Criminal Law Certification.

• Author: Marcus, Ilana
• Position: Annual Reports of Committees of the Florida Bar: 2018-2019

The Criminal Law Certification Committee is responsible for overseeing the process of certifying attorneys as either criminal trial specialists or appellate specialists recognized by The Florida Bar and for reviewing the applications of currently certified attorneys seeking recertification because their terms are expiring. The certification process includes the following requirements: satisfactory peer review references, passing the certification examination (initial applicants only), substantial involvement in either criminal appellate law or criminal trial law; and a handling of either appellate actions or trials. For initial criminal appellate applicants, representation of at least 25 appellate actions; for recertification criminal appellate applicants, representation of at least 10 appellate actions; for initial criminal trial applicants, at least 25 contested criminal cases with 20 jury trials tried to a verdict, 15 of which involved a felony charge, 10 as lead counsel, and five that occurred within the five years preceding application. For recertification, criminal trial applicants: at least five contested criminal cases, with four that were before a jury, and three that involved a felony charge.

As chair of the Criminal Law Certification Committee, I am happy to report another successful year of overseeing the certification of Florida criminal lawyers. The committee is comprised of 12 geographically diverse, board certified attorneys who practice in a variety of areas, including criminal trial, criminal appellate, criminal prosecution, and criminal defense. The committee consists of government attorneys, public defenders, and private practitioners. The committee began drafting the 2019 examination in August 2018 and met in October 2018 to review initial and recertification applications. Over the next several months, the committee worked to continue the prior committees' improvement of the quality of the certification exam to meet the high standards expected by committee members and The Florida Bar.

Both the criminal trial and criminal appellate law exams contain five essay questions and 50 multiple-choice questions addressing procedural and substantive law in both state and federal court. The exam is written to assess a criminal lawyer's fundamental knowledge of the law, analytical reasoning, and skill in applying knowledge to practical situations. On May 17 in Tampa, applicants will answer these questions in two, three-hour blocks...