DUI and criminal cases in Broward County: courts, jail, programs and local facts

This page gathers the county-level facts for Broward, each from the court, clerk, sheriff or prosecutor that publishes it, and links to our pages for individual cities. For the charges the office handles, see the criminal defense practice areas. DUI cases are covered on the main DUI defense page.

How does a Broward case move, step by step?

1. Arrest and Central Intake. Every police agency in the county books arrests at BSO's Central Intake Bureau in the Main Jail.
2. Bond or magistrate court. The person bonds out or sees a magistrate judge the day after the arrest, weekends included.
3. Formal charges. The State Attorney files within the Rule 3.134 deadlines: 30 days for a person in custody, 60 days for a person released.
4. Arraignment and program decisions. Misdemeanor Diversion eligibility is decided at arraignment; felony PTI applications are due within 45 days of it.
5. County or circuit court. Misdemeanors and criminal traffic go to county judges at the four courthouses; felonies go to circuit court (s. 26.012(2)(d)).
6. Resolution. Diversion, dismissal, a plea or a trial.

Where is a Broward misdemeanor or DUI case heard?

The Seventeenth Judicial Circuit says its County Court Criminal Division handles misdemeanors, criminal traffic matters such as driving under the influence and driving while license suspended, ordinance violations and civil traffic infractions. Its county criminal judges sit at the Central Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale and at three satellite courthouses. The Clerk of Courts lists traffic and misdemeanor services at all four buildings, and the State Attorney keeps an office in each.

The Clerk lists weekday hours of 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for these counters, excluding holidays, while the circuit lists normal operating hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for the North and South Regional courthouses. The State Attorney's Office says that at any of its four locations you may file a complaint, deliver court filings or speak with an on-duty prosecutor. On penalties, the circuit notes that a first-degree misdemeanor can bring up to a year in the county jail and a $1,000 fine, a second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500, and that DUI has its own penalties set by law; those are laid out on our page about Florida DUI penalties.

Our city pages cover the local police and rules:

• Fort Lauderdale, home of the Central Courthouse and the Main Jail.
• Deerfield Beach, home of the North Regional Courthouse.
• Coral Springs, with its own police department and city code rules.
• Hollywood, home of the South Regional Courthouse.

Where is someone held after a Broward arrest?

The Broward Sheriff's Office describes the Main Jail, at 555 SE 1st Ave., as an eight-story maximum security facility next to the courthouse, built in 1985 and expanded to a capacity of 1,538. Besides the Central Intake Bureau, it holds the pre-magistrate area and classification intake for every BSO jail. It is an all-male facility, and BSO says it also holds an average of 65 juveniles awaiting trial in adult court, housed apart from adults. People who are not released are assigned to one of four BSO jails using objective criteria, not closeness to home; BSO lists jail facilities in Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach.

Those who do not bond out appear before a magistrate judge the day after the arrest, weekends included. The two official sources describe the timing differently: BSO says proceedings usually begin at 8 a.m., depending on the judge, while the State Attorney lists weekday dockets at 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. and weekend and holiday hearings that generally begin by 8:30 a.m. The details, including where families can watch, are on our page about what to expect at the Broward Central Courthouse and Main Jail after an arrest. The first two days in general are covered in what happens in the first 48 hours after an arrest.

How many DUI and misdemeanor cases does Broward handle?

The same report counts 2,816 DUI dispositions in Broward that year. Broward recorded more DUI filings than Palm Beach County (2,678), even though its total county criminal filings were lower.

Which State Attorney programs can affect a Broward case?

• Misdemeanor Diversion Program: for first-time offenders, administered and supervised by BSO Probation. Eligibility and approval are decided at arraignment, and the State Attorney charges $150 per defendant for the costs of prosecution, with no refunds.
• Felony Pre-Trial Intervention: for qualifying third-degree felonies, with the application due within 45 days of arraignment. Depositions or substantive motions disqualify a defendant, and DUI, driving while license suspended and leaving the scene of an accident are on the list of charges not eligible.
• License To Drive: since November 1, 2021, this program helps drivers accused of misdemeanor driving with a suspended, revoked or canceled license work toward a valid license, with payment plans for outstanding fines and driving classes. Our criminal traffic citations page covers these charges.
• Juvenile Civil Citation: under a 2021 agreement, officers countywide first consider a civil citation instead of an arrest for youths 17 and under accused of eligible misdemeanors.
• Treatment courts: a Veterans Treatment Court program and, since October 2021, a Felony Mental Health Pretrial Diversion Program.

The State Attorney also lists an Identity Theft Unit among its units; fraud charges are covered on our fraud defense page. Approval depends on the charge, the record and the prosecutor or court. How these programs compare with Palm Beach County's is explained on our page about pretrial diversion in Palm Beach and Broward.

Where do Broward drivers handle the license side of a DUI?

FLHSMV lists its Bureau of Administrative Reviews office at 3718-3 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Lauderdale Lakes, the same address as a state driver license service center, and says a formal review request or hardship license application can be emailed instead of delivered in person. FLHSMV's state-run driver license centers in Broward are in Lauderdale Lakes, Margate, Sunrise, Pembroke Pines and Pompano Beach, by appointment. Its list of licensed DUI programs shows Broward locations in Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Lauderdale Lakes, Davie and Pompano Beach. The 10-day deadline that starts at the arrest is explained on our page about keeping your license within 10 days of a DUI arrest. The full sequence is in what happens after a DUI arrest in Florida. Each Broward location, and the rule on which county's program you may use, is listed on our page about DUI school in Palm Beach and Broward County.

Which towns does this page cover without a page of their own?

Arrests in Plantation, Sunrise, Davie, Pompano Beach, Pembroke Pines, Margate and the other Broward cities follow the same county-wide path: booking at Central Intake, first appearance downtown, and a county court case at the Central Courthouse or one of the regional courthouses listed above. The West Regional Courthouse and the State Attorney's West Satellite Office are in Plantation. For arrests north of the county line, see our Palm Beach County DUI and criminal defense page. Arrests south of the county line are covered on our Miami-Dade County page.

What changes the answer?

• Misdemeanor or felony. County court hears misdemeanors and criminal traffic; felonies go to circuit court.
• Release. Charges on the list in section 903.011(6), such as domestic violence, require a judge before release.
• Record. Misdemeanor Diversion is for first-time offenders, and felony PTI for first-time felony offenders.
• The charge type. DUI, driving while license suspended and leaving the scene are not eligible for felony PTI; License To Drive covers misdemeanor suspended-license cases.
• Age. Youths 17 and under may receive a civil citation for eligible misdemeanors under the 2021 countywide agreement.

A worked example

For example, take a hypothetical arrest in Pompano Beach for misdemeanor driving while license suspended. The person is booked at Central Intake in the Main Jail, released after posting bond, and given a court date. Because felony PTI excludes suspended-license charges, the realistic program is License To Drive, where prosecutors decide eligibility with an in-court caseworker and a vendor helps the driver work toward a valid license, including a payment plan for outstanding fines. The case is heard by a county judge at the courthouse named on the notice. If the same person had been arrested for a first-time misdemeanor theft instead, a charge discussed on our theft defense page, the Misdemeanor Diversion Program, decided at arraignment with $150 in costs of prosecution, would be the program to ask about. This is a hypothetical example, not a prediction.

Common mistakes people make

• Expecting a Broward case to go to the courthouse nearest home; the notice controls.
• Missing the 45-day felony PTI window by waiting.
• Assuming Broward has a first-time DUI program like Palm Beach County's.
• Not budgeting for program costs, which are not refunded.

What to do this week

1. Use the BSO arrest search or call the jail's information line for the charges and bond.
2. Read the notice for the courthouse and date.
3. For a DUI, act on the 10-day license deadline.
4. Ask a lawyer about program deadlines before filing anything.
5. Keep all release and court papers together.

Questions people ask about a Broward case

From Central Intake to the first court date

• Families posting bail downtown can start with how bond works in Florida.
• A day-by-day plan for a DUI is our DUI first-week checklist.
• Whether you must stand before the county judge yourself is answered in do I have to go to my arraignment.
• Drivers licensed in another state face extra steps, set out in out-of-state drivers and a Florida DUI.

Keeping a Broward driver on the road

• Before the bureau's hearing officer, see the DUI formal review hearing.
• A business-purposes license is explained in getting a hardship license.
• The breath-tester in the car is covered by our ignition interlock page.
• Higher liability limits come up in FR-44 insurance.

The evidence in a Broward DUI

• Saying no to the test has its own consequences, listed in breath test refusal in Florida.
• Intoxilyzer procedures appear in the FDLE breath test rules.
• Hospital draws after a collision are covered by blood tests after a DUI crash.
• Impairment by medication rather than alcohol is the subject of drug and prescription DUI.
• The 0.02 rule for teenagers and young adults is in underage DUI in Florida.

What a conviction could mean

• Court costs, program fees and reinstatement are totaled in the real cost of a Florida DUI.
• Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood tow rules sit alongside the court's order in DUI impound and immobilization.
• Damage or injury changes the charge, as shown in DUI with a crash.
• A death brings the charge in Florida DUI manslaughter.
• Misdemeanor and felony ceilings sit side by side in the Florida penalties chart.
• Circuit court sentencing points are walked through in the felony scoresheet.
• Force used in self-defense is analyzed in stand-your-ground immunity.
• Permitless carry and its limits are in carrying a concealed gun without a license.
• A felony record plus a firearm is the subject of possession of a firearm by a felon.

Ways a Broward case can close

• Pleading to a lesser driving offense is weighed in DUI reduced to reckless driving.
• A nolle prosequi or a dismissal is explained in can charges be dropped.
• The 90-day and 175-day limits are in speedy trial in Florida.
• A plea without a formal finding of guilt is described in adjudication withheld.
• Clearing the record afterward is the topic of sealing or expunging a DUI.
• For contrast with the county to the north, see Palm Beach's first-time DUI offer.

Domestic cases and restraining orders

• The hold until first appearance downtown is explained in what happens after a domestic violence arrest in Florida.
• A partner's wish to stop the case is covered in whether the alleged victim can drop the charges.
• Hearings in the West Building's domestic violence division are described in what happens at an injunction hearing.

Other Broward charges, juveniles and probation

• Whether a Broward property charge is a misdemeanor depends on the Florida theft thresholds.
• First-time store cases and the Misdemeanor Diversion Program are discussed in the shoplifting arrest guide.
• Car and home entries are covered in whether burglary is always a felony.
• Broward's drug court is one route described in penalties for drug possession.
• Mandatory minimums by weight are listed in how much makes it trafficking.
• Bar fights and threats are explained in the difference between assault and battery.
• A child taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center is the subject of the juvenile arrest guide.
• Broward's youth citation agreement is described in civil citation instead of arrest.
• Flower, vapes and medical cards are covered in marijuana possession in Florida.
• Release on a violation warrant is discussed in probation violation bond.
• The first days after a charge are mapped in the first-week checklist.
• A dismissed Broward case may already be covered by automatic record sealing.

Traffic tickets

• The Broward Clerk's four ticket options, including the conditional no-contest plea, are compared in whether to pay a ticket or fight it.
• Points from tickets in several Broward cities count together; see how many points lead to a suspension.

Criminal traffic charges

• Broward's decriminalized affidavit option and the criminal version of the charge are both covered in driving while suspended.
• Three listed convictions in 5 years bring the revocation described in habitual offender status.
• Hit-and-run charges from Broward roads are graded in the leaving-the-scene page.
• A Broward reckless driving citation goes to county court; compare it with careless driving in reckless versus careless.
• Which Broward citations require a court appearance is explained in whether a ticket is criminal or civil.
• A pursuit that ends in Broward is charged under the levels in the fleeing and eluding statute.
• Takeovers in Broward lots and streets are covered by the street takeover law.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the Broward County jail?

The Main Jail is at 555 SE 1st Ave. in downtown Fort Lauderdale, next to the courthouse, and holds the Central Intake Bureau for every agency in the county.

When is first appearance in Broward?

The day after the arrest, weekends included. BSO says it usually begins at 8 a.m.; the State Attorney lists 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. dockets on weekdays and about 8:30 a.m. on weekends and holidays.

Which courthouse will hear my case?

The one on your notice: the Central Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale or the regional courthouse in Deerfield Beach, Hollywood or Plantation.

Is there a DUI diversion program in Broward?

The State Attorney's published list has no DUI-specific program, and DUI is not eligible for felony PTI.

Where do I handle my license?

FLHSMV's Bureau of Administrative Reviews office in Lauderdale Lakes, which accepts review and hardship forms by email.

How can Mr. Mead help with a Broward case?

Mr. Mead's practice is criminal defense, exclusively, and he works one-on-one with each client. The office is at 370 W. Camino Gardens Blvd., Suite 333, Boca Raton. Spanish and Portuguese are spoken, and you can call 24 hours. More about his background is on the firm overview page.

Every case is different, and no result can be promised. If you or someone in your family was arrested in Broward County, a confidential phone call to (561) 362-6677 is a sound first step.

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