Florida Legal Overview: Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan area in Florida, as defined by the Census Bureau, covers Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties. This is the core of the Tampa Bay Area, which additionally includes a couple of other adjoining metro areas and counties. Every county in the metro area comes under the jurisdiction of a circuit court which acts as the main trial court with general jurisdiction. Each county also has a county court with limited jurisdiction. Listed below are the main cities in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area.
Top Florida cities for Legal Issues: Tampa
1. The main trial court for Tampa residents is the 13th Judicial Circuit for Hillsborough County, which has eleven separate divisions. Civil actions not exceeding $15,000 will go to the county civil division while cases involving bigger amounts go to the general civil division. Similarly, criminal cases are taken up by both county and circuit court criminal divisions. Other divisions include family law, probate matters and a drug court. Pasco and Pinellas counties are served by the Sixth Judicial Circuit, while Hernando County is served by the Fifth Judicial Circuit. 2. Hillsborough County property appraiser Rob Turner is facing a federal retaliation and discrimination lawsuit after he fired Carolyn Filippone, his human resources director who had previously filed a sexual discrimination claim against Turner. 3. Pasco County hospital Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point is mired in lawsuits after its parent HCA suspended nine doctors for performing unnecessary cardiac procedures. All nine have sued HCA for defamation and seven of the doctors still retain privileges at the hospital.
Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida
Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida Fifth Judicial Circuit of Florida Florida Second District Court of Appeal U.S. District Court - Middle District of Florida – Tampa Division
Trending Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Legal Topics: Appeals against decisions by the county and circuit courts in the area may be taken up by the Second District Court of Appeal, which is based in Lakeland, FL. Further appeals may be possible if the Florida Supreme decides to take it up. The next and last possible appeal will be to the U.S. Supreme Court. Federal cases with original jurisdiction can be filed with the Tampa Division of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. |