Broward Circuit Judge John Bowman. Courtesy photo. Broward Circuit Judge John Bowman. Courtesy photo.

Broward Circuit Judge John Bowman has become the first to fill a permanent appellate chair position as part of efforts to make the civil court more efficient and consistent.

Chief Judge Jack Tuter made the appointment after state legislation increased the county court's jurisdiction from cases with up to $30,000 in dispute, instead of $15,000 — meaning the circuit court will see an uptick in appellate cases.

Until now, a panel of three judges rotated every six months, but now the first time, one stationary judge will preside.

Bowman said there was a need for stability. Some cases dragged on too long because of the transitory nature of the panel as parties would file continuances before one panel, then another, without oversight from a permanent supervisor.

"That was one of the complaints we got out of the county court judges. It was, 'I don't care what you do, but do it quickly,' " Bowman said. " Then we have these really great staff attorneys working with us, but they go on to greener pastures, and we lose all of that institutional knowledge, so that was our other concern."

Bowman said he was pleased to have Tuter's confidence in "tweaking a system we already have that's going pretty" well. When the court first implemented the three-judge panel, for instance, pending appeals dropped from 1,127 in January 2017 to 441 in December 2018.

The responsibility comes in addition to Bowman's regular duties, so he'll be sacrificing his lunch hour to make it work. There's also the chance of expansion beyond the civil court, according to Bowman, who quipped that he would like to offer family court and probate judges the opportunity to "do some extra work with us."

In the long term, the legislature is considering moving these cases to local appellate courts, according to Bowman, but that decision would be a few years down the road.

Bowman was elected to the circuit bench in 2002, reelected in 2008 and 2014, and crowned "jurist of the year" by the Young Lawyers Division of the Broward Bar in 2017.

Before becoming a judge, Bowman spent 14 years as a civil trial lawyer, specializing in probate and estate administration and litigation. Admitted to the bar in 1988, Bowman has also served as a traffic-hearing magistrate and an arbitrator for the Florida Attorney General's Office.

He holds a bachelor's degree from Florida Atlantic University and a law degree from St. Thomas University.

Read more:

At Least 1 New Justice Will Be From South Florida: Who Are the Candidates?

Where Will the Next Generation of Trial Lawyers Come From?