Winter Haven, Florida Legal Overview The City of Winter Haven is located in Polk County, Florida. The Polk County Circuit Court is the main trial court with general jurisdiction for Winter Haven. It comes under the 10th Judicial Circuit of Florida. The Polk County Court is a separate court with limited jurisdiction. However, both courts are located in the county courthouse in Bartow, which is the county seat. These courts also have additional locations in Winter Haven and Lakeland. Every felony case comes under the jurisdiction of the circuit criminal division. The misdemeanors are prosecuted in the county criminal division.
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1. Civil lawsuits go to trial in the circuit civil division or the county civil division. All lawsuits where the amount involved is in excess of $15,000 are within the jurisdiction of the circuit civil division, which additionally handles family law matters, such as divorce filings. The civil cases below $15,000 will be received by the county civil division, along with small claims below $5,000 and evictions or other landlord-tenant disputes. Non-criminal traffic infractions are heard by a traffic court. Traffic cases involving criminal charges will be handled either by the county criminal or circuit criminal divisions.
Trending Winter Haven, Florida Legal Topics: The circuit court’s appellate division handles appeals coming from the Polk County Court. All appeals against the circuit court are heard by the Second District Court of Appeal. This is one of the state’s intermediate appellate court districts, and is located in Lakeland. The state judicial system’s highest court is the Florida Supreme Court. Federal cases from Winter Haven and the rest of Polk County are handled by the Tampa Division of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. |