‘Judicial Report Card’ bills die without committee consideration
Rep. Nathan Boyles
Proposals to create “report cards” for individual trial judges based on such things as caseloads, clearance rates, and availability of hearing times failed to gain traction in the Florida Legislature this year.
HB 421, the “Judicial Efficiency and Transparency” or “JET” act by Republican Rep. Nathan Boyles, a business owner and attorney from Baker, died without being considered by a single committee.
Boyles said in a statement when he filed the bill that he wanted to bring “sunlight to judicial operations” and give citizens “straightforward, consistent data” on court performance.
The measure would have required court clerks, beginning in 2028, to file an annual report for each circuit and county judge that would include such things as number of cases assigned, cases that reached final disposition, and a clearance rate defined as “the total percentage of cases filed during each reporting period that were disposed of.”
Other metrics would have included the average age of a judge’s active pending cases, the number of cases pending more than three years, and the average scheduling to hearing time for all hearings before the judge.
Judges would have been authorized to post explanatory statements, if the chief judge approved. The bill required the data to be posted on clerk and court websites.
The courts are already taking steps to improve case management and transparency. Over the past several years, the Florida Supreme Court has amended the Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration, as well as multiple other rule sets, to promote the timely resolution of civil cases. The amendments provide for early judicial intervention, adherence to deadlines, and reporting of case management data.
Sen. Mack Bernard
A similar bill, SB 452 by Democratic Sen. Mack Bernard, a West Palm Beach attorney, died without receiving a single committee hearing.
“Family Court Report Cards,” would have required the Office of State Courts Administrator to compile annual reports for family court division judges in each of Florida’s 20 judicial circuits.
The reports would contain such things as the average time to final judgment in dissolution of marriage and timesharing cases, the percentage of cases resolved through mediation or settlement, the number and percentage of cases requiring court-appointed psychological evaluations, and the average cost to parties for court-appointed professionals, if available.
Other metrics would include the rate of post-judgment modifications within three years after entry of a final judgment, and compliance rates with statutory timeframes for rulings on motions and reports.
“The report card is intended to promote transparency, accountability, and public confidence in the family law system by providing standardized performance metrics regarding case management, timeliness, and outcomes,” the bill states in a declaration of public purpose.