William “Bill” C. Davell: Going to Court in Florida: What to Expect

The Good News provides a monthly column with important content having to do with topics from the legal community. This month Bill Davell, director, discusses court with Lexy Semino, an attorney with Tripp Scott.

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What comes to mind when you think of a day in court? For some, it is a favorite legal drama television show or movie. For others it is the anticipation of long waits, never-ending forms to fill out, and the uncertainty of an outcome.

A person’s reason for having to go to court can range from a parking ticket to a serious criminal accusation or a complicated high-stakes lawsuit. Hopefully, if you ever do need to appear in court, your reason for doing so will fall at the less serious end of the spectrum. We hope that the following answers to a few basic questions about Florida courts will help reduce any worries you might have about walking up the courthouse steps.

Bill Davell: Let’s start with the difference between civil and criminal law. Can you give us an overview? 

Lexy Semino: Civil Law covers all non-criminal law and generally involves settling financial or property-related disputes between private citizens. 

In civil lawsuits, a complaining party — the plaintiff — alleges that some wrongdoing by the defending party — the defendant — caused personal or property damage, or violated a plaintiff’s rights. However, a civil lawsuit may also request that a court determine and “declare” parties’ rights and responsibilities, force a defendant to take certain actions, or even stop – or “enjoin” – certain activities. 

Civil law cases may involve contracts, property law, and family law as well as “torts,” which claim that physical injuries or other harm were caused by the defendant’s improper conduct — usually described as negligence or recklessness.

On the other hand, criminal cases are brought by the state or federal government against individual people. Criminal laws fall into two general categories in Florida:

• Misdemeanors: Minor crimes that can be punishable not only by fines, but also by imprisonment for less than one year in a county jail; and
• Felonies: More serious crimes punishable by imprisonment in a state or federal prison for one year or more, all the way to the death penalty for certain murders.

In addition, the state government prosecutes non-criminal violations, which are violations not punishable by jail time, including most minor traffic offenses and other small infractions like littering, or fishing or hunting without a license. Please keep in mind that more serious traffic violations, such as drunk driving, can rise to the level of crimes. Ordinance or code violations are not part of this category, but we’ll discuss those below.

BD: Are there other categories of the law citizens should be aware of?

LS: Yes. Under Florida’s Home Rule Power, counties and cities can create and enforce their own rules which function like laws. Such rules are called ordinances, codes, plans and resolutions (depending on who creates them) for example, rules of doing business, zoning, property upkeep and other public safety issues.

BD: Which courts handle these different kinds of law?

LS: In the 1970s, Florida simplified and organized its system of courts into two levels of trial courts and two levels of higher courts called appellate courts. These courts decide both civil and criminal cases, as well as noncriminal violations. The level to which cases are assigned depends on the cases’ severity.

Trial Courts

County: Florida’s Constitution created one county court in each of its 67 counties. County civil courts handle disputes involving $50,000 or less and small claims courts (which are part of the county court system) involve claims under $8,000, and most, but not all, landlord/tenant disputes. 

County criminal courts hear criminal traffic cases and misdemeanor cases, as well as cases involving non-criminal violations.

Circuit: The Florida court system includes 20 judicial “circuits” — some encompassing multiple counties. The 17th Judicial Circuit covers Broward County alone. 

On the civil side, circuit courts have jurisdiction over matters involving lawsuits greater than $50,000 and cases not assigned by law to the county courts.

On the criminal side, the circuit courts handle felony cases.

Appellate Courts

District Courts of Appeal: Florida has six district courts of appeal. These courts handle appeals, which are legal proceedings where a party to a trial court case asks a higher court to review the trial court’s decision. Florida’s district courts of appeal handle appeals from both county courts and circuit courts. Both civil and criminal cases decided in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court (Broward County) and 15th Judicial Circuit (Palm Beach County) are appealed to the Fourth District Court of Appeals located in West Palm Beach. Courts in other counties are assigned to other district appellate courts.

Florida Supreme Court: The Florida Supreme Court is the highest court in Florida, and its decisions can only be appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which is generally not required to grant review. 

Much of the Florida Supreme Court’s caseload is also “discretionary,” which means it can decide whether or not to take a case to establish a “precedent,” (a decision that becomes binding law on all state courts in Florida). However, it must take certain appeals (called “mandatory jurisdiction”) involving the death penalty and specific cases involving state bonds or indebtedness and cases reviewing utilities regulations. Other kinds of cases before the Supreme Court do not typically involve everyday citizens.

BD: What about a typical traffic ticket for speeding or running a stop sign? 

LS: Noncriminal traffic infractions are typically heard by traffic magistrates. Although it is customary to refer to a traffic magistrate as “your honor,” he or she is not a judge. Instead, a traffic magistrate is usually a local lawyer volunteering his or her time to help decide non-criminal traffic infractions so sitting judges can focus on criminal traffic violations, Habitual Traffic Offenders (who are persons whose driving record shows that he or she has accumulated certain convictions listed in Section 322.264, Florida Statutes), and other more serious violations.

BD: Who enforces municipal or county ordinances? 

LS: Such cases are heard before either code enforcement boards or special magistrates, depending on the jurisdiction. These agencies are not technically courts but are institutions that cities or counties establish to issue decisions about the enforcement of ordinances, codes, plans or resolutions.

BD: Where do I start if I find myself dealing with any of these kinds of cases?

LS: The challenge of navigating this maze of offenses, courts, and institutions is one reason it can be especially beneficial to start by consulting with a qualified attorney. Tripp Scott’s over 50 years of providing exceptional legal services across Florida and the United States, coupled with the wealth of experience you can read about at www.trippscott.com, means Tripp Scott is ready, willing, and able to navigate the complex legal landscape of Florida’s various courts and legal institutions.

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If you have any topics you think may be of interest to our readers, we encourage you to email us at [email protected].

For more Good News, read the GOOD NEWS May 2026 Issue at: https://digital.goodnewsfl.org/2026/may/