Florida Supreme Court

The Florida Supreme Court is composed of seven Justices. At least five Justices must participate in every case and at least four must agree for a decision to be reached. The Court's official headquarters is the Supreme Court Building in Tallahassee. The Florida Supreme Court represents the highest court in Florida, and it's decisions are usually the final say in a case.

Visit the FLORIDA SUPREME COURT AT WWW.FLORIDASUPREMECOURT.ORG

Florida District Courts of Appeal

There are five District Courts of Appeal in Florida, located respectively in Tallahassee, Lakeland, Miami, West Palm Beach and Daytona Beach. As a general rule, decisions of the district courts of appeal represent the final appellate review of litigated cases.

• First District Court of Appeal - (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 8th and 14th Circuits)
• Second District Court of Appeal - (6th, 10th, 12th, 13th and 20th Circuits)
• Third District Court of Appeal - (11th and 16th Circuits)
• Fourth District Court of Appeal - (15th, 17th and 19th Circuits)
• Fifth District Court of Appeal - (5th, 7th, 9th and 18th Circuits)

Florida Circuit Courts

The majority of jury trials in Florida take place before one judge sitting as judge of the circuit court. The circuit courts are sometimes referred to as courts of general jurisdiction, in recognition of the fact that most criminal and civil cases originate at this level.

• First Circuit - Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton
• Second Circuit - Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, and Wakulla
• Third Circuit - Columbia, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee and Taylor
• Fourth Circuit - Clay, Duval and Nassau
• Fifth Circuit - Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion and Sumter
• Sixth Circuit - Pasco and Pinellas
• Seventh Circuit - Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns and Volusia
• Eighth Circuit - Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, and Union
• Ninth Circuit - Orange and Osceola
• Tenth Circuit - Hardee, Highlands, and Polk
• Eleventh Circuit - Dade
• Twelfth Circuit - DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota
• Thirteenth Circuit - Hillsborough
• Fourteenth Circuit - Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson and Washington
• Fifteenth Circuit - Palm Beach
• Sixteenth Circuit - Monroe
• Seventeenth Circuit - Broward
• Eighteenth Circuit - Brevard and Seminole
• Nineteenth Circuit - Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee and St. Lucie
• Twentieth Circuit - Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee

Florida County Courts

The majority of non-jury trials in Florida take place before one judge sitting as a judge of the county court. The county courts are sometimes referred to as "the people's courts," probably because a large part of the courts' work involves voluminous citizen disputes, such as traffic offenses, less serious criminal matters (misdemeanors), and relatively small monetary disputes.

The Florida Bar has a page that can be used to find out what County Court you belong to.