The Hillsborough County Courthouse: What to Expect in Tampa

If you have a criminal case in Hillsborough County, there is one thing worth knowing before anything else, and most people get it wrong: your hearing is not in the Edgecomb Courthouse. It is in the Criminal Courthouse Annex next door, and you get there by walking in through Edgecomb. Everything else on this page follows from that.

The right building, which is two buildings

The Criminal Courthouse Annex, 401 North Jefferson Street, Tampa, FL 33602. This is where criminal court happens. Every circuit criminal division, meaning felonies, and every county criminal division, meaning misdemeanors, sits here. So does first appearance, juvenile delinquency, drug court, mental health court, and violation of probation. If the person is still in custody rather than heading to court, the Hillsborough jail guide covers Orient Road, Falkenburg Road, visitation, and bond.

The George E. Edgecomb Courthouse, 800 East Twiggs Street, Tampa, FL 33602. This is the door you use. Public entry to the Annex is through Edgecomb, which is why judges’ own procedure documents print the Annex address and then add, in brackets, to enter at Edgecomb. Edgecomb itself holds circuit and county civil, family, probate, juvenile dependency, protective injunctions, and jury assembly. There is one criminal exception: the county domestic violence division sits in Edgecomb rather than the Annex.

Two more downtown buildings get confused with these, and neither hears a criminal case. The Pat Collier Frank Courthouse at 419 North Pierce Street is Clerk services, recording, marriage licenses, passports and civil traffic, and it is also where the State Attorney’s office is. The Brandon Regional Service Center at 311 Pauls Drive is a Clerk counter with no judges assigned to it. If your case arose in the east of the county it may be at the Plant City Courthouse, 301 North Michigan Avenue, which does have its own criminal division. Read the address on your notice.

Parking, security, and timing

The Twiggs Garage at 901 East Twiggs Street is the reliable answer. It is a City of Tampa garage, it is inexpensive, and you pay on the way out. If you are reporting for jury duty, bring the parking receipt in with you, because the Clerk validates it and the parking is free. Note the entrance clearance is under seven feet, so a tall vehicle will not fit.

There is usually street parking downtown if you are willing to drive around a little. That is my own observation rather than anything the court publishes, and it is the difference between paying for a garage and not. If you are running tight on time, take the garage and stop optimizing.

Phones are allowed. The Thirteenth Circuit’s security order does not prohibit them; it prohibits weapons, sharp objects, chemical and explosive devices and hazardous materials, and it directs court administration to inspect and admit electronic devices rather than turn them away. The Clerk tells jurors to bring laptops and tablets if they want, and to turn everything off in the courtroom. That is the right standard for everyone: bring it, silence it, put it away. Photographing or recording a proceeding, in person or on a livestream, is prohibited.

Everyone entering through a public door goes through screening, and refusing a search means you do not get in. Arrive thirty minutes earlier than feels necessary. Hillsborough runs the busiest criminal docket in this region and the morning line reflects it.

County court or circuit court

County court handles misdemeanors. Circuit court handles felonies. Both sit in the Annex, so being in the right building does not mean you are in the right courtroom. Hillsborough courtrooms are numbered rather than organized by floor, from the tens up into the sixties, so the number on your notice is what matters. Check the docket screen after you clear security, and ask a deputy rather than guessing.

Do not assume you can appear by Zoom. This is the single biggest practical difference between Hillsborough and the counties to the south. The circuit does run hybrid courtrooms, but criminal divisions here say plainly that because of the pace and volume of the docket, good cause has to be established before anyone appears remotely. At least one county criminal division states that all cases are in person and requires a written motion at least ten business days ahead. In Sarasota or Manatee a misdemeanor client can often get through the early stages without appearing at all. Here, plan on showing up unless your lawyer has told you otherwise in writing.

Each judge publishes their own practices, and in Hillsborough those documents are unusually detailed and worth reading. Every judge’s page in the judicial directory carries their procedures, and their Zoom link, meeting ID and password sit at the top of it. The circuit also publishes a remote hearings page with the telephone dial in option. I do not name judges on this page on purpose, because divisions rotate and a name here would go stale; the directory is always current.

How a case actually moves here

Hillsborough uses different words than the Twelfth Circuit next door, and the words tell you what a hearing is for.

The pretrial conference is the hearing that matters. Hillsborough judges use that term specifically for the last hearing before a jury trial, as distinct from the disposition dates in between. Evidentiary motions are expected to be filed, heard and resolved before it. On the misdemeanor side the sequence runs arraignment, then disposition hearings, then the pretrial conference, then a last call docket, then jury pick. You are generally required to be personally present at a pretrial conference unless a written waiver has been filed.

There is no docket sounding here. That is the Twelfth Circuit’s word, used in Sarasota and Manatee. Neither is there a routine case management conference. On the felony side, trials tend to be set straight from arraignment, and status conferences are disfavored unless they will actually move the case toward resolution. The practical effect is that Hillsborough moves faster than Sarasota, which means less time to work a case up and more pressure earlier. That is worth knowing when someone tells you to just take the first offer.

The first offense DUI diversion program in Hillsborough is RIDR, which is the Thirteenth Circuit’s own program. It is not DROP and it is not DETER, and the eligibility and the terms are different from both.

If someone you love is in the county jail

Hillsborough runs two jails and they do different jobs, which is why families get sent back and forth.

Orient Road Jail, 1201 Orient Road, Tampa, FL 33619, is the intake facility. This is where an arrest is booked and processed, for more than two dozen law enforcement agencies across the county. If the arrest just happened, this is where the person is. The Sheriff’s detention line is (813) 247-8300.

Falkenburg Road Jail, 520 North Falkenburg Road, Tampa, FL 33619, is the housing facility. People are moved here after intake. If your search is coming up empty at one, try the other, and remember a booking takes a few hours to appear at all.

Confirm custody and bond through the Sheriff’s Arrest Inquiry. Reports and body camera video come from the HCSO records portal, or from Tampa Police records if city officers made the stop. Ask for video early. Retention windows are shorter than people assume.

First appearance, bond, and the arraignment you may not need to attend

First appearance happens by video from the jail into courtroom CR17, usually within twenty four hours of the arrest. The judge reviews probable cause and sets bond. Nobody needs to drive downtown for it. If the bond comes back out of reach, a motion to reduce it is often the first real fight in the case, and it is a fight worth having with a lawyer rather than alone.

Two things families need to hear before anything else. Jail calls are recorded and monitored, and the recordings become evidence. The facts of the case never belong on a jail phone, no matter how much you want to talk it through. And before you pay anyone: a bail bond agency’s fee is generally non-refundable under Florida law, while a cash bond posted directly with the jail or the Clerk may come back at the end of the case, less court costs. On a lower bond, paying it yourself is often the cheaper choice, and almost nobody is told that at three in the morning.

The arraignment is the formal reading of the charge and the entry of a plea, and you often do not have to be there. Once I am hired I file a written plea of not guilty and waive your appearance, which means you keep your workday. The case then moves into discovery, where I pull the State’s evidence, depose the officers, and in a DUI case go through the breath or blood testing records line by line. That is where cases are won, not at the podium on arraignment day. Misdemeanor clients can often stay home on a filed waiver. Felony clients should expect the court to want them present at every hearing unless the judge says otherwise, which is consistent with what the criminal divisions here say about remote appearance generally.

One more piece of building knowledge: the probation offices are in the main courthouse building, not the Annex. That matters when you are reporting during or after a case, and it is a different door from the one you used for court.

Who sits where, and how to look up your own case

The prosecutor and the public defender are in two different buildings, and neither is the Annex. The State Attorney is at 419 North Pierce Street, (813) 272-5400, in the Pat Collier Frank Courthouse. The Public Defender is at 700 East Twiggs Street on the fifth floor, (813) 272-5980, a block from Edgecomb, with a satellite office in Plant City. The Public Defender represents people who qualify financially and is appointed by the court rather than chosen.

Your case file is public and you can read it yourself. HOVER, the Hillsborough Clerk’s records viewer, searches by case number, citation number, or party name, and it will also look up court hearings. No account, no search fee. Reading your own docket before a hearing tells you what has actually been filed and whether anything was entered that nobody told you about. The Clerk’s main line is (813) 276-8100, and Clerk offices at Edgecomb are open 8:00 to 5:00 Monday through Friday.

If you need a lawyer and I am not the right fit, the Hillsborough County Bar Association’s referral service is the legitimate place to start. It screens the attorneys on its panel and it is certified by The Florida Bar. There is a modest flat fee for the consultation, waived for some case types.

Common Questions

Is my Hillsborough criminal case at the Edgecomb Courthouse?

Your hearing is in the Criminal Courthouse Annex at 401 North Jefferson Street, but you enter through the Edgecomb Courthouse at 800 East Twiggs Street. So both addresses are correct in different senses, which is exactly why people get confused. The one criminal exception is the county domestic violence division, which sits in Edgecomb itself.

Where do I park at the Tampa courthouse?

The Twiggs Garage at 901 East Twiggs Street is the reliable option, it is inexpensive, and you pay on exit. Jurors park free if they bring the receipt in for validation. There is often street parking downtown if you have time to circle. The garage entrance clearance is under seven feet.

Can I appear by Zoom in Hillsborough?

Usually not, and this is where Hillsborough differs sharply from Sarasota and Manatee. Criminal divisions here require good cause to be established before a remote appearance, citing the pace and volume of the docket, and at least one county criminal division states that all cases are in person and wants a written motion ten business days ahead. Plan on appearing unless your lawyer tells you otherwise.

Can I bring my phone into the courthouse?

Yes. The Thirteenth Circuit does not ban phones. Devices are inspected and admitted at screening. Turn it off in the courtroom, and do not photograph or record a proceeding, including a livestream. Weapons, sharp objects, and hazardous materials do not come in.

What is a pretrial conference, and do I have to be there?

In Hillsborough it is the last hearing before a jury trial, as distinct from the disposition dates that come before it, and evidentiary motions are expected to be resolved by then. You are generally required to attend personally unless a written waiver has been filed. Hillsborough does not use docket sounding; that is the Twelfth Circuit’s term.

Which jail is the person in?

A new arrest is booked at Orient Road Jail, 1201 Orient Road. People are moved to Falkenburg Road Jail, 520 North Falkenburg Road, for housing after intake. If one search comes up empty, try the other, and allow a few hours for a booking to appear at all.

Where do first appearances happen in Hillsborough County?

By video from the jail into courtroom CR17, usually within twenty four hours of the arrest. Family members do not need to travel downtown for it. The judge reviews probable cause and sets bond.

What should I bring to court?

Your paperwork, which carries the courtroom number, and photo ID. Dress like the day matters, because it does; business casual is enough. Leave weapons and anything sharp in the car. Give yourself far more time than seems necessary for parking and the screening line.

Related reading

My Hillsborough County defense page covers how I handle cases here, and I started out as an Assistant Public Defender in this circuit trying cases to juries. If your case is a first DUI, RIDR is the Hillsborough diversion program. Hillsborough DUI penalties covers what a conviction carries here, and the diversion and treatment courts page covers the programs that can end a case without a conviction. The Tampa Bay police records and policy directory covers how to get reports and body camera video from every agency in the region, and the Pinellas County Justice Center guide covers the courthouse across the bay.