Florida Supreme Court

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Florida Supreme Court
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Court Information
Justices: 7
Founded: 1845
Location: Tallahassee
Salary
Associates: $251,414[1]
Judicial Selection
Method: Assisted appointment (governor-controlled commission)
Term: 6 years
Active justices

Carlos Muñiz
Charles Canady
Jamie Rutland Grosshans
John D. Couriel
Jorge Labarga
Meredith Sasso
Renatha Francis

Founded in 1845, the Florida Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Carlos Muñiz.

As of May 2023, all seven judges on the court were appointed by a Republican governor.[2]

The Florida Supreme Court meets in Tallahassee, Florida. The court hears oral arguments from August through June of every year, typically during the first full week of each month.[3]

In Florida, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a governor-controlled judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission with a majority of members selected by the governor. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.

Jurisdiction

The Florida Constitution gives the Supreme Court mandatory appellate jurisdiction over certain types of cases such as death penalty and public utilities cases, and matters pertaining to the state constitution. It has exclusive and non-exclusive jurisdiction over writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, quo warranto, and prohibition.[4] It also hears cases on appeal from the Florida District Courts of Appeal.

The following text from Article V, Section 3 of the Florida Constitution covers the organization and jurisdiction of the court:

Supreme Court

(a) ORGANIZATION.--The supreme court shall consist of seven justices. Of the seven justices, each appellate district shall have at least one justice elected or appointed from the district to the supreme court who is a resident of the district at the time of the original appointment or election. Five justices shall constitute a quorum. The concurrence of four justices shall be necessary to a decision. When recusals for cause would prohibit the court from convening because of the requirements of this section, judges assigned to temporary duty may be substituted for justices.

(b) JURISDICTION.--The supreme court:

(1) Shall hear appeals from final judgments of trial courts imposing the death penalty and from decisions of district courts of appeal declaring invalid a state statute or a provision of the state constitution.

(2) When provided by general law, shall hear appeals from final judgments entered in proceedings for the validation of bonds or certificates of indebtedness and shall review action of statewide agencies relating to rates or service of utilities providing electric, gas, or telephone service.

(3) May review any decision of a district court of appeal that expressly declares valid a state statute, or that expressly construes a provision of the state or federal constitution, or that expressly affects a class of constitutional or state officers, or that expressly and directly conflicts with a decision of another district court of appeal or of the supreme court on the same question of law.

(4) May review any decision of a district court of appeal that passes upon a question certified by it to be of great public importance, or that is certified by it to be in direct conflict with a decision of another district court of appeal.

(5) May review any order or judgment of a trial court certified by the district court of appeal in which an appeal is pending to be of great public importance, or to have a great effect on the proper administration of justice throughout the state, and certified to require immediate resolution by the supreme court.

(6) May review a question of law certified by the Supreme Court of the United States or a United States Court of Appeals which is determinative of the cause and for which there is no controlling precedent of the supreme court of Florida.

(7) May issue writs of prohibition to courts and all writs necessary to the complete exercise of its jurisdiction.

(8) May issue writs of mandamus and quo warranto to state officers and state agencies.

(9) May, or any justice may, issue writs of habeas corpus returnable before the supreme court or any justice, a district court of appeal or any judge thereof, or any circuit judge.

(10) Shall, when requested by the attorney general pursuant to the provisions of Section 10 of Article IV, render an advisory opinion of the justices, addressing issues as provided by general law.

(c) CLERK AND MARSHAL.--The supreme court shall appoint a clerk and a marshal who shall hold office during the pleasure of the court and perform such duties as the court directs. Their compensation shall be fixed by general law. The marshal shall have the power to execute the process of the court throughout the state, and in any county may deputize the sheriff or a deputy sheriff for such purpose.[5] [6]

Florida Constitution, Article V, Section 3

Justices

The table below lists the current judges of the Florida Supreme Court, their political party, and when they assumed office.


Office Name Party Date assumed office
Florida Supreme Court Charles Canady Nonpartisan September 8, 2008
Florida Supreme Court John Daniel Couriel Nonpartisan June 1, 2020
Florida Supreme Court Renatha Francis Nonpartisan September 1, 2022
Florida Supreme Court Jamie Rutland Grosshans Nonpartisan September 14, 2020
Florida Supreme Court Jorge Labarga Nonpartisan January 6, 2009
Florida Supreme Court Carlos Muñiz Nonpartisan January 22, 2019
Florida Supreme Court Meredith Sasso Nonpartisan May 23, 2023


Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Florida

The seven justices of the Florida Supreme Court are selected through the assisted appointment method. A judicial nominating commission consisting of nine members who are appointed by the governor to four-year terms screens potential judicial candidates.[7] The commission submits a list of three to six nominees to the governor, and the governor must then appoint a judge from the list.[8]

Newly appointed judges serve for at least one year, after which they appear in a yes-no retention election held during the next general election. If retained, judges serve six-year terms.[8] Under the Florida constitution, a judge must retire at age 75; however, a judge who reaches 75 after serving at least half of his or her term may complete that term.[9]

Qualifications

To serve on the court, a judge must be:

  • a qualified elector;
  • a state resident;
  • admitted to practice law in the state for 10 years before assuming the bench; and
  • under the age of 75.

Chief justice

The chief justice of the supreme court is selected by peer vote. He or she serves in that capacity for two years.[8]

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

If a midterm vacancy occurs, the seat is filled as it normally would be if the vacancy occurred at the end of a judge's term. A judicial nominating commission recommends three to six qualified candidates to the governor, and the governor selects a successor from that list. The new appointee serves for at least one year before running in a yes-no retention election.[8]

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.


Elections and appointments

2024

See also: Florida Supreme Court elections, 2024

The terms of two Florida Supreme Court justices will expire on January 7, 2025. The two seats are up for retention election on November 5, 2024. The filing deadline was April 26, 2024.

Candidates and results

Francis' seat

Florida Supreme Court

Renatha Francis is running for retention to the Florida Supreme Court on November 5, 2024.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
Yes
No
Total Votes

Sasso's seat

Florida Supreme Court, Meredith Sasso's seat

Meredith Sasso is running for retention to the Florida Supreme Court on November 5, 2024.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
Yes
No
Total Votes


2022

See also: Florida Supreme Court elections, 2022

The terms of five Florida Supreme Court justices expired in 2023. Three judicial terms expired on January 2, 2023, and two judicial terms expired on January 3, 2023. The five seats were up for retention election on November 8, 2022.

Candidates and results

Canady's seat

Florida Supreme Court, Charles Canady's seat

Charles Canady was retained to the Florida Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 64.0% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
Yes
 
64.0
 
4,358,437
No
 
36.0
 
2,455,875
Total Votes
6,814,312

Couriel's seat

Florida Supreme Court, John D. Couriel's seat

John Daniel Couriel was retained to the Florida Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 63.7% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
Yes
 
63.7
 
4,305,014
No
 
36.3
 
2,457,705
Total Votes
6,762,719

Grosshans' seat

Florida Supreme Court, Jamie Rutland Grosshans' seat

Jamie Rutland Grosshans was retained to the Florida Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 63.8% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
Yes
 
63.8
 
4,306,135
No
 
36.2
 
2,439,942
Total Votes
6,746,077

Labarga's seat

Florida Supreme Court, Jorge Labarga's seat

Jorge Labarga was retained to the Florida Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 62.3% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
Yes
 
62.3
 
4,197,872
No
 
37.7
 
2,535,034
Total Votes
6,732,906

Polston's seat

Florida Supreme Court, Ricky Polston's seat

Ricky Polston was retained to the Florida Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 63.0% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
Yes
 
63.0
 
4,240,078
No
 
37.0
 
2,486,947
Total Votes
6,727,025



2020

See also: Florida Supreme Court elections, 2020

The term of one Florida Supreme Court justice expired on January 5, 2021. The seat was up for retention election on November 3, 2020.

Candidates and results

Muñiz's seat

Florida Supreme Court

Carlos Muñiz was retained to the Florida Supreme Court on November 3, 2020 with 65.7% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
Yes
 
65.7
 
6,297,753
No
 
34.3
 
3,281,468
Total Votes
9,579,221



2019

See also: Florida Supreme Court justice vacancies (January 2019)

On January 7, 2019, Justices Barbara Pariente, Fred Lewis, and Peggy Quince retired from the court due to reaching the mandatory retirement age. Pariente and Lewis were appointed by former Gov. Lawton Chiles (D), and Quince was appointed by former Gov. Jeb Bush (R). A lawsuit concerning who would appoint new justices to the court was decided by the Florida Supreme Court. It ruled that outgoing Gov. Rick Scott (R) could not replace the justices as their terms expired at the same time his term as governor expired. The court ruled that the candidate elected in November 2018, Ron DeSantis (R), would appoint the replacement justices. DeSantis appointed Barbara Lagoa on January 9, Robert J. Luck on January 14, and Carlos Muñiz on January 22. These three appointments completed a seven-member court that was all appointed by Republican governors, and shifted the balance of the court in favor of conservatives.[10]

In a speech prior to inauguration, Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez (R) told reporters that she expected DeSantis' appointments to the state supreme court would "single-handedly be the most important thing for the future of this state that we've ever seen."[11] WMFE wrote that the trio of new appointments were likely to "make the bench the most conservative it's been in decades," and noted that one of DeSantis' major issues in the gubernatorial campaign was limiting judicial activism. DeSantis faced criticism of the picks for not including an African-American justice, marking the first time in more than 40 years that the court would not have an African-American member.[12]

Following the appointments, DeSantis said in a speech at the annual convention for the Federalist Society that the court had "constantly gone beyond the bounds of what is judicial into the realm of what is really legislative . . . Anything that had a political color to it just always happened to be decided in the way of the Democratic Party." He concluded his comments on the state supreme court by saying, "I think we're in a much better spot."[13]

2019 Florida Supreme Court appointments
Former justice Appointing governor New appointee Appointing governor
Barbara Pariente Lawton Chiles Democratic Party Barbara Lagoa Ron DeSantis Republican Party
Fred Lewis Lawton Chiles Democratic Party Robert J. Luck Ron DeSantis Republican Party
Peggy Quince Jeb Bush Republican Party Carlos Muñiz Ron DeSantis Republican Party

2018

See also: Florida Supreme Court elections, 2018

The term of one Florida Supreme Court justice expired in January 2019. That justice stood for retention by voters in 2018 in order to remain on the bench for a full twelve-year term. The retention election took place on November 6, 2018.

Candidates and results

Lawson's seat

General election candidates

Justices not on the ballot

2016

Justices who faced retention

Jorge Labarga
Charles Canady
Ricky Polston

Election results

November 8 general election

Jorge Labarga was retained in the Florida Supreme Court, Labarga's Seat election with 66.03% of the vote.

Florida Supreme Court, Labarga's Seat, 2016
Name Yes votes
Green check mark transparent.pngJorge Labarga66.03%
Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results

Charles Canady was retained in the Florida Supreme Court, Canady's Seat election with 68.01% of the vote.

Florida Supreme Court, Canady's Seat, 2016
Name Yes votes
Green check mark transparent.pngCharles Canady68.01%
Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results

Ricky Polston was retained in the Florida Supreme Court, Polston's Seat election with 67.80% of the vote.

Florida Supreme Court, Polston's Seat, 2016
Name Yes votes
Green check mark transparent.pngRicky Polston67.80%
Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results

Caseloads

The table below details the number of cases filed with the court and the number of dispositions (decisions) the court reached in each year.[14]

Florida Supreme Court caseload data
Year Filings Dispositions
2021 1,778 1,901
2020 1,903 2,013
2019 2,171 2,098
2018 2,161 2,282
2017 2,296 2,379
2016 2,310 2,419
2015 2,413 2,346
2014 2,521 3,204
2013 2,572 2,530
2012 2,754 2,372
2011 2,595 2,513
2010 2,521 2,448
2009 2,386 N/A[15]
2008 2,490 2,611

Analysis

Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters (2021)

See also: Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters

Ballotpedia Courts Determiners and Dissenters navigation ad.png In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters, a study on how state supreme court justices decided the cases that came before them. Our goal was to determine which justices ruled together most often, which frequently dissented, and which courts featured the most unanimous or contentious decisions.

The study tracked the position taken by each state supreme court justice in every case they decided in 2020, then tallied the number of times the justices on the court ruled together. We identified the following types of justices:

  • We considered two justices opinion partners if they frequently concurred or dissented together throughout the year.
  • We considered justices a dissenting minority if they frequently opposed decisions together as a -1 minority.
  • We considered a group of justices a determining majority if they frequently determined cases by a +1 majority throughout the year.
  • We considered a justice a lone dissenter if he or she frequently dissented alone in cases throughout the year.

Summary of cases decided in 2020

  • Number of justices: 7
  • Number of cases: 110
  • Percentage of cases with a unanimous ruling: 86.4% (95)
  • Justice most often writing the majority opinion: Justice Lawson (5)
  • Per curiam decisions: 96
  • Concurring opinions: 22
  • Justice with most concurring opinions: Justice Labarga (16)
  • Dissenting opinions: 16
  • Justice with most dissenting opinions: Justice Labarga (7)

For the study's full set of findings in Florida, click here.

Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)

See also: Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship

Ballotpedia Courts State Partisanship navigation ad.png Last updated: June 15, 2020

In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.

The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation, based on a variety of factors. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on the political or ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. To arrive at confidence scores we analyzed each justice's past partisan activity by collecting data on campaign finance, past political positions, party registration history, as well as other factors. The five categories of Confidence Scores were:

  • Strong Democrat
  • Mild Democrat
  • Indeterminate[16]
  • Mild Republican
  • Strong Republican

We used the Confidence Scores of each justice to develop a Court Balance Score, which attempted to show the balance among justices with Democratic, Republican, and Indeterminate Confidence Scores on a court. Courts with higher positive Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Republican Confidence Scores, while courts with lower negative Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Democratic Confidence Scores. Courts closest to zero either had justices with conflicting partisanship or justices with Indeterminate Confidence Scores.[17]

Florida had a Court Balance Score of 7.57, indicating Republican control of the court. In total, the study found that there were 15 states with Democrat-controlled courts, 27 states with Republican-controlled courts, and eight states with Split courts. The map below shows the court balance score of each state.

SSC by state.png


Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)

See also: Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores of state supreme court justices, 2012

In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan outlook of state supreme court justices in their paper, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns." A score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology while scores below 0 were more liberal. The state Supreme Court of Florida was given a campaign finance score (CFscore), which was calculated for judges in October 2012. At that time, Florida received a score of 0.51. Based on the justices selected, Florida was the 8th most conservative court. The study was based on data from campaign contributions by judges themselves, the partisan leaning of contributors to the judges, or—in the absence of elections—the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice but rather an academic gauge of various factors.[18]

Noteworthy cases

The following are noteworthy cases heard before the Florida Supreme Court. For a full list of opinions published by the court, click here. Know of a case we should cover here? Let us know by emailing us.

Ethics

The Code of Judicial Conduct for the State of Florida sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Florida. It consists of seven canons:

  • Canon 1: "A Judge Shall Uphold the Integrity and Independence of the Judiciary"
  • Canon 2: "A Judge Shall Avoid Impropriety and the Appearance of Impropriety in all of the Judge's Activities"
  • Canon 3: "A Judge Shall Perform the Duties of Judicial Office Impartially and Diligently"
  • Canon 4: "A Judge Is Encouraged to Engage in Activities to Improve the Law, the Legal System, and the Administration of Justice"
  • Canon 5: "A Judge Shall Regulate Extrajudicial Activities to Minimize the Risk of Conflict With Judicial Duties"
  • Canon 6: "Fiscal Matters of a Judge Shall be Conducted in a Manner That Does Not Give the Appearance of Influence or Impropriety; etc."
  • Canon 7: "A Judge or Candidate for Judicial Office Shall Refrain From Inappropriate Political Activity"[25]

The full text of the Code of Judicial Conduct for the State of Florida can be found here.

Removal of judges

Judges in Florida may be removed in one of two ways:


History of the court

Florida Supreme Court building
  • 1838: The Territory of Florida Constitution was written; creating a supreme court. The territory's constitution did not assign any judges to the supreme court.
  • 1846-1851: Circuit judges were elected to serve on the supreme court by the Florida legislature.
  • 1851: One chief justice and two justices were assigned to the supreme court.
  • 1853: Justices were to be elected to the court by popular vote.
  • 1861: The constitution was amended to allow the governor to appoint justices with advice and consent of the Florida Senate.
  • 1902: An amendment increased the number of justices to six.
  • 1911: The Legislature reduced the number of justices to five.
  • 1923: The number of justices on the supreme court was increased to six.
  • 1940: A constitutional amendment set the number of justices on the supreme court to seven.
  • 1971: Governor Reubin Askew instituted merit selection of supreme court justices.
  • 1976: The Florida Constitution was amended to allow for merit selection of appellate judges.[27][4]

Noteworthy firsts

  • Justice Jorge Labarga was the first Cuban American to hold the post of chief justice, the first chief justice since the Civil War to succeed himself in the office, and also the first in over 40 years to serve more than one term as chief justice.[28][29]
  • Justice Peggy Quince was the first African American woman to serve as chief justice of the Supreme Court. She was also the second African American justice and the third female justice to serve on the court.[30]
  • Justice Joseph Hatchett was the first African American justice to serve on the court.[31]
  • Justice Rosemary Barkett was the first woman to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. She is also the first female, Arab-American and Hispanic woman to be appointed to the court.[32]
  • Justice Raoul Cantero was the first Hispanic person to serve on the court.[33]

Courts in Florida

See also: Courts in Florida

In Florida, there are three federal district courts, a state supreme court, a state court of appeals, and trial courts with both general and limited jurisdiction. These courts serve different purposes.

The image below depicts the flow of cases through Florida's state court system. Cases typically originate in the trial courts and can be appealed to courts higher up in the system.

The structure of Florida's state court system.

Party control of Florida state government

A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government. A state supreme court plays a role in the checks and balances system of a state government.

Florida has a Republican trifecta. The Republican Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature.

See also

Florida Judicial Selection More Courts
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Courts in Florida
Florida Court of Appeals
Florida Supreme Court
Elections: 20242023202220212020201920182017
Gubernatorial appointments
Judicial selection in Florida
Federal courts
State courts
Local courts

External links

Footnotes

  1. The salary of the chief justice may be higher than an associate justice.
  2. Gov. Charlie Crist switched parties from Republican to Democratic during his term. The judges he appointed were during his time as a Republican, so they are considered appointed by a Republican governor.
  3. Florida Supreme Court, "Visiting the Court," accessed September 13, 2021
  4. 4.0 4.1 Florida Supreme Court, "History of the Florida Supreme Court," accessed September 13, 2021
  5. Florida State Senate, "Florida Constitution," accessed March 26, 2014
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  7. American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Florida; Judicial Nominating Commissions," archived January 13, 2012
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial selection: Florida," archived October 2, 2014
  9. Florida Constitution, "Article V, Section 8," accessed September 10, 2021
  10. Sun-Sentinel, "Next governor — not Rick Scott — to appoint new justices, court rules," October 16, 2018
  11. Miami Herald, "New conservative makeup of Florida Supreme Court is the start of DeSantis’ legacy," January 28, 2019
  12. WMFE, "DeSantis Judicial Appointments Set To Give Florida Supreme Court Conservative Majority," January 25, 2019
  13. Florida Politics, "Ron DeSantis promises new Supreme Court won’t side so often with Democrats," February 4, 2019
  14. Florida Supreme Court, "Publications and Statistics," accessed October 4, 2022
  15. As of February 13, 2019, this information was not avaialble on the Florida Supreme Court website.
  16. An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
  17. The Court Balance Score is calculated by finding the average partisan Confidence Score of all justices on a state supreme court. For example, if a state has justices on the state supreme court with Confidence Scores of 4, -2, 2, 14, -2, 3, and 4, the Court Balance is the average of those scores: 3.3. Therefore, the Confidence Score on the court is Mild Republican. The use of positive and negative numbers in presenting both Confidence Scores and Court Balance Scores should not be understood to that either a Republican or Democratic score is positive or negative. The numerical values represent their distance from zero, not whether one score is better or worse than another.
  18. Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
  19. 19.0 19.1 North Escambia, "Florida Supreme Court cancels hearing on execution drug," December 15, 2013
  20. Florida Supreme Court, "Askari Abdullah Muhammad f/k/a Thomas Knight, vs. State of Florida," accessed September 13, 2021
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Reuters, "Florida Supreme Court rules execution drug is effective sedative," archived October 20, 2014 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "reuters" defined multiple times with different content
  22. Miami Herald, "Florida Supreme Court approves new execution drug," December 15, 2013
  23. FlaglerLive.com, "Askari Muhammad Is Executed After 38 Years on Death Row and Numerous Legal Bungles," January 8, 2014
  24. Supreme Court of Florida, "Rick Scott, et al. vs. George Williams, et al.," January 17, 2013
  25. Florida Supreme Court, "Code of Judicial Conduct for the State of Florida," accessed September 13, 2021
  26. Florida Supreme Court, "Judicial Qualifications Commission Cases Pending in the Florida Supreme Court," accessed July 17, 2023
  27. Florida Supreme Court, "The Supreme Court of Florida," accessed September 13, 2021
  28. Miami Herald, "Florida Supreme Court welcomes its first Cuban-American chief justice," archived July 1, 2014
  29. Miami Herald "Jorge Labarga to serve rare 2nd term as chief justice of Florida Supreme Court," accessed February 8, 2016
  30. Florida Supreme Court, "Chief Justice Peggy A. Quince," accessed September 13, 2021
  31. Florida Supreme Court, "Judge Profile, Josephy Hatchet," accessed September 13, 2021
  32. Florida Supreme Court, "Judge Profile, Rosemary Barkett," accessed September 13, 2021
  33. Florida Supreme Court, "Judge Cantero Biography," accessed September 13, 2021