weLCoMe to the new seCond distriCt Court of appeaL Courthouse! appellate practice Section Co-Chairs: DimitriPeteves – Creed & Gowdy, P. A. & AlisonPreston – BrannockBerman & Seider
the new courthouse marks a years-long effort to relocate the second district Court of appeal into a permanent facility.
On December 1, 2025, the Second District Court of Appeal moved into their new permanent courthouse, the Bernie McCabe Courthouse, located in downtown St. Petersburg at 525 Mirror Lake Drive North, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701. The new courthouse is named in honor of Bernie McCabe, the late State Attorney for the Sixth Judicial Circuit who served Pinellas and Pasco counties for nearly 50 years until his passing in 2021.
The Second District Court of Appeal, originally established in 1956 in Lakeland, hears appeals from the Sixth Circuit( Pasco and Pinellas counties), the Twelfth Circuit( Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties), and the Thirteenth Circuit( Hillsborough County). Chief Judge Matthew C. Lucas currently leads the Second District Court of Appeal and oversees all administrative operations. He was unanimously elected by his colleagues to begin a new two-year term as chief judge on July 1, 2025.
Second District Court of appeal Courtroom
The new building, situated along Mirror Lake, is a three-story, 59,516 square foot facility just one block from City Hall and near the Pinellas County Clerk of Court. The building houses 15 judicial chambers, a courtroom, Clerk of Court services, workspace for 95 full-time employees, and space for court events. The site also features a 7,800-square-foot central energy plant, secured ground-floor parking, and modern security systems for the court and staff. The site includes green space and improvements to the sidewalks along Mirror Lake.
The new courthouse marks a years-long effort to relocate the Second District Court of Appeal into a permanent facility. The Second District Court of Appeal relocated due to air quality and structural issues in 2016 from Lakeland to leased offices at the Stetson Law Center in Tampa. A 2017 study recommended consolidating the Second District Court of Appeal in the Tampa Bay region.
The facility was designed by architecture firms DLR Group of Orlando, the architect of record, and Wannemacher Jensen Architects of St. Petersburg, the associate architect, and was constructed by Skanska, a leading construction and development firm. Skanska built the courthouse to meet LEED ® certification standards, underscoring the firm’ s commitment to sustainable building practices.
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