Sarasota County
Sarasota County was created in 1921 and adopted a Home Rule Charter in 1971. The county has a resident population of approximately 469,013 people, a land area of 556 square miles, and is surrounded by over 30 miles of open shoreline along the Gulf of Mexico.
Sarasota County's trial court system is part of Florida's 12th Judicial District and comprises a Circuit Court and a County Court. The Circuit Court is further structured into four divisions:
- A Civil Division that handles all civil actions exceeding $50,000
- A Criminal Division that handles all criminal felonies
- A Family Division that handles matters involving family law and juvenile dependency. These include divorces, name changes, domestic violence injunctions, and cases involving neglected or abused juveniles, ones surrendered for adoption, and persistent runaways or truantsÂ
- A Probate and Guardianship Division that handles matters concerning estates of deceased individuals and minors, wills, guardianship, involuntary hospitalization, and competency determinations, as well as cases under the Jimmy Ryce Act (pertaining to sexual predators).
The County Court consists of Civil and Criminal Divisions and handles civil actions that do not exceed $50,000, small claims of $8,000 or less, misdemeanors, traffic cases, and local ordinance violations. In addition to the Circuit and County Courts, Sarasota County also implements Problem-Solving Courts that utilize multidisciplinary teams and case management to reduce recidivism and provide eligible non-violent defendants alternatives to incarceration.
Sarasota County public court records are documented information generated from court proceedings and other court-related activities in Sarasota County. These may include case dockets, summonses, subpoenas, depositions, court orders, witness testimonies, juror interviews, transcripts, settlement agreements, and judgments. The Sarasota County Clerk of the Circuit Court is the custodian of these records and is charged with storing and maintaining them, and also ensuring that they are made accessible to interested members of the public as needed.
To this end, the Clerk of the Circuit Court provides a ClerkNet platform for accessing Sarasota County civil, criminal, family, traffic, probate, will, and guardianship records online. You can also view Sarasota County public court records in person at the Sarasota County Justice Center and the South Sarasota County Courthouse. Be aware that you may have to submit a Records Search Request Form and pay the stipulated fees to obtain copies of these records.
