Law Day 2026 May 1-7 is Law Week, with May 1st considered as “Law Day”. This year, the Law Day theme is “The American Dream.” As Court Administration marks its 50th year of providing professional staff support, programs, and essential court resources to the Court and citizens of DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties, we encourage everyone to celebrate and advance the Rule of Law and to protect the rights, freedoms, and opportunitues that ensure everyone can pursue and fulfill their American Dream. May 01, 2026 Read Full Article
Court Administration's core functions Court Administration continues marking 50 years of service to the court and public. Throughout 2026 we celebrate our golden year by spotlighting Court Administration, its departments, its services, and most importantly, its staff. April 24, 2026 Read Full Article
Spotlight on Pretrial Over the past six months, Pretrial Services in Sarasota and Probation and Pretrial Services in DeSoto have been through several changes including leadership, staffing, and processes. Throughout these program updates, the teams have remained strong, dedicated, and most importantly, patient. April 24, 2026 Read Full Article
Ignoring Florida jury duty can land you in court A jury duty summons is not junk mail you can throw away. It is a court order. From the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, learn more about what happens if you ignore a jury summons. April 16, 2026 Read Full Article
First appearance hearings take place 365 days a year Once a day, every day. In Florida it is guaranteed that if you are arrested and unable to make bail you will appear before a judge the next day. Weekends, holidays, even during times of emergency, the judges of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit take turns handling first appearances 365 days each year. April 09, 2026 Read Full Article
Symphony of Justice Court Administration continues to mark its 50 years of service to the court and public. Throughout 2026 we will celebrate our golden year by spotlighting the agency, its departments, its services and most importantly, its staff. Continue reading about the senior managers that conduct Court Administration's daily operations. March 02, 2026 Read Full Article
Requirements are a 'one-stop-shop' for judge and division procedures Judicial requirements list all applicable policies, procedures, and administrative orders of a general and continuous nature to inform and educate attorneys and self-represented litigants of common topics. We designed our requirements to simplify processes and procedures for busy lawyers and legal assistants and have structured the pages with simple navigation using uniform categories. March 02, 2026 Read Full Article
Program offering low-cost, short-term legal services for civil cases launches The Sarasota County Law Library Board of Directors has launched Skylaw-SRQ, a pilot program designed to provide short-term, limited legal services in non-criminal matters to the public. Participants can expect a one-hour online consultation with a qualified lawyer with a reduced fee and no contract required. March 02, 2026 Read Full Article
50 years of service to court & public Court Administration is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026 and to mark our golden year we will be spotlighting the work of Court Administration and its departments now through December. January 23, 2026 Read Full Article
Local JNC seeks nominees for judicial vacancies The Twelfth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission has been asked to provide Gov. Ron DeSantis with nominees for vacancies for judgeships in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court. Specifically, the Commission has been tasked with making recommendations for potential Circuit and County Court judges created by the enactment of Senate Bill 2508 and the retirement of Judge Lon Arend. January 14, 2026 Read Full Article