JURISDICTIONAL CHANGES/VENUE

For nearly 30 years Florida did not made any significant changes in the Jurisdictional limits of its courts. That all changed beginning in January, 2020. New laws enacted by the Florida legislature and signed into law by Governor DeSantis brought some long overdue changes in the Jurisdictional thresholds of Florida's County Courts, as well as Appellate changes codified in the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure.

Jurisdiction and venue are two legal terms that are sometimes confusing to the non-lawyer. Within the meaning of the law Jurisdiction generally refers to the authority or power of a Court to hear a certain matter and render a decision or otherwise adjudicate a matter. A Court must first have personal jurisdiction over the parties involved in the dispute. Think citizens or legal residents of the State of Florida or someone who allegedly commits a crime in St Lucie County.

Secondly, a court must have subject matter jurisdiction. This refers to the Court's power over the nature of the claim or controversy itself. Florida is one of a number of states that has a court system that is tiered, and specifies which matters each court handles (has jurisdiction over). In criminal matters cases are designated as either misdemeanors or felonies. Misdemeanors may be classified as either 2nd degree (punishable by up to 60 days jail), or first degree (punishable by up to one year jail). County Courts in Florida have jurisdiction over all misdemeanor cases.

Felonies, which are more serious in nature, are within the jurisdiction of Florida's Circuit Courts. Felonies are classified as 3rd degree (punishable by up to 5 years prison), 2nd degree (punishable by up to 15 years prison, 1st degree and life felonies, and finally Capital felonies (premeditated or felony murder) where the death penalty may be sought in the most aggravated cases.

In non-criminal Civil matters again the Rules and law specify which court has the power or jurisdiction to handle said matter. For example all small claims matters will go to County Court and all family law will be handled by Circuit Court judges. As a side note County Court judges are often designated by Administrative Order as an "acting" Circuit Judge (and vice versa) for a specified time so that they may handle first appearances/bond hearings which almost always deal with both misdemeanor and felony charges or other Circuit court matters when caseload issues arise, or in specialty courts (Domestic Violence Diversion or Drug Court).

Unlike jurisdiction, which we will return to in a moment, venue is relatively simple to understand. It refers to the place where something happens. If a crime is alleged to have been committed in Saint Lucie County, that is the place or location where a defendant will be tried. The County or Circuit judge that has jurisdiction over the crime charged by the State Attorney will preside over the case in a Saint Lucie County courthouse.

Jurisdiction is also specified by the amount in controversy, as well as by Appellate review. It is here where the changes were made. County Court jurisdiction was modified significantly for the first time since 1992. Prior to the changes, claims for damages up to $5,000 were filed in small claims court and those between $5,000 and $15,000 in county court. Now the jurisdictional limit for small claims has increased to $8,000 and the threshold for county court has increased to $30,000 (and will increase further to $50,000 on January 1, 2023).

Perhaps the most consequential change from a criminal law perspective is that Circuit Courts which have previously heard the majority of county court appeals will no longer have that jurisdiction, Rather, jurisdiction over county court criminal (and civil) appeals will rest exclusively with the District Court of Appeal. From a practical standpoint this change makes sense as Circuit Courts are often overloaded with their own caseload and to have to act in an appellate capacity as well has never been optimal. The DCA's on the other hand are specifically designed for the Appellate process and have the resources to best handle appeals, whether they originate from circuit or county court.