The Florida Circuit Courts and The Florida County Courts

Most civil and criminal cases in Florida originate at the circuit court level. The circuit courts are courts of general jurisdiction, handling such matters as domestic relations, major criminal offenses, probate issues, civil cases involving amounts greater than $15,000, and appeals from county courts.

 

The county courts, which occupy the lowest rung in the Florida court system, are sometimes referred to as "the peoples' courts," since a large portion of the county courts' work involves citizen disputes like traffic offenses, county and city ordinance violations, less serious criminal offenses and civil cases involving less than $15,000, such as landlord/tenant disputes.