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 Pasco 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 Pasco courthouses in New Port Richey and Dade City, in Florida’s Sixth Judicial Circuit. Pasco shares the Sixth Circuit with Pinellas, so I am in this circuit every week.
It also means DROP, the same first-DUI diversion program Pinellas uses, since Pasco shares the Sixth Circuit. 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 Pasco County
I represent people throughout Pasco County, including New Port Richey, Wesley Chapel, and Dade City. Criminal and DUI cases here run through the Sixth Judicial Circuit at the West Pasco Judicial Center in New Port Richey and the historic courthouse in Dade City. If a case is appealed, it now goes to Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal, which sits to the south 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, US-19 on the west side, State Roads 54 and 56 across the fast-growing center of the county, Interstate 75, and the Suncoast Parkway carry heavy commuter and truck traffic, and rapid growth means new intersections, work zones, and long high-speed arterials that produce severe crashes. Emergency care runs through AdventHealth in Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills, the Medical Center of Trinity, and Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point, with the most serious trauma often transferred to Tampa. 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 Pasco 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 Pasco County track above.
If an arrest just happened in Pasco. The Sheriff’s jail page covers custody and visitation, and records and video requests go through the PSO portal. Formal review filings for a Pasco arrest go to the Tampa BAR office. Pasco shares the Sixth Circuit with Pinellas, so the first-DUI diversion program is DROP.
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.
Which Pasco courthouse is yours. Pasco runs two, about forty minutes apart, and which one hears your case turns on where the offense happened and which agency made the arrest. The West Pasco Judicial Center is on Little Road in New Port Richey; the Robert D. Sumner Judicial Center is on Live Oak Avenue in Dade City. The address on your notice of hearing is the answer. Both guides cover parking, the dress code, the phone rules, and remote appearance.
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.
Two Courthouses, and Which One Is Yours
Pasco splits its court system down the middle. Cases from the west side, New Port Richey, Hudson, Trinity, and the US-19 corridor, run through the West Pasco Judicial Center in New Port Richey. Cases from the east side, Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills, Land O’ Lakes, and Dade City, run through the Sumner Judicial Center in Dade City. Your paperwork controls, and both guides walk the building, the parking, and how to look up your own case before you drive.
A Pasco DUI Has Its Own Wrinkles
Pasco shares Florida’s Sixth Judicial Circuit with Pinellas, which means an eligible first DUI here can go through DROP, the circuit’s diversion program that can end in a reckless driving reduction instead of a DUI conviction. The license side is the wrinkle that catches people: a Pasco formal review does not run through Clearwater the way a Pinellas one does. It runs through the Tampa Bureau of Administrative Reviews, and you have ten days from the arrest to demand it. The Pasco County criminal defense and DUI lawyer page goes deeper, and the Pasco DUI penalties guide lays out what a conviction here actually carries. Arrested on the water instead of the road? Pasco has its own boating under the influence page too.
License Plate Readers in Pasco, and What Changes on September 30
Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco has told the Board of County Commissioners that he is ending the interlocal agreement allowing automated license plate readers in county rights-of-way, effective September 30, 2026, as FOX 13 reported on August 27. The commissioners had approved that agreement unanimously in December 2024, and the sheriff is clear that he disagrees with ending it, warning it will affect the solvability of crimes and the search for missing and endangered people.
If a plate reader is anywhere in your Pasco case, one paragraph of his letter matters more to you than the headline. The sheriff told commissioners that there are already more plate readers in Pasco placed by private entities than by his own agency, and that ending the county agreement will not touch cameras installed by private property owners on their own land, including community development districts, homeowners associations, and retail establishments, or cameras in state-owned rights-of-way, which fall under the Florida Department of Transportation.
So the practical answer for a Pasco case does not change on September 30. The first question is still whose camera it was, because that decides which rules apply, what records exist, and how long they lasted. The sheriff’s letter also describes the agency’s own policy as limiting retention to 30 days, restricting searches to felonies and selected misdemeanors, and requiring a case number and a documented reason for each search. Those are exactly the records worth demanding while they still exist, and a September 30 end date is a reason to ask sooner rather than later.
The full picture, including what Florida’s plate reader statute actually reaches, what the search logs hold, and what to demand when a camera started a case, is in the firm’s guide to Flock cameras in Tampa Bay.
If Someone Is in the Pasco County Jail
Pasco holds its arrestees at the Land O’ Lakes Detention Center, and the jail guide covers finding someone, visitation, and how bond works. First appearance happens fast, and it is the first place a lawyer can start moving the case.
Cities We Serve in Pasco County
Each city page carries the local detail for a DUI or criminal case there: New Port Richey, Wesley Chapel, Dade City, Land O’ Lakes, Zephyrhills, and Hudson. On the injury side: car accidents, slip and fall, nursing home abuse, dog bites, and negligent security, each with New Port Richey and Wesley Chapel pages beneath them.
Common Questions About Pasco County Cases
Which courthouse is my Pasco case in?
West side arrests generally go to the West Pasco Judicial Center in New Port Richey, and east side arrests to the Sumner Judicial Center in Dade City. Your notice to appear or summons names the building, and the two courthouse guides above show exactly what to expect at each.
Does Pasco have a first-DUI diversion program?
Yes. Pasco sits in the Sixth Judicial Circuit with Pinellas, so an eligible first DUI can go through DROP, which can reduce the charge to reckless driving after enhanced conditions. Eligibility and whether to take it are case-by-case calls.
Where is my license hearing after a Pasco DUI arrest?
The Tampa Bureau of Administrative Reviews, not Clearwater, and the demand has to go in within ten days of the arrest. The deadline checker shows how much of your window is left.
Do you actually handle cases in Pasco, or just Pinellas?
Both, every week. Pasco and Pinellas share the same judicial circuit, so the same courtrooms, the same State Attorney’s office structure, and the same diversion programs run through both counties, and the firm defends DUI, criminal, and injury cases across the county line.
Prefer to pick a time rather than call? You can book a free strategy session directly, or call or text (727) 761-4318.
