II. Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure
· 9.020. DEFINITIONS - The parties in an appellate case are: the appellant (the party filing the appeal), the appellee (every party other than the appellant), the petitioner (a party who files a petition relating to original proceedings or to discretionary proceedings), and the respondent (every other party in a proceeding brought by the petitioner). The term court refers to the supreme court, district courts of appeal and circuit courts of Florida. The lower tribunal refers to the administrative agency or other governing body whose order is to be reviewed on appeal. Clerk refers to the individual or official specifically designated as the clerk, or whose functions resemble that of a clerk, for the lower tribunal. Order is defined to include all final and interlocutory (interim) rulings of a lower tribunal, including administrative agencies. Family law matters are defined as those governed by the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure.
· 9.030. JURISDICTION OF COURTS - Original jurisdiction is the authority of a court to hold an original proceeding. Appellate jurisdiction is when the court has authority to hear an appeal from a lower tribunal. A court is said to have discretionary jurisdiction when it has the power to decide whether to hear a particular case brought before it. Certiorari jurisdiction is used for the review of non-final orders of lower tribunals. All Florida courts have original jurisdiction to issue any writs necessary for the complete exercise of that court's jurisdiction.
The Florida Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction and is required to review appeals of final orders from lower tribunals imposing the death sentence or declaring invalid a state statute or a provision of the state constitution. The Florida Supreme Court has discretionary jurisdiction to review the decisions of lower tribunals that: uphold the validity of a state statute, construe a state or federal constitution provision, impact a class of constitutional and state officers, directly conflict with the decision of another district court of appeal or of the supreme court on the same question of law, certify a question of a great public importance, or certify a conflict between other Florida appellate district courts. The Florida Supreme Court has certiorari jurisdiction over appeals pending in the Florida district court of appeal that require immediate resolution because the issue to be resolved is of great public importance or has a significant impact on the proper administration of justice. The United States Supreme Court or a United States federal court of appeal can certify questions of law to the Florida Supreme Court to resolve a cause of action when there is no controlling precedent in Florida.
Florida district courts of appeal have appellate jurisdiction to hear appeals of final orders of trial courts; non-final orders of circuit courts in accordance with Fla. R. App. P. 9.130; and administrative actions, if authorized by law. The district courts of appeal may exercise certiorari jurisdiction and review non-final orders of lower tribunals, other than pursuant to Fla. R. App. P. 9.130, and final orders of circuit courts issued in their reviewing capacity. The district courts of appeal may exercise discretionary review over final and non-final orders of the county court that have been certified to be of great public importance.
The circuit courts have appellate jurisdiction over final and non-final orders of lower tribunals, including the actions of administrative agencies as provided by law. The circuit courts also have certiorari jurisdiction to review non-final orders of lower tribunals other than those set forth in Fla. R. App. P. 9.130.
· 9.110. APPEAL PROCEEDINGS - To begin the appellate process, the appellant must file a notice of appeal with the clerk of the lower tribunal within 30 days of rendition (the judge's entry) of the order to be reviewed. Note that no additional days are added to the 30 day time period if the order is sent to the parties by mail. One notice of appeal is sufficient to seek appellate review of more than 1 order as long as it is timely filed.
The caption of a notice of appeal must contain the name of the lower tribunal, the names and designations of at least 1 party on each side, and the case number from the lower tribunal. The notice of appeal is required to also include the name of the court to which the appeal is being taken, the date of rendition of the order being appealed, and the nature of the order to be reviewed by the appellate court. In addition, a conformed copy of the order being appealed must be attached to the notice of appeal along with any order that postpones the order’s rendition, except that this requirement does not apply to criminal cases.
The appellant has 70 days from the filing of his or her notice of appeal to serve the initial brief on the appellee. The appellee may file a cross-appeal against the appellant (similar to a counterclaim) within 10 days of service of the appellant's notice of appeal or within the time allowed for filing a notice of appeal, whichever is later.
The clerk of court has 50 days from the filing of the notice to appeal to prepare the record of the trial court proceedings and serve copies of the index on all parties. The clerk must provide the appellate court with the record within 110 days of the filing of the notice of appeal.
The deadlines for the appellate process are expedited if an unmarried minor child, or another person on her behalf, appeals of an order dismissing a petition for waiver of parental notice of her termination of pregnancy. The clerk of the lower tribunal must prepare and transmit the record within 2 days of the notice of filing of appeal. The assigned district court of appeal must render its decision no later than 10 days from the filing of the notice of appeal.
· 9.130. APPEAL TO REVIEW NON-FINAL ORDERS - Only the following types of non-final orders can be reviewed by a district court of appeal: orders concerning venue; orders concerning injunctions; orders determining personal jurisdiction; orders involving the right to the immediate possession of property; orders adjudicating the right to immediate financial relief or child custody in family law proceedings; orders adjudicating the entitlement of a party to arbitration; orders excluding a party from workers compensation immunity; orders determining that a class should be certified; orders finding a party is not entitled to absolute or qualified immunity in a civil rights claim based on federal law; or orders regarding the commencement and termination of a receivership.
The appeal of the non-final order begins with the filing of 2 copies of the notice of appeal within 30 days of the rendition of the non-final order to be reviewed. The clerk does not need to prepare the record unless required to by the court. The initial brief of the appellant must be served within 15 days of the filing of his or her notice of appeal. Unless the appellate court stays the trial court proceedings, the lower tribunal can continue conducting its proceedings, including the trial or final hearing. However, the lower tribunal cannot enter a final order that disposes of the case pending review of the non-final order by the appellate court. The appeal of a non-final order does not prevent either party from later appealing the final order in the case.
· 9.140. APPEAL PROCEEDINGS IN CRIMINAL CASES - A defendant may only appeal where the alleged error was argued in the trial court or fundamental error is claimed in the appeal. A defendant may appeal the following; a final judgment of guilt, an order granting probation or community control, an order entered after final judgment, an illegal or an unlawful sentence, and any other orders as authorized by law. If the defendant pleads guilty or nolo contendere and does not expressly reserve the right to appeal, then the defendant may not appeal the judgment or sentence. In addition, a defendant may appeal a judgment and sentence that is entered based on his or her plea of guilty when the following issues are raised on appeal: the trial court was without subject matter jurisdiction, an illegal sentence was entered, the state failed to honor a plea agreement, or the defendant's plea was entered into involuntarily. Unless a sentencing error affects a defendant's fundamental rights, it must be preserved in the trial court by the filing of a motion to correct sentence or a motion to withdraw the defendant's plea in order to be appealable.
The state may appeal the following final trial court orders, an order dismissing a charging document (indictment, information, or charging affidavit), an order granting a new trial, an order arresting judgment, an illegal sentence or one that does not comply with the sentencing guidelines, a judgment releasing a prisoner on habeas corpus, a judgment of acquittal after a jury verdict, and certain final orders in juvenile matters. Moreover, the state may appeal the following non-final trial court orders: an order dismissing a count of an indictment or information; an order finding a defendant incompetent, mentally challenged, or insane; an order ruling on a question of law in the event that the defendant is convicted and appeals the judgment; and some non-final juvenile court orders. Also, the state may appeal a non-final trial court order suppressing pretrial confessions, admissions, or evidence obtained by search and seizure However, a suppression order cannot be appealed after jeopardy attaches (after the jury is sworn in a jury trial or after the first witness is sworn in a non-jury trial).
In addition, the state can obtain review of any non-appealable order of the lower tribunal by filing a petition for a writ of certiorari. A writ of certiorari gives the appellate court the ability to prevent a miscarriage of justice in the lower tribunal when no other method of appeal is available.
· 9.200. THE RECORD - The clerk of court has the responsibility to prepare the record of the proceedings in the lower tribunal for the appellate court. The record includes original documents, exhibits other than physical evidence, along with any transcripts of proceedings that have been filed in the lower tribunal. If possible the clerk's office must transmit a copy or reproduction of an exhibit, including physical evidence, from a criminal case if required by court order. The parties may enter into a stipulation identifying the issues on appeal and attaching a copy of the order or orders to be reviewed along with as much of the record they deem necessary for the determination of appeal.
Within 10 days of filing the notice of appeal, the appellant must prepare a designation of the proceedings that need to be transcribed and included as part of the record. The appellee has 20 days from the filing of the notice of appeal to designate any additional portions of the proceedings to be transcribed. The proceedings are generally transcribed by a court reporter or other approved transcriptionist. It is the court reporter's responsibility to provide the complete transcripts within 30 days of service of the designation unless the court grants an extension of time. In the event that the trial proceedings were not recorded or cannot be transcribed for another reason, the appellant must prepare a statement of the evidence from the best available source, including the appellant's own recollection. After service of the appellant's statement, the appellee has 10 days to serve objections or proposed amendments to the statement.
The appellant has 10 days, from the date of filing his or her notice of appeal, to request that the clerk include or exclude certain documents or exhibits filed in the lower tribunal as part of the record. A statement of judicial acts to be reviewed is required if the party directs the clerk to submit less than the entire record. The statement of judicial acts to be reviewed is a method of informing the opposing party that the full record will not be transmitted and to enable that party to determine whether additional portions of the record are necessary and should be required. The appellee has 20 days from the filing of the notice of appeal to request that the clerk include additional portions of the record. In the event of a cross-appeal, the cross-appellant has 20 days from the notice of filing to direct the clerk to include additional documents, exhibits, or transcripts of part of the record. If the cross-appellant chooses to have the clerk submit less than the entire record, then a statement of the judicial acts to be reviewed is required within 20 days of the notice of filing. The cross-appellee has 10 days after service to direct the clerk to add material to the record. In cross-appeals the time for the clerk's preparation and transmittal of the record is extended by 10 days.
· 9.210. BRIEFS - The different types of briefs are: the initial brief, the answer brief, a reply brief, and a cross-reply brief. Appellate briefs must be prepared with strict adherence to very specific formatting requirements. Briefs need to be printed, typewritten, or duplicated on white 8½-by-11 inch paper. The text in a brief is to be in black, double-spaced with 1 inch margins on all sides. Quotations, footnotes, headings, and subheadings can be single-spaced. Briefs need to be prepared with either Times New Roman 14-point or Courier New 12-point font text. Following the certificate of service, briefs must contain a certificate of compliance signed by counsel or the pro se party certifying compliance with the font requirements. Briefs can either be bound in book form or stapled in the upper left corner. Each brief must have a cover sheet with the following information: the name of the court, the style of the case, the appellate case number if available, the party’s name who is filing the brief, the type of brief being filed, and the name and address of the attorney or pro se litigant filing the brief.