Today the Supremes issued a per curiam opinion in In re: Certification of Need of Additional Judges addressing the need for additional judges in the state, pursuant to the Court’s duty under Art. V, Sec. 9 of the Florida Constitution.

The Court noted that it does not believe that funding for the state courts is adequate to maintain a speedy resolution of the many cases that are filed, a problem exacerbated by the decrease in court support staff, a large number of foreclosure matters clogging up the circuit civil dockets, as well as increases in landlord tenant disputes and small credit matters in county courts.

The court concluded by requesting approval of the Judicial Branch Budget Request in order to address maintenance and operational issues, and by certifying a need for 16 additional circuit court judges, 47 county court judges, and 1 additional appellate judge for the Second District Court of Appeals, where judges have an average weighted caseload of 315 cases per judge.