Garcia v. Rivkind

The petitioners, who are defendants in county court prosecutions for simple battery which involve domestic violence, seek the issuance of writ of mandamus requiring the respondent chief judge of the Eleventh Circuit to set aside Administrative Orders 92-48 and 92-49. We grant the petitions.

The orders in question purported to establish a domestic violence “department” of the Criminal Division of the Dade County Court, to which the petitioners’ cases are assigned, and the Family Division of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. It is obvious that, however denominated, they create a specialized subject…