us at archives@dos.myflorida.com.
Arranged by record type (files, audio tapes), then chronological by date of meeting or event.
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Terms Governing Use:
Biographical/Historical:
The 1968 Constitution required that a Constitution Revision Commission be appointed in 1978, 1998 and every 20 years thereafter to review Florida's State Constitution, draft revisions, and submit them to Florida voters. The Florida Constitution Revision Commission was created in 1997 and was composed of thirty-seven members. The Commission met for one year, travelled throughout the State of Florida, identified issues, performed research, and recommended changes to the Constitution which were approved by Florida voters in November 1998. The Article V Task Force was created by the Florida Legislature (Chapter 94-138, Laws of Florida), for the purpose of reviewing specific issues relating to both the Judicial Branch and the administration of justice. The legislation provided that the Task Force should (1) examine the current process for selecting and retaining justices and judges and determine if the process results in a judiciary that is diverse and qualified; (2) examine the current process for disciplining justices and judges and determine whether the process results in proper sanctions for improper judicial conduct; (3) examine the current process for training justices and judges and determine whether the system can be improved; (4) examine the structure of the trial court to determine whether a single-tier court would better serve the needs of the state, and (5) make any other recommendations that would improve the administration of justice.
The Task Force was composed of 23 members, including judges from each level of the Florida court system, lawyers, community leaders, legislators, the attorney general, and various other constitutional officers. The Task Force represented the geographic, gender, racial, and professional diversity of the State of Florida.
The legislature directed the Task Force to review certain areas relating to Article V, including the selection and retention of justices and judges, the discipline of judges, the training of judges, the structure of the trial court, the qualifications of judges, and any other issues that would improve the administration of justice. The Task Force addressed issues relating to the determination of judicial disability, the term of office of county court judges, the feasibility of private judges, the regulation and discipline of attorneys, the responsibility of costs associated with Article V, and the requirement for district courts of appeal to render written opinions in all matters. To accomplish these goals, the Task Force worked as a collective body and in smaller subcommittees. Subcommittees were created to review Article V costs, the structure of the trial courts, and the composition of the judicial nominating commissions.
Summary:
The series documents meetings held by the Article V Task Force in the course of its review of issues relating to Florida's judicial system. The records include memoranda, minutes, agenda, news clips, articles, appearance records, briefing packages, transcripts, reports, drafts, court cases, bills, miscellaneous notes, and audiotape recordings of some of the meetings.
for detailed listing.