Florida Legal Overview: Ocala The Ocala metropolitan area in Florida is defined by the Census Bureau as covering Marion County. The county is served by the Fifth Judicial Circuit and the Fifth District Court of Appeal. The circuit court is the main trial court with general jurisdiction, while the county court has limited jurisdiction over misdemeanors, traffic violations and civil actions not exceeding $15,000. Both courts and all their divisions are based in the Marion County Judicial Center in Ocala. Listed below are the main cities and towns in the Ocala metro area.
Top Florida cities for Legal Issues: Ocala
1. The courthouse has separate divisions for criminal, civil, family law, juvenile, drug and probate matters. The civil and criminal divisions are further sub-divided into circuit/county courts. The circuit criminal court handles felony prosecutions while the county criminal court handles misdemeanors and traffic violations. The circuit civil court has original jurisdiction over matters exceeding $15,000, while the county civil court hears civil cases in between $5,000 and $15,000. A small claims court is charged with handling civil complaints not exceeding $5,000.
Fifth Judicial Circuit of Florida
Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal Marion County Civil Court U.S. District Court - Middle District of Florida U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Trending Ocala Legal Topics: Appeals against decisions handed down by all the lower courts have to be filed with the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach. The Florida Supreme Court is the court of last resort. Federal appeals in Marion County have to be filed with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Bankruptcy petitions have to be filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida. All federal appeals in Florida are handled by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. |