Appeals 101: How do you pronounce certiorari?

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I never realized quite the level of controversy over the pronunciation of an important appellate term: certiorari. Check out this fascinating article that analyzes that the ways that various United States Supreme Court Justices pronounce the term [.pdf]. I’ve always thought it was pronounced ““ser-shee-or-RAHR-ee” and that appears to be the majority view of the Supreme Court justices as well. Still, when in doubt, follow Justice Ginsburg and just avoid saying the word all together!

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The Fourth District has implemented a new procedure for requesting emergency consideration before the court. In re: Requests for Emergency Treatment, AO No. 2014-1 (Fla. 4 DCA June 11, 2014) [.pdf]. The Administrative order requires that any party seeking emergency treatment of a treatment file a separate “Request for Emergency Treatment,” not exceeding two pages in length, and certifying that the request is made in good faith. The order defines an emergency:

an “emergency” is a matter of extreme urgency that requires immediate action by this Court in order to avoid imminent, irreparable, and material harm. An exigency that is caused by the lack of diligence of the moving party shall not constitute an “emergency.”

The order also warns that parties or attorneys requesting emergency treatment without an objectively reasonable basis may be sanctioned.

Florida Courts Receive Much-Needed Funds

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The Florida court system received some much-needed additional funding to fix pay disparities between its employees and the private sector, renovate or replace older court buildings for the Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth District Courts, and add judgeships to the busy Second and Fifth District Courts of Appeals in the state budget approved May 2nd. As more fully reported in The Florida Bar Journal, the $8.1 million allocation for pay will be used for retention and recruitment to equalize pay scales so that the court system doesn’t lose competent workers to higher-paying private sector jobs.

The Fourth District received $7.1 million to begin construction to build a new courthouse, to replace their mold-infested building, while the First, Second and Fifth Districts will each receive funds toward renovating their older buildings.

Most importantly, Second District will get two new seats, and the Fifth will get one additional judge.