Florida's 20 State Attorneys: Where They Serve, Who Qualifies and How the Office Works

A Florida state attorney is the elected prosecuting officer of all trial courts in one of the state's 20 judicial circuits, serving a four-year term under Article V, section 17 of the Florida Constitution (Florida Constitution, Article V, section 17).

The constitution ties the office to the circuit, not the county: one state attorney is elected in each judicial circuit, and that officer also performs other duties prescribed by general law. It carves out one exception, allowing violations of municipal ordinances to be prosecuted by municipal prosecutors when general law authorizes it (Article V, section 17).

The Florida Statutes repeat the structure in section 27.01, which provides a state attorney for each judicial circuit, elected at the general election by the qualified electors of that circuit as other state officials are elected, for a term of 4 years (section 27.01). Article V, section 18 creates a parallel elected public defender in each circuit, also for four years, so every Florida circuit elects both a state attorney and a public defender (Article V, section 18).

Section 26.021 of the Florida Statutes divides the state into 20 judicial circuits and names the counties that compose each one, and the state attorney elected in that circuit prosecutes in its courts (section 26.021).

Source for every row: section 26.021, Florida Statutes. The county count column is a tally of the counties the statute names for each circuit.

The statute composes the Eleventh, Thirteenth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth circuits of one county each: Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Palm Beach, Monroe and Broward. Section 26.021 also notes that a circuit court's territorial jurisdiction may be expanded as provided in section 910.03(3) (section 26.021).

A Florida state attorney must be an elector of the state, live in the circuit, and have been a member of The Florida Bar for the preceding five years (Article V, section 17).

Article V, section 17 adds two conditions on how the job is held: the state attorney must devote full time to the duties of the office and may not engage in the private practice of law. The same section gives state attorneys the power to appoint assistant state attorneys as authorized by law (Florida Constitution, Article V).

Assistants serve at the pleasure of the state attorney who appoints them, under section 27.181 of the Florida Statutes. Each appointment must be in writing and recorded with the clerk of the circuit court in the county where the state attorney lives, and the assistant must take and record a written oath before performing any duties; certified copies go to the Secretary of State (section 27.181).

An assistant has all the powers and duties of the appointing state attorney, under that state attorney's direction, with one Florida limit: no assistant may sign informations unless specifically designated to do so by the state attorney (section 27.181).

Under section 27.02, the state attorney appears in the circuit and county courts of the circuit and prosecutes or defends, on behalf of the state, all suits, applications or motions in which Florida is a party, civil matters included (section 27.02).

The statute excepts matters under chapters 39, 984 and 985, whose own intake procedures apply. It also limits ordinance work: a Florida state attorney appears to prosecute violations of special laws and county or municipal ordinances punishable by incarceration if the case is ancillary to a state prosecution or if the state attorney has contracted with the county or city for reimbursement (section 27.02).

Two smaller duties sit in the same chapter of the Florida Statutes. When meeting discovery obligations, a state attorney may charge fees of no more than 15 cents per page for a noncertified copy of a public record, deferred for a defendant found indigent (section 27.02). And whenever a grand jury requires it, the state attorney attends to examine witnesses or give legal advice and prepares bills of indictment (section 27.03).

Article V, section 14 requires Florida's state attorneys' offices to be funded from state revenues appropriated by general law, while counties pay for their facilities and communications (Article V, section 14).

The constitution lists the county share, including communications services, existing radio systems and the construction or lease, maintenance, utilities and security of facilities for state attorneys' offices and the other court offices. Except as that subsection provides, no county or municipality may be required to fund a state attorney's office (Article V, section 14).

Local ordinance work is billed separately under section 27.34. A Florida state attorney prosecuting special law or ordinance violations punishable by incarceration and not ancillary to a state charge must contract with the county or city to recover the full cost, either hourly at $50 per hour unless the General Appropriations Act sets another rate, or by reimbursing the full cost of full-time equivalent attorney positions. For a county with a population of less than 75,000, the state attorney contracts for full reimbursement or for reimbursement as the parties otherwise agree (section 27.34).

The Justice Administrative Commission, a state agency created in 1965, provides services primarily in accounting, budget, financial services and human resources to the 20 Offices of State Attorney among 49 judicial related offices, but does not supervise, direct or control them. Its commission is two state attorneys appointed by the President of the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association and two public defenders appointed by the President of the Florida Public Defender Association (Justice Administrative Commission).

The Governor can move a case to a different state attorney by executive order under section 27.14, and offenses spanning two or more circuits can go to the statewide prosecutor in the Attorney General's office (section 27.14; Article IV, section 4).

Section 27.14 lets the Governor act when a state attorney is disqualified, or when the Governor determines that the ends of justice would be best served, by an executive order filed with the Florida Department of State. The order can exchange circuits or courts between two state attorneys, or assign one to specified investigations, cases or matters. An exchange or assignment expires 12 months after issuance unless the Florida Supreme Court extends it on the Governor's application, and the assigned state attorney may designate assistants and investigators to carry out the work (section 27.14).

The statewide prosecutor is created by Article IV, section 4 of the Florida Constitution in the office of the Attorney General, with jurisdiction concurrent with the state attorneys over violations occurring in, or affecting, two or more judicial circuits as part of a related transaction. The Attorney General appoints the statewide prosecutor from not less than three persons nominated by the judicial nominating commission for the Supreme Court, or as otherwise provided by general law (Article IV, section 4). If the statewide prosecutor is disqualified in a matter, section 27.14 lets the Governor assign a state attorney to it on the same 12 month terms (section 27.14).

Last verified: October 18, 2026, by re-reading Articles IV and V of the Florida Constitution on the Senate site, sections 26.021, 27.01, 27.02, 27.03, 27.14, 27.181 and 27.34 on Online Sunshine, and the Justice Administrative Commission home page.