All About the Florida District Court

Article III of the Constitution established the U.S. Supreme Court. An Act of the U.S. Congress in 1789 established the federal district courts. There are several exclusively federal courts of trial that enjoy jurisdiction when it comes to some kinds of cases, like:

•    The U.S. International Trade Court – this court has jurisdiction over all cases involving international trade and customs.
•    The United States Court of Federal Claims – this court enjoys exclusive jurisdiction over most claims for money damages against the United States, including disputes over federal contracts, unlawful takings of private property by the federal government, and suits for injury on federal property or by a federal employee.
•    The United States Tax Court – this court has jurisdiction over contested pre-assessment determinations of tax issues.

The federal district court in Florida has concurrent jurisdiction over many of those cases. It is the only one with jurisdiction over criminal cases as well.

Florida District Court Divisions

The State of Florida is separated into three federal judicial districts.

The Northern District of Florida http://www.flmd.uscourts.gov serves the residents of 23 counties from 4 locations, and there are 4 assigned judges here:
 
•    401 SE First Ave., Room 243, Gainesville, FL 32601. Monday-Friday, 8:30am - 5:00pm ET, except on holidays. Phone: 352-380-2400.
•    111 N. Adams St., Tallahassee, FL 32301-7730. Monday-Friday, 8:30am - 5:00pm ET, except on holidays. Phone: (850) 521-3501.
•    30 W. Government St., Panama City, FL 32401. Monday-Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm CT, except on holidays. Phone: 850-769-4556.
•    1 North Palafox St., Pensacola, FL 32502. Monday-Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm CT, except on holidays. Phone: 850-435-8440.

The U.S. Middle District Court for Florida http://www.flmd.uscourts.gov serves the residents of 35 counties from 5 locations:

•    300 North Hogan Street, Jacksonville, FL 32202. Monday-Friday, 8:30am - 4:00pm. Phone: 904-549-1900.
•    207 N. W. Second Street, Ocala, FL 34475. Monday-Friday, 8:30am - 4:00pm. Phone: 352-369-4860.
•    401 West Central Boulevard, Suite 1200, Orlando, FL 32801-0120. Phone: 407-835-4200.
•    801 North Florida Avenue, Tampa, FL 33602. Phone: 813-301-5400.
•    2110 First Street, Ft.  Myers, FL 33901. Phone: 239-461-2000.

Currently it has 14 full-time and 9 senior judges, besides 15 magistrate judges.

The U.S. Southern District Court for Florida http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov serves residents of 9 counties from 5 locations, with 18 assigned judges:

•    300 South Sixth Street, Fort Pierce, FL 34950. Phone: 772-467-2300.
•    301 Simonton Street, Key West, FL 33040. Phone: 305-295-8100.
•    400 North Miami Avenue, 8th floor. Miami, FL 33128. Phone: 305-523-5100.
•    701 Clematis Street, Room 202, West Palm Beach, FL 33401. Phone: 561-803-3400.

Filing a Case in the District Court

Since Electronic Case Filing is now mandatory for most kinds of cases, you can simply go online and file your case.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit hears appeals from Florida’s district courts. The final arbiter is the U.S. Supreme Court, which usually decides if it will even hear an appeal.