Engle progeny cases major burden on Florida courts

Tobacco cases are taking their toll on Florida’s court system, according to a story in Northwest Florida News.

The Florida Supreme Court has called on state lawmakers to fund three additional circuit judge positions next year, including one in Northwest Florida.

Robin Wright, the administrator for the First Judicial Circuit, said need for another circuit court judge existed even though caseloads in Northwest Florida had decreased in recent years.

“The caseloads are trending down, but the cases are more complicated,” Wright said.

Particularly draining had been the tobacco cases that had arisen out of a 2006 court ruling.

Eighty tobacco cases had been filed in the First Judicial Circuit since the ground-breaking decision in Engle v. Liggett, and the 10 [so-called Engle progeny cases] thus far tried had taken a minimum of three weeks to complete.