Florida Legal Overview: North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota The North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota metropolitan area in Florida, as defined by the Census Bureau, covers Manatee and Sarasota counties. Both are served by the Twelfth Judicial Circuit of Florida, with circuit courts as the main trial courts with general jurisdiction and county courts that have limited jurisdiction. Appeals for all cases originating in Sarasota and Manatee counties may be filed with the Second District Court of Appeal. Listed below are the major cities and towns in the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota metro area.
Top Florida cities for Legal Issues: North Port
1. The Twelfth Judicial Circuit of Florida has jurisdiction over Desoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties. All cases in Manatee are handled by the courthouse in Bradenton, while cases in Sarasota County are divided between courthouses in the cities of Sarasota and Venice. Each courthouse has separate divisions for civil, criminal, family and probate matters. The civil and criminal divisions are further divided into circuit civil/criminal and county civil/criminal courts. The county courts have limited jurisdiction over traffic and county ordinance violations, misdemeanors and small claims. 2. Sarasota Circuit Court Judge Lee Haworth ruled in favor of developer Zeb Portanova in the lawsuit filed by his partners after the failure of the $1 billion Proscenium project. The court ruled that Portanova's responsibility ended when the project failed to obtain financing. 3. U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore dashed hopes that Wells Fargo might be forced to pay off investors who lost $168 million in the Sarasota-based Arthur Nadel Ponzi scheme. The receiver Burton Wiand had filed the lawsuit against Wachovia Bank, which is now owned by Wells-Fargo, alleging that they were complicit in the scheme by allowing Nadel to move funds into shadow bank accounts.
Twelfth Judicial Circuit of Florida
Sarasota Clerk of the Circuit Court Florida Second District Court of Appeal U.S. District Court - Middle District of Florida - Tampa Division U.S. Bankruptcy Court – Middle District of Florida
Trending North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota Legal Topics: Appeals against decisions handed down by the trial courts in the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota metro area are heard by the Second District Court of Appeal which is based in Lakeland, FL. Further appeals may be possible if the Florida Supreme Court decides to take it up for review. Federal cases in Sarasota and Manatee counties have to be filed with the Tampa Division of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Federal court appeals are heard by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. |