Florida Judge William D. Palmer named president of national judicial organization

Williamsburg (October 13, 2015) — Judge William D. Palmer of the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach has been elected president of the Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal (CCJSCA), a national association dedicated to improving the administration of justice in state appellate courts. He will serve a one-year term, which became effective last week during the conference’s 36^th annual meeting in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

William D. Palmer currently serves judge of Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach. He was appointed to the court by Governor Jeb Bush in 2000 after 24 years in private practice, primarily in the areas of civil litigation, family law, appellate law, adoption law, arbitration, and mediation.

Judge Palmer has served as Chair of the Florida Supreme Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules and Policies Committee, the Florida Bar’s Appellate Certification Committee and Judicial Nomination Procedures Commission, the Ninth Circuit Grievance Committee, and the Ninth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission. He has also served as secretary-treasurer, vice-president, and president-elect of the Council of Chief Judges of State Courts of Appeal. He has written and lectured extensively in the areas of judicial selection, appellate law, family law, and litigation.  He was a certified arbitrator, civil mediator, and family mediator and has written, spoken, and trained in those areas.

Judge Palmer received a bachelor’s degree in Management Science (with honors) from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1973 and received his juris doctorate (cum laude) in 1976 from Boston College Law School where he served as editor-in-chief of the Environmental Affairs Law Review. He is married to attorney Nancy S. Palmer and has five children.

Established in 1980, CCJSCA works to improve the administration of justice and the operation of the state intermediate appellate courts. The council's mission is carried out through the participation of intermediate appellate court leaders, including past, current, and future chief judges. The council provides these court leaders the opportunity to share ideas about different ways to solve common problems, learn about effective programs instituted in other intermediate appellate courts, and examine ways to promote efficiency and fiscal responsibility in our own courts.

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) provides executive secretariat services to CCJSCA. The NCSC, headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and service to the state courts. Founded in 1971 by the Conference of Chief Justices and Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger, NCSC provides education, training, technology, management, and research services to the nation's state courts.