Florida Court Records

What is Included in Florida Public Court Records

Criminal Court Cases

Assault & Battery, Domestic Violence, Parole Violation, Probation Violation, Sexual Assault, Robbery, Manslaughter, Murder, Drug Offenses, And More...

Civil Court Cases

Bankruptcies, Legal Judgments, Lawsuits, Tax & Property Liens, Contract Disputes, Probates, Family Law, Small Claims, Evictions, And More...

Traffic Court Cases

Driving Under Influence, Driving While Intoxicated, Speeding Tickets, Traffic Citations, Reckless Driving, Driving Without a License, License Suspensions, Criminal Driving Violations, Accidents, And More...

Florida Court Record Lookup

Obtaining Florida court records online requires Florida court case lookup. Florida court records search can be performed online. Florida FL court records are public documents and are only restricted by specific privacy laws; anyone is entitled to request records.

County Courts

Each of Florida’s 67 counties has a court that is responsible for misdemeanors, traffic violations, and small claims under $15,000 in value. Records from mentioned these courts are public and can be accessed when performing Florida court record lookup, while some records may be restricted due to privacy issues, such as juvenile records or names of victims of crimes.

There has been a steep declining trend in the number of cases before county courts over the past 10 years. Most recently these courts saw about 2.5 million cases filed, versus a high of nearly 3.5 million in 2007-2008. In Brevard county, the court disposed of over 1,700 DUI cases in 2016-2017, and Broward county court had 5,400 DUI cases during the same period.

Circuit Courts

The state’s 20 circuit courts are generally responsible for trials of Florida criminal records and civil matters, family issues, including Florida child support and custody orders, probate, juvenile cases, and appeals of county court decisions. These Florida courtrooms have seen an average of about 750,000 cases filed per year recently, down from a high of nearly 1.8 million in 2008-2009. 

Appellate Courts

At the top of the state’s courts are five district courts of appeal and the state supreme court. These Florida courthouses hear disputed cases from lower courts. The supreme court takes selected cases from lower courts as well as advises the state legislature on the constitutionality of laws, overseeing the state bar, and review of all death row cases.

Federal Courts

Those who file for bankruptcy or who join a civil class-action lawsuit have their cases heard in federal courts, also called U.S. District Court. There are three such federal courts in Florida. It is possible to research federal cases by performing a Florida court records search online prior to requesting documents.

Florida Notable Court Cases

The Supreme Court of Florida disbarred six attorneys and punished 26 more in early 2016 for a variety of reasons. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over the state bar, including attorney misconduct. There are over 103,000 attorneys registered to practice law in Florida. The complaints against the attorneys who were punished included misappropriation of client funds, lying to a client that a case was dismissed in federal court, and failing to respond to a bar inquiry complaint.

The U.S. Supreme Court dealt Florida courts a blow in 2016 when a death row inmate's appeal caused the court to examine the way death penalty cases are handled in Florida. The case the court examined consisted of a man who was sentenced to the death penalty twice for the same murder. The result was that the U.S. Supreme Court decided in January 2016 that Florida's courts are sentencing alleged criminals unconstitutionally. Rather than a judge handing down the sentence, the state should have at least 10 jurors hearing the case and agreeing on the penalty, the justices said. Now the man's attorney wants his sentence commuted to life in prison, but the implications go much further, potentially affecting all of the 400 inmates on Death Row. While some argue that all death penalty cases should be commuted to life in prison, the Florida Supreme Court must find a remedy for the error in sentencing procedure.

Florida Civil Case Statistics

Civil Caseload
Civil Caseload 734,339
Caseloads per 100.000 Population
Caseloads per 100.000 Population 3,563
Clearance Rate
Clearance Rate 94%

Civil Caseloads for Florida, the sum of all civil cases reported by the state, account for 3,845,175 total cases at the year end of 2016, which makes it 3,563 cases per 100.000 population.

The clearance rate for the state is about 94% which makes up by dividing the outgoing to incoming civil cases and expressing the result in a percentage.

Civil Court Incoming & Outgoing Cases 2012-2016

The number of civil court caseloads in 2016 has decreased since 2012, being 734,339 vs. 884,462, which is by 17.0 % lower than 5 years ago. The same picture is seen with clearance rates, it’s lower compared to 2012, by 21.1% being 692,441 compared to 877,152.

State Small Claims & Rates Timeline

Year: Small Claims Max. Limit Small Claims Caseload per 100.000 Population Percent of Total Civil Caseload
2012$5000210,7951,09124%
2013$5000183,48993824%
2014$5000197,14799127%

Criminal Caseloads by Type

Criminal Caseloads for Florida sum in 692,193 cases at the year end of 2016 which has a share of 76% of misdemeanor and 24% of felony charges. Total criminal cases have decreased in Florida compared to the criminal caseload of 2012 - 947,809 cases.

The Proportion of Felony and Misdemeanor Caseloads

Criminal Incoming Court Cases by type 2012-2016

Criminal Caseloads Timeline

Domestic Relations Caseloads & Clearance Rates

The state’s domestic relations caseload has counted 233,545 cases which is 1,133 court cases per 100.000 population. It has increased since 2012, the difference in caseloads is 1,323 for the last 5 years, being 232,222 in 2012.

State Court Holidays

Holiday: Date:
New Year's DayMonday, January 1, 2018
Martin Luther King's BirthdayMonday, January 15, 2018
Good FridayFriday, March 30, 2018
Memorial DayMonday, May 28, 2018
Independence DayWednesday, July 4, 2018
Labor DayMonday, September 3, 2018
Rosh HashanahMonday, September 10, 2018
Yom KippurWednesday, September 19, 2018
Observance of Veterans DayMonday, November 12, 2018
Thanksgiving DayThursday, November 22, 2018
Friday after Thanksgiving DayFriday, November 23, 2018
Christmas EveMonday, December 24, 2018
Christmas DayTuesday, December 25, 2018

Supreme Court Caseloads & Clearance Rates