The Florida Third District Court of Appeal is headquartered in Miami, Florida. Its ten judges have jurisdiction over cases arising from Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties.
Florida DCA map
History
The Third District Court of Appeal (DCA) was one of the first three DCAs created by the Florida legislature in 1957. Court was first held in a room of the University of Miami School of Law. Then, from 1960 to 1976, court sessions took place at the State Office Building. It wasn't until 1976 that the court finally had its own facility to conduct its business. This courthouse was dedicated by Governor Reubin Askew in the fall of 1976. In 1990 an addition was added to keep pace with the court's continued growth. The courthouse has won the recognition of the American Institute of Architects (South Florida Chapter) and in 1981 Governor Bob Graham gave the court the Governor's Design Award.
The court's original three judges (Charles A. Carroll, Mallory H. Horton and Tillman Pearson) have increased to ten as of 2010.
Florida Third DCA building
Chief Judges
Judges who have served as Chief Judge of the Third DCA include:[1]
Ivan F. Fernandez, Current Chief Judge since July 1, 2021
In re Gill (2010) (Cope, J.) Text of the Court of Appeal decision Archived 2010-10-10 at the Wayback Machine:[3] This ruling struck down the Florida's statutory ban on gay and lesbian people adopting children in the state.
Engle v. Liggett Group (2003) (Gersten, J.) Text of the Court of Appeal decision Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine: This ruling was overturned in 2006 by the Florida Supreme Court [1] which ordered decertification of a class action lawsuit against big tobacco companies that effectively reversed the largest punitive damage jury award, $145 billion, in U.S. history.
