• Florida's Legal & Judicial System
  • Representation
  • Jurisdiction
  • Venue
  • State and Federal Courts
    • State Courts
      • Circuit Court
      • Florida District Court of Appeal
      • Florida Supreme Court
    • Federal Courts
  • Resources

It may be useful for a person who is thinking about initiating a legal action to understand the legal and judicial system that exists in Florida. One of the most confusing aspects of the judicial system is that there are two separate systems: state and federal. The majority of cases are filed in state courts. This chapter discusses the state and federal systems and summarizes the jurisdictions of both. The Process of a Lawsuit Chapter outlines how a case goes through the state civil and criminal process. Claims that arise on Native American lands may be subject to tribal courts and not the state or federal courts.

As one may remember from civics class, there are three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch creates the laws, the executive branch enforces the laws, and the judicial branch interprets the laws. Laws also are called statutes or codes. The executive branch can create rules or regulations to govern its administrative procedures and the judicial branch may also interpret these regulations.

When a case is brought before a court, the court applies the law to the facts of the case and a decision is made. There are many sources of law the court uses in making its decision: the United States Constitution, the Florida Constitution, statutes, regulations, and prior decisions of the court or of higher courts, which is known as case law. The way in which a higher state court answers a legal question is binding on all other lower courts within that jurisdiction when faced with the same legal question. For example, if the Florida Supreme Court decides a legal question, all state courts in Florida must follow that decision. However, state courts in Mississippi would not have to follow the Florida decision because they are in a different jurisdiction.

Perhaps the first question a businessperson may ask is, "Do I really need a lawyer to handle my legal affairs?" Almost always, the best answer is yes. Occasionally, a business is able to rely on non-lawyers to handle some legal matters. For example, some companies hire paralegals to draft routine contracts. For most legal matters, however, hiring a lawyer is essential. Obviously, when a business is sued or thinking of bringing a lawsuit, the business should have an attorney representing its interests. In rare instances, a businessperson may be permitted to represent himself or herself. For example, a landlord can appear in small claims court without a lawyer. In the majority of cases, however, a company chooses to hire counsel to represent itself, and in some cases it must be represented by counsel.

When a person decides to file a legal action, he or she must decide in which court system to file the case. The court in which a person files a case depends on which court has jurisdiction over that type of case. Whether a particular court has the power and authority to decide a case is known as subject matter jurisdiction. If a court does not have subject matter jurisdiction, it may not decide a case. A court also must have personal jurisdiction over the defendant in a case. There are different ways in which a court may have personal jurisdiction, including if a defendant resides or has a business within the court's geographical region. For example, a Florida plaintiff may not bring an action in Florida district court against a defendant who lives and works in another state, if that defendant has no contact with the state of Florida. Jurisdiction is set in law, constitutions, or case law. In some cases, courts have overlapping jurisdiction, giving a person a choice of court in which to file the action.

There are three types of subject matter jurisdiction: exclusive, general, and limited. Exclusive jurisdiction means that only a particular court can decide a case. An example of exclusive subject matter jurisdiction is bankruptcy. Only in a federal bankruptcy court can a person file a bankruptcy action. State courts have no jurisdiction in bankruptcy cases. General jurisdiction means that a court has the ability to hear and decide a wide range of cases. Unless a law or constitutional provision denies them jurisdiction, courts of general jurisdiction have authority to handle any kind of case. The Florida district courts are general jurisdiction courts. Limited jurisdiction means that a court has restrictions on the cases it can decide. Small claims court is a court of limited jurisdiction because it only hears and decides cases that claim damages of less than $2,500.

Venue frequently is confused with jurisdiction. While jurisdiction asks whether a court system has authority to hear a case, venue asks which court within a jurisdiction should hear and decide a case. In Florida, a case is usually brought in the county in which the claim originates or where one or more defendants resides. For example, if a person is hit by a car in Melbourne, and the car was driven by a person from Miami, an action against the driver could be filed in either Brevano County (Melbourne) or in Dade County (Miami). Change of venue can be requested by either of the parties. For example, a corporate defendant in Orlando might request a change of venue to Tallahassee because adverse publicity in Orlando makes it impossible for the corporation to get a fair trial in Orlando, or because most of its files are located in Tallahassee. However, the defendant could not request that the trial be moved to Biloxi, because the Mississippi court lacks jurisdiction.

As previously mentioned, there are two separate court systems: state and federal. Which court system a person enters depends on a number of factors: whether a court has exclusive jurisdiction over the subject matter of the case, the amount of damages involved, and the locations of the parties in the case.

State Courts

Florida has multiple levels to its court system, including county courts, circuit courts, district courts of appeal, and the Florida Supreme Court.

Circuit Court

Florida has divided its counties into 20 judicial circuits. Each judicial circuit is composed of one or more counties. Each circuit court hears cases in each county within its circuit at some time. The circuit court has general subject matter jurisdiction and handles a wide variety of cases, both civil and criminal. The circuit courts are courts of original jurisdiction, that is, cases start there. That is where trials are held, witnesses testify, evidence is presented, and judgments are rendered. Small claims court is a division of circuit court and appeals from conciliation court are heard in the circuit court. A person who loses a case in circuit court may appeal it. Appeals from circuit court are typically brought to a Florida district court of appeal.

Florida District Court of Appeal

There are five districts of the Florida appellate court, each with 9 to 15 judges. The Florida districts are located in Tallahassee, Lakeland, Miami, West Palm Beach, and Daytona Beach. Unlike the circuit courts, which hear trials with witnesses, jurors, and evidence, the district court of appeal's primary function is to determine whether there has been an error at the circuit court level and, if so, to remedy it. The district court of appeal reviews the transcript from the circuit court and may also consider written and oral arguments. The district court of appeal can reverse or affirm a circuit court ruling or send it back to the circuit court for additional action. The district court of appeal hears most appeals from the circuit courts unless the law specifically states that a particular appeal goes directly to the Florida Supreme Court. Appeals from the district court of appeal go to the Florida Supreme Court.

Florida Supreme Court

The Florida Supreme Court is the highest court in the state. Located in Tallahassee, it has seven justices. Like the district court of appeal, it does not hold trials, but it reviews transcripts, takes written and oral arguments, and determines whether there has been an error in the lower court. It may also reverse, affirm, or remand a case. The Supreme Court is the rule-making body for the state courts and has administrative responsibility for the operation of the state court system. A Florida Supreme Court decision is a final decision in Florida and may be appealed to the United States Supreme Court only if there is a federal issue involved.

Federal Courts

The federal court system covers both civil and criminal cases and is also broken down into three levels. There are generally three ways a case can be filed in federal court: the case involves a federal law, the case raises a question of United States Constitution interpretation, or the case involves parties from more than one state and the amount in question is more than $50,000.

The federal government has divided the United States into federal judicial circuits. Florida is located in the Eleventh Circuit, with Georgia and Alabama. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit usually sits in Atlanta, but occasionally hears cases in Jacksonville, Miami, Mobile, and Montgomery. Florida also has three federal district courts, one in the northern district, one in the middle district, and one in the southern district.

Also part of the federal system are a number of courts of specific jurisdiction. For example, there are federal tax courts and bankruptcy courts throughout the country and, in Washington, D.C., the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit hears appeals regarding patents, customs, and claims against the federal government. The United States Supreme Court hears appeals from the federal courts of appeal and the states' supreme courts, and other cases in which it has jurisdiction -- cases between states, for example. The Court is made up of nine justices and is based in Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court has very broad discretion to decide which cases it will review and only a small percentage of the cases appealed to the United States Supreme Court are actually heard.

For information about The Florida Bar Exam, or to receive an application packet, write to The Florida Board of Bar Examiners, 1300 Park Avenue East, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1750.

For information on any of the programs of The Florida Bar, contact The Florida Bar, 650 Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee, FL 32399-2300, (904) 561-5834. The Florida Bar Call-A-Law service can be reached at (904) 561-1200. To receive a brochure that includes a directory of the recorded messages, contact The Florida Bar.

The Florida Supreme Court's Home Page address on the World Wide Web is http://www.justice.courts.state.fl.us.