The Criminal Case Process in Florida

The deadlines that matter

Step by step

1. 1

   Arrest, booking, and the interview you do not have to give

   A case usually begins with an arrest on a warrant or on probable cause observed by an officer. Booking follows: fingerprints, photograph, property inventory. The right to remain silent and the right to counsel attach here and are worth exercising exactly, in words — the request has to be clear and unambiguous. Nothing said in a jail phone call is private; those calls are recorded and routinely reviewed by prosecutors.

2. 2

   First appearance, within 24 hours

   Except where the person has already been released lawfully, every arrested person must be taken before a judicial officer within 24 hours of arrest, either in person or by electronic audiovisual device. The judge informs the defendant of the charge, provides a copy of the complaint, and advises that the defendant need not say anything, that anything said may be used against them, and that counsel will be appointed if they cannot afford one. The state attorney and the public defender both attend. This is also where pretrial release is first addressed — which makes it far more consequential than its length suggests.

3. 3

   Pretrial release, bond, and detention

   Since 1 January 2024 the Florida Supreme Court adopts a uniform statewide bond schedule each year, under which bail may be posted for covered offenses before and in lieu of a first appearance hearing. A circuit's chief judge may not set a local schedule lower than the statewide one. For more serious matters, section 907.041 states the policy that persons committing serious criminal offenses, posing a threat to the safety of the community or the integrity of the judicial process, failing to appear, or posing a substantial flight risk be detained upon arrest, with release available to those who meet specified criteria. Conditions of release — no contact, curfews, surrender of a passport, monitoring — are set here and violating them is its own offense.

4. 4

   The charging decision belongs to the prosecutor, not the arresting officer

   An arrest is a police decision; a charge is the State Attorney's. The office reviews the case and may file the arrest charge, file something different, file additional counts, or file nothing at all. For defendants in custody, rule 3.134 requires formal charges within 30 days, and directs release on the defendant's own recognizance on the 33rd day if none have been filed — or the 40th where the State shows good cause. In no event may a defendant remain in custody beyond 40 days uncharged. The 2025 amendments added a mechanism for a defendant to be released from pretrial restraints where formal charges are not brought within a reasonable time. Capital offenses must be prosecuted by grand jury indictment; other offenses proceed by information.

5. 5

   Arraignment and plea

   At arraignment the charging document is read or waived, and the defendant enters a plea — not guilty, guilty, or no contest. A not guilty plea is the ordinary and usually correct plea at this stage, because almost nothing about the strength of the case is known yet. Defense counsel typically files a written plea of not guilty and a demand for discovery at the same time.

6. 6

   Discovery: seeing the case against you

   Once discovery is elected, the State must disclose its witness list, statements, physical evidence, expert reports, and material in its possession favorable to the defense. Depositions of State witnesses are available in felony cases. This is the stage where a case is actually evaluated: body-camera footage, the probable cause affidavit, lab timelines and what the witnesses say under oath rarely match the summary in the arrest report.

7. 7

   Pretrial motions

   Motions to suppress evidence obtained through an unlawful stop, search or interrogation, motions to dismiss where the undisputed facts do not establish a prima facie case, and motions in limine to keep specific evidence from the jury are litigated before trial. A granted suppression motion often ends a case without a trial ever being scheduled.

8. 8

   Plea negotiation, or trial

   Most cases resolve by negotiated plea. What is being negotiated is not only the charge but the whole package: whether adjudication is withheld, the length and conditions of probation, restitution, and whether the record can later be sealed. If the case goes to trial, the State must prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt, the defendant need not testify or present evidence, and the verdict in a criminal case must be unanimous.

9. 9

   Sentencing

   Sentences are bounded by the statutory maxima in section 775.082 and, for felonies, shaped by the sentencing scoresheet. The realistic outcomes are usually a combination: probation or community control, a withhold or an adjudication, county jail or state prison time, fines, costs, restitution and conditions such as treatment or a driving prohibition. Mitigation presented at this stage — employment, treatment already undertaken, family circumstances, letters — is one of the few places the defense controls the narrative directly.

10. 10

    After the case: the record, and clearing it

    The case ends but the record does not. Sealing and expunction are separate court proceedings under sections 943.059 and 943.0585, with their own eligibility criteria, and neither is automatic. Whether the outcome you accepted leaves you eligible is a question to answer before entering the plea, not after.

The speedy trial clock changed on 1 July 2025

On 13 March 2025 the Supreme Court of Florida amended rules 3.191 and 3.134 on its own motion, with the amendments taking effect at 12:01 a.m. on 1 July 2025. Four changes matter to anyone with a live case.

First, the speedy trial period now starts from the date formal charges are filed rather than from the date of arrest. Someone arrested and released while the State takes months to decide whether to file is no longer running any clock during that time. Second, the recapture period was increased from 10 days to 30. Third, recapture was made mandatory in all situations. Fourth, a discharge under the rule is now without prejudice unless the defendant's constitutional right to a speedy trial was violated, in which case dismissal is with prejudice.

The periods themselves are unchanged: 90 days for a misdemeanour and 175 days for a felony without a demand, and a defendant who wants to force the issue may still file a Demand for Speedy Trial. What changed is when the count begins and how much room the State gets to recover from missing it.

• Clock starts at the filing of formal charges, not at arrest
• 90 days misdemeanour / 175 days felony without demand
• Recapture period increased from 10 to 30 days and made mandatory
• Discharge without prejudice unless the constitutional right was violated
• Effective 1 July 2025 (In re: Amendments to Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.191, No. SC2022-1123)

First appearance is not a formality

It lasts a few minutes and decides whether you spend the case at home or in custody, which in turn shapes everything else — whether you keep your job, whether you can gather evidence, and how much pressure sits behind any plea offer.

The rule requires the judge to inform the defendant of the charge, hand over a copy of the complaint, and advise the defendant of the right to silence, the right to counsel including appointed counsel, and the right to communicate with counsel, family or friends. Where the defendant wants to hire counsel, the judge must allow reasonable time to send for them and may postpone the hearing for that purpose.

The single most common error made here is explaining. Defendants who believe the charge is a misunderstanding routinely try to clear it up on the record at first appearance, and the explanation becomes a statement in the file.

An arrest is not a charge, and 'no charge yet' is not 'no case'

Prosecutors file the charging document, and they are not bound by what the arresting officer wrote. The window before filing is often the most productive period in the whole case, because that is when the defense can put material in front of the filing attorney — a receipt, a phone record, a witness statement, an explanation of the physical evidence — while the decision is still open.

For someone in custody, the pressure runs the other way and the rule provides the relief: charges within 30 days, release on the defendant's own recognizance on the 33rd day if none are filed, the 40th with good cause, and no continued custody beyond 40 days without a charge.

For someone released after arrest, no such clock protects them. The State may file later, subject only to the applicable limitations period, which is why silence and counsel matter just as much in the quiet months as at the arrest.

Withhold of adjudication: what it does, and what it does not

Florida judges may place a defendant on probation with or without an adjudication of guilt. Where adjudication is withheld, the sentence is served but no conviction is entered, which can preserve civil rights and keep the door open to sealing the record later.

What it does not do is erase anything. The arrest, the charge and the plea remain in the public record until and unless the record is sealed, and the case still appears on a background check.

It also does not bind other systems. Federal immigration law can treat a plea combined with an imposed penalty as a conviction regardless of the withhold, and many professional licensing boards apply similarly broad definitions. For a non-citizen, a withhold can look like a good result in state court and be a catastrophic one elsewhere, which is why immigration analysis has to happen before the plea is entered.

What the defense is actually doing at each stage

The visible part of a criminal case is a series of short hearings. The work that decides the outcome happens between them.

• Before filing: presenting material to the State Attorney while the charging decision is open
• First appearance and bond: arguing release conditions the client can actually live with
• Discovery: depositions, body-camera and dispatch audio, chain of custody, expert credentials
• Motions: suppression of unlawfully obtained evidence, dismissal on the undisputed facts
• Negotiation: charge, adjudication, probation length and conditions, and future sealing eligibility as one package
• Trial: holding the State to proof beyond a reasonable doubt on every element
• Sentencing and after: mitigation, scoresheet accuracy, and the path to sealing or expunction

Common mistakes

• Talking to detectives without a lawyer because you expect to explain the misunderstanding away.
• Discussing the case on a jail phone call or a jail video visit — all of it is recorded and reviewed.
• Assuming that no charge after a few weeks means the case is gone; for a defendant not in custody, no 30-day rule applies.
• Missing a court date, which invites a capias and the revocation of pretrial release.
• Accepting the first plea offer before discovery has shown what the State can actually prove.
• Treating a withhold of adjudication as a clean record, or entering one as a non-citizen without immigration advice.
• Assuming the 175-day speedy trial clock has been running since the arrest — since 1 July 2025 it starts when formal charges are filed.

Frequently asked questions