The usual intent behind granting power through a constitutional provision is to maintain decisional uniformity.
[1] The power is coined as “discretionary” because a court may choose whether to accept or deny the petitioner's appeal.
[1][5] The function affords a litigant a second set of eyes and promotes the court's interest in fairness.
[5] It is the job of the lower court to adjudicate a matter in accordance with applicable legal standards.
[5] In the latter situation, the appellate court will focus on truly novel questions or revisiting older legal rules that are now clearly obsolete or unconstitutional.
A judge's personal policy preferences and workload inadvertently drive the court's selection process or screening procedures.
[3] In Florida, discretionary jurisdiction is a power assigned to the State's highest court through a Constitutional Provision.
[1] While the provision does not expressly state "discretionary jurisdiction," the categorical nature of the language restricts the use of the court's discretion.
a panel of five justices, one of whom oversees the preparation of a memorandum analyzing whether there is a basis for the court's exercise of discretionary jurisdiction, will review the case.
[7] If four justices agree on a jurisdictional disposition of the case—based on the four instances listed above—the parties are notified of the court's decision, and the case proceeds accordingly.