By Valeria Hendricks
The first clerk of Florida’s
Second District Court of Appeal was Joseph Gillen. Some 50 years later, Mary
Beth Kuenzel, the cousin of Gillen’s granddaughter, has become the court’s sixth
clerk. Although she revealed this bit of history at her induction ceremony, Mary
Beth began her remarks on a somber note by recognizing Jim Birkhold's dedicated
service and many contributions to the court before his sudden death.
Mary Beth is certainly qualified
to lead the court’s clerk’s office. She has served the court for more than 20 years
as a staff attorney. She has worked on numerous committees within the court,
including its social media and practice preferences committees. Before joining
the court, Mary Beth received her bachelor’s degree from FSU and worked for the
Florida House of Representatives, where she eventually served as the director
of communications in the Speaker's Office. She later attended Stetson
University College of Law, graduating in 1993. Mary Beth lives in St.
Petersburg with her husband, Kevin, an architect, artist, and attorney (in that
order).
Although Mary Beth has been the
clerk for only a short time, she credits the deputy clerks for their
helpfulness, professionalism, and great institutional knowledge. Anyone who has
practiced before the Second DCA can agree on the unsurpassed quality of the
deputy clerks. During that short time, she has already identified two challenges
facing the court and how practitioners can help.
The first challenge is the “proper
classification of appeals and original proceedings, as they come in the door.”
According to Mary Beth, that “determination is made in a vacuum, but it
determines many things, from the type of record to filing deadlines.” Mary Beth
says appellate lawyers can help the clerk’s office with the initial
classification by explaining the basis for jurisdiction by a notice of appeal
or petition and by setting forth the pertinent dates if, for example, rendition
was tolled.
The
second challenge Mary Beth identified is technology. Technology, of course, is
a beneficial tool. But Mary Beth admits that it has made some things more
complicated because the clerks are asked to help attorneys and pro se litigants
figure out how to do things from an information technology standpoint. “It has
also changed expectations about how quickly things should be done,” says Mary
Beth. “The appellate court clerks are still in the development process of
e-filing, e-records, and easy accessibility. We can receive e-filings, but
we’re still sending out paper copies of orders and the like.” Mary Beth also
observes, “As we approach electronic viewing of records (and we’re not there
yet), appellate lawyers can help the clerk’s office and their clients by ensuring
that confidential information is properly noted, redacted, and protected.”
The
HCBA’s Appellate Practice Section welcomes Mary Beth Kuenzel as the clerk of
the Second District Court of Appeal.
