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

This page collects the county-level facts, each taken from the court, prosecutor or agency that publishes it, and points to our pages for individual cities and courthouses. 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 Palm Beach County case move, step by step?

1. Arrest. City police departments, FAU police and the Sheriff's Office make arrests; the Sheriff's Main Detention Center on Gun Club Road is the county's largest jail.
2. Bond or first appearance. The person bonds out on the schedule or sees a judge at the jail within 24 hours of arrest.
3. Filing decision. The State Attorney reviews the arrest and decides what to file; its Felony Intake Unit pairs each prosecutor with specific police agencies and Sheriff's districts.
4. Arraignment in the right region. Misdemeanor, criminal traffic and DUI arraignments are held weekly at the regional courthouses under AO 4.603; felonies go to circuit court.
5. Programs or litigation. Diversion, drug court or the first-time DUI program, or discovery and motions.
6. Trial at the main courthouse. A misdemeanor case in which a jury trial is requested is transferred to the main courthouse in downtown West Palm Beach, according to the State Attorney.

Which courthouse hears a Palm Beach County DUI or misdemeanor case?

The Fifteenth Judicial Circuit's Administrative Order 4.603, signed November 27, 2023, divides the Criminal Division of the County Court into four regions. Each region has a courthouse, and the order names the police agencies whose citations requiring a mandatory hearing before a judge are scheduled there.

The State Attorney's Office says misdemeanor, criminal traffic and DUI arraignments are held weekly at both the North County and the South County courthouses, and its branch at the Criminal Justice Complex handles felony and misdemeanor arraignments too. According to the same office, many misdemeanor cases that come in through its satellite offices end in plea offers or pretrial diversion, and a case in which a jury trial is requested is transferred to the main courthouse in downtown West Palm Beach. The courthouse printed on the notice to appear or court notice is the one to follow.

Our city pages cover the local police and city rules:

• Southern Region: our Boca Raton page, home of the firm's office.
• Southern Region: Delray Beach, where the South County Courthouse stands.
• Southern Region: Boynton Beach, with its police department's published numbers.
• Central Region: West Palm Beach, with its bar hours and open container rules.
• Northern Region: Palm Beach Gardens, home of the North County Courthouse.
• Northern Region: Jupiter, with its town code on alcohol and the beach.

The courthouse most south county clients see first is described on our page about what to expect at the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach.

Where is someone held after an arrest in Palm Beach County?

The Sheriff's Office calls the Main Detention Center, at 3228 Gun Club Road in West Palm Beach, the largest of its three correctional facilities. PBSO lists a total bed capacity of 2,166 and an average population of 1,769, made up mainly of pre-trial, unsentenced adult males; adult females and juveniles are housed there as well. PBSO's Inmate Records line, (561) 688-4340, gives booking and bond information.

The State Attorney's Office keeps a branch office in the jail building at the Criminal Justice Complex, and that office handles first appearances of new arrestees. What happens there, from the bond options to the first hearing, is on our page about the Palm Beach County jail and first appearance on Gun Club Road. The first two days in general are covered in what happens in the first 48 hours after an arrest in Palm Beach or Broward County.

What if the person arrested is under 18?

Juvenile cases follow their own path. The State Attorney's Office says police can either release a youth to the parents or take the youth to the Juvenile Assessment Center, which the Department of Juvenile Justice runs at 1100 45th Street, Building A, West Palm Beach, on the same grounds as the Juvenile Detention Center. The office's Juvenile Division has 14 prosecutors, reviews about 245 cases a month for filing, and decides on diversion and on direct filing in adult court. All juvenile trials are heard by a judge, without a jury.

The Clerk's Office says juvenile court hearings take place in the juvenile wing of the Main Courthouse and that juvenile records are confidential, available only to the youth, the parents, their attorney of record and certain agencies. Our juvenile offenses page explains how Mr. Mead approaches these cases.

How many DUI and misdemeanor cases does Palm Beach County handle?

The same report counts 2,813 DUI dispositions in the county that year. The State Attorney's County Court Division describes more than 32,000 misdemeanor cases opened in 2022, about 2,500 DUI cases prosecuted that year, and more than 200 misdemeanor trials, about 95 percent of them jury trials. A separate Traffic Homicide Unit reviews every criminal traffic fatality case in the county and prosecutes cases such as felony DUI, DUI causing serious bodily injury and DUI manslaughter; our felony DUI page explains what is at stake in those cases.

Which local programs can affect a Palm Beach County case?

• First-time DUI offender program: the State Attorney's Office publishes a program for some first-time DUI defendants, with strict rules on when the offer must be accepted. Its terms, quoted word for word, are on our page about the Palm Beach County first-time DUI program.
• Adult Drug Court: the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit describes a judicially supervised treatment program for nonviolent, adult, drug-involved felony defendants who live in Palm Beach County. Hearings are at the Criminal Justice Complex on Mondays and Thursdays at 1:30 p.m., participants pay $20.00 a week toward treatment and testing, and the charges are dismissed on successful completion.
• Diversion more broadly: how pretrial intervention works under Florida law, and what each county's prosecutor publishes about it, is on our page about pretrial diversion in Palm Beach and Broward.

None of these programs is automatic. Eligibility turns on the charge, the person's record and, for most of them, the prosecutor's decision.

Where do Palm Beach County drivers handle the license side of a DUI?

A DUI arrest also starts an administrative license suspension with a 10-day deadline, explained on our page about how to keep your license within 10 days of a DUI arrest. FLHSMV lists the Bureau of Administrative Reviews office for Palm Beach County at 3718-3 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Lauderdale Lakes, and says a formal review request or a hardship license application can be submitted by email without a visit. FLHSMV's Palm Beach driver license service centers are run by the Tax Collector, by reservation only, in Belle Glade, Delray Beach, Greenacres, Palm Beach Gardens, Westlake and West Palm Beach. Its list of licensed DUI programs shows five Palm Beach County locations: three in West Palm Beach and two in Delray Beach. For the whole sequence, see what happens after a DUI arrest in Florida. The licensed program locations in both counties, with the Level I and Level II courses, are 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?

For towns without a separate page, the county facts above apply, and the region in the table tells you which courthouse handles mandatory-hearing citations. Under Administrative Order 4.603, Riviera Beach, North Palm Beach, Tequesta and Juno Beach are in the Northern Region; Lantana, Highland Beach, Hypoluxo, Manalapan and Ocean Ridge are in the Southern Region; Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Lake Worth, Greenacres and the Town of Palm Beach are in the Central Region; and Belle Glade, Pahokee and South Bay are in the Western Region. Arrests in neighboring Broward County are covered on our Broward County DUI and criminal defense page. Arrests north of the county line are covered on our Martin County page.

What changes the answer?

• The arresting agency. AO 4.603 assigns each city department and Sheriff's district to a region, so the agency decides the courthouse for mandatory-hearing citations.
• Misdemeanor or felony. County court hears misdemeanors and criminal traffic; circuit court has jurisdiction of all felonies (s. 26.012(2)(d)).
• A jury trial request. The case moves to the main courthouse in West Palm Beach, according to the State Attorney.
• Age. Youths go through the Juvenile Assessment Center and juvenile court, with confidential records.
• The program fit. The first-time DUI program and Adult Drug Court each have their own criteria and timing.

A worked example

For example, picture a hypothetical driver stopped by a PBSO deputy from District 7 in the unincorporated Boca Raton area and arrested for a first DUI. AO 4.603 lists District 7 in the Southern Region, so the citation's court date is at the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach rather than in West Palm Beach. If the driver had instead been stopped by Palm Beach Gardens police, the same order would send the case to the North County Courthouse. Either way, the license review goes to the same FLHSMV bureau office in Lauderdale Lakes, and the first-time DUI program's plea, if the State Attorney approves the driver, is entered at arraignment at the satellite courthouse. This is a hypothetical walk-through, not a prediction.

Common mistakes people make

• Going to the main courthouse in West Palm Beach when the notice names a regional courthouse.
• Assuming every arrest is processed the same way; the agency and the charge change the path.
• Missing the first-time DUI program by filing motions or discovery demands first.
• Treating a youth's case like an adult's, when juvenile records and hearings follow separate rules.

What to do this week

1. Read the citation or notice for the agency, the charge and the courthouse.
2. If someone is in custody, call PBSO Inmate Records for booking and bond information.
3. For a DUI, deal with the 10-day license deadline.
4. Gather every paper from the arrest in one place.
5. Speak with a lawyer before the first court date.

Questions people ask about a Palm Beach County case

After the arrest

• The first days are laid out in the first week after a Florida DUI arrest.
• Release terms are explained in how bond is set in Florida.
• Court attendance is covered in whether you have to go to your arraignment.
• Visitors should read what a Florida DUI means for an out-of-state driver.

The license

• The hearing at the Lauderdale Lakes office is described in what happens at a DUI formal review hearing.
• Driving to work is covered in a hardship license after a Florida DUI.
• Device rules are in when an ignition interlock is required.
• Insurance after a conviction is explained in FR-44 insurance after a Florida DUI.

Testing

• Refusals are covered in what happens if you refused the breath test.
• Instrument and procedure rules are in Florida's breath test rules.
• Crash cases are covered in when police can take your blood.
• Medication and marijuana cases are in a DUI for marijuana or prescription drugs.
• Young drivers are covered in what happens to a driver under 21 stopped after drinking.

Charges and penalties

• The ranges are in our table of Florida DUI penalties.
• The full bill is in how much a DUI costs beyond the fine.
• The car is covered in what happens to your car after a DUI.
• Crash charges are in what happens when a DUI involves a crash.
• Cases the Traffic Homicide Unit handles include DUI manslaughter.
• Maximums by degree are in our chart of Florida criminal penalties.
• Felony sentencing is explained in how a felony sentence is calculated.
• Self-defense claims are covered in how stand-your-ground immunity works.
• Carrying without a license is covered in the concealed carry rules.
• Prior felony records and guns are covered in felon in possession of a firearm.

How a case can end

• Reduced charges are discussed in whether a DUI can be reduced to reckless driving.
• Early endings are explained in whether charges can be dropped before trial.
• Time limits are in Florida's speedy trial deadlines.
• Plea outcomes are explained in withhold of adjudication.
• Records are covered in whether a DUI can be sealed.

Family violence and injunctions

• Domestic arrests are held for the judge on Gun Club Road, as explained in what happens after a domestic violence arrest.
• Sentencing rules for a family battery are in domestic battery penalties.
• Restraining order cases are covered in the injunction for protection hearing.

Other charges, young people and probation

• Value lines for property cases are in when theft becomes a felony.
• Retail theft, one of the County Court Division's everyday misdemeanors, is covered in what happens after a shoplifting arrest.
• Entry cases are graded in burglary degrees in Florida.
• Cases that may lead to the Gun Club Road drug court start with drug possession penalties.
• Weight-based charges are explained in Florida's trafficking thresholds.
• Fights and threats are sorted out in assault versus battery.
• Teen arrests that go to the Juvenile Assessment Center on 45th Street are covered in what happens after a juvenile arrest.
• Marijuana and medical card questions are answered in whether marijuana possession is still a crime.
• Violation warrants handled at Gun Club Road are explained in bond on a probation violation.
• A plan for the days before the first court date is in the first week after a criminal charge.
• Clearing an old Palm Beach case starts with sealing and expunction eligibility.

Traffic tickets

• A civil ticket from a Palm Beach County deputy or city officer can be paid, sent to traffic school or contested; compare the routes in paying, traffic school or a hearing.
• Tickets add up quickly on a long commute; the thresholds are in Florida's license points rules.

Criminal traffic charges

• A Palm Beach County driver stopped while suspended should read when driving on a suspended license is a crime.
• Repeated license charges can lead to the 5-year revocation in habitual traffic offender rules.
• A crash on a county road followed by driving away is covered in leaving the scene of a crash.
• Whether a citation says careless or reckless matters; see reckless and careless driving compared.
• The difference between a ticket and a criminal citation is explained in criminal or civil tickets.
• Failing to stop for a deputy is a felony at every level, as shown in fleeing or eluding penalties.
• Parking lot meets in the county fall under the takeover and stunt driving statute.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the Palm Beach County jail?

The Main Detention Center is at 3228 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, where the State Attorney's branch office handles first appearances of new arrestees.

Which courthouse handles a Boca Raton DUI?

AO 4.603 places Boca Raton Police, FAU and PBSO District 7 cases in the Southern Region, at the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach.

Are misdemeanor jury trials held in Delray Beach?

The State Attorney says a misdemeanor case in which a jury trial is requested is transferred to the main courthouse in downtown West Palm Beach.

Does Palm Beach County have a drug court?

Yes. The circuit's Adult Drug Court serves nonviolent, adult, drug-involved felony defendants who live in the county, with hearings at the Criminal Justice Complex.

Do I deal with the license in Palm Beach County?

FLHSMV lists its Lauderdale Lakes bureau office for Palm Beach County drivers, and requests can be emailed. Driver license service centers in the county are run by the Tax Collector.

How can Mr. Mead help with a Palm Beach County case?

Mr. Mead's practice is devoted entirely to criminal defense, and he works one-on-one with each client rather than passing the case to a rotating team. The office is at 370 W. Camino Gardens Blvd., Suite 333, Boca Raton. Spanish and Portuguese are spoken, and you can call 24 hours. 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 Palm Beach County, a confidential phone call to (561) 362-6677 is a sound first step.

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