How Florida handles a case
What happens after an arrest anywhere in Florida: who decides release first, how fast a person sees a judge, which courts hear the case, and who runs the offices around them. Every county in the state works under these rules.
From arrest to court
- Who decides release first
For many charges, the jail releases a person on bond from the Florida Supreme Court's statewide uniform bond schedule before any hearing, a rule in place since January 1, 2024. Everyone else waits for a county or circuit judge at first appearance. Serious felonies, people already on release or probation, and other listed cases can't be released on the schedule.
Fla. Stat. 903.011Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.130- Time to see a judge
Every arrested person not already released must go before a judicial officer within 24 hours of arrest. The chief judge assigns county or circuit judges to hold these hearings, and a prosecutor and public defender must attend.
Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.130(a)- Money bail
Judges and the statewide schedule set money bonds. A circuit's chief judge may raise schedule amounts but can't lower them without the Supreme Court's approval.
Fla. Stat. 903.011- Pretrial risk assessment
No statewide tool. Counties may have pretrial release programs, public or private, that interview people in jail and make release recommendations; each must report every year how often it used a risk assessment tool.
Fla. Stat. 907.043- Courts
Florida has two trial courts. Circuit courts try felonies, and a county court in each county tries misdemeanors and traffic cases. The constitution bars cities and counties from creating any other courts, so Florida has no municipal or justice courts.
Fla. Const. art. V, sec. 1, 5, 6- Judges and magistrates
Voters elect circuit and county judges in nonpartisan elections for six-year terms; the governor fills vacancies by appointment. Circuit judges must have been Florida lawyers for five years. County judges must also be lawyers, but in counties of 40,000 people or fewer they need only be current members of the bar.
Fla. Const. art. V, sec. 8, 10Fla. Stat. 105.011- Prosecutors
Voters in each of the judicial circuits elect a state attorney for a four-year term, who prosecutes in every trial court in the circuit. A statewide prosecutor, appointed by the attorney general, handles crimes that cross circuits.
Fla. Const. art. IV, sec. 4; art. V, sec. 17- Public defense
Voters in each judicial circuit elect a public defender for a four-year term, who must have been a Florida lawyer for five years. The public defender's office represents people who can't afford a lawyer in that circuit's courts.
Fla. Const. art. V, sec. 18- Jails
In many counties the sheriff runs the jail. State law lets the county commission name the chief correctional officer, so some counties run the jail through a county corrections department and others make the sheriff that officer by ordinance.
Fla. Stat. 951.06Fla. Stat. 951.061
Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. The Rule 3.130 text read is the 2008 appendix on the court's site; the 24-hour rule is unchanged in later versions as far as checked, but the current rulebook was not opened. Conflict cases go to the state's regional conflict counsel offices and private lawyers; not re-read this pass. How many counties run jails outside the sheriff was not counted.