As Florida courts have struggled in recent years with a flood of foreclosure cases, retired judges have played a key role in reducing backlogs.
But a pair of Pinellas County lawyers last week filed a petition in the Florida Supreme Court arguing that the heavy reliance on retired—or, as they are known, “senior”—judges violates the state Constitution. The document asks the Supreme Court to curb the practice in the circuit that includes Pinellas and Pasco counties and, possibly, to review the use of senior judges statewide.
