Whether you were hurt in a crash that was not your fault or you are facing a criminal charge, you need a lawyer who knows Manatee County and handles your case personally. Choose the help you need below, and each page goes deeper into how these cases work here.
In This Courthouse
I am in court every weekday, usually morning and afternoon.
Every county runs its own way. Here that means the Manatee County Judicial Center in Bradenton, in Florida’s Twelfth Judicial Circuit. Manatee is a regular venue for me, not an occasional trip.
It also means DETER, the Twelfth Circuit first-DUI program covering Manatee, Sarasota, and DeSoto. Knowing which program applies where you were arrested, and what it actually costs you, is the difference between a first DUI that ends in a conviction and one that does not.
Legal help across Manatee County
I represent people throughout Manatee County, including Bradenton, Palmetto, Lakewood Ranch, and Anna Maria Island. Criminal and DUI cases here run through the Twelfth Judicial Circuit at the Manatee County Judicial Center in Bradenton. If a case is appealed, it now goes to Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal, which sits up the coast in St. Petersburg after the state realigned its appellate districts. Knowing the local courts, the prosecutors, and the way local insurers evaluate injury claims is part of how I build a case. I am not a referral service, and from the first call through trial you work with me, not a case manager.
On the injury side, Interstate 75, US-41, US-301, State Road 64 known as Manatee Avenue, and State Road 70 carry local, commuter, and tourist traffic, and the fast-growing Lakewood Ranch corridor along SR-70 and University Parkway has seen crashes climb with the traffic. Serious injuries are often treated at Blake Medical Center or Manatee Memorial Hospital in Bradenton, or at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center. I represent injured people, not insurance companies, and I build the case the way it has to be built to move an adjuster toward fair value.
On the criminal side, I defend DUI, drug, traffic, violent, and other charges in the Manatee courts. As an ACS-CHAL forensic lawyer-scientist and a former public defender, I work the breath and blood science and the courtroom the way these cases demand. Explore the full range of personal injury cases I handle, or choose your Manatee County track above.
If an arrest just happened in Manatee. The Sheriff publishes jail and inmate information along with a charges and bond page, and records and video requests go through the county portal. Manatee sits in the Twelfth Circuit, so the first-DUI diversion program is DETER, not the Pinellas or Hillsborough version.
If the arrest was recent, the license clock is already running and it is separate from the criminal case. The deadline checker shows exactly how long is left, and the cost breakdown shows what a conviction carries.
What to expect at the Bradenton courthouse. Manatee cases are heard at the Manatee County Judicial Center at 1051 Manatee Avenue West. Two things catch people out: the Clerk’s criminal records office is in a different building a block away, and the jail is eleven miles north in Palmetto. The guide covers the garage, the Zoom rules for misdemeanor divisions, and the per judge procedures the circuit publishes.
If a DUI arrest just happened, the license clock is running separately from the criminal case. The deadline checker shows how long is left, the cost breakdown shows what a conviction carries, and the case evaluator walks through what is actually strong and weak in the case.
Prefer to pick a time rather than call? You can book a free consultation directly, or call or text (727) 761-4318.
