East Pasco criminal cases are heard at the Robert D. Sumner Judicial Center in Dade City. Two things about this building trip people up: there is a beautiful old courthouse two blocks away that is not it, and once you are inside, finding your courtroom takes longer than you would expect for a building this size.
The right building, and the famous one that is not it
The Robert D. Sumner Judicial Center, 38053 Live Oak Avenue, Dade City, FL 33523. Main number (352) 521-4542. Both Pasco County circuit court and county court sit here, and the Clerk and Comptroller’s court operations are in the building. It is a two story concrete and glass building from the late 1970s.
The Historic Pasco County Courthouse at 37918 Meridian Avenue is not a courthouse anymore. It is the 1909 landmark with the dome that appears in every photograph of Dade City, it is on the National Register, and it hosts community events. No hearings happen there. If your GPS is taking you toward the town square and the bandstand, you have the wrong address.
Pasco’s other courthouse is the West Pasco Judicial Center on Little Road in New Port Richey, about forty minutes west. Which courthouse hears your case depends on where the offense occurred, so read the address on your notice rather than assuming it is the closer one.
Parking, security, and finding your courtroom
Parking is free in the courthouse lot and in the surrounding area, with handicap accessible spaces near the main entrance. Like New Port Richey, arriving here is easy.
Getting to the right courtroom is the part I would warn a client about. In my experience the interior reads as one long loop, and it is genuinely easy to walk past the courtroom you want and end up back where you started. That is my own observation from practicing here rather than anything the court publishes. Combine it with a docket that is frequently very busy and a hallway full of people, and the fix is simple: get there early, read the docket screen after screening, and ask a deputy rather than wandering. Nobody minds being asked.
Phones are allowed in the building. The Sixth Circuit says plainly that cell phones and electronic devices are permitted but must be silenced in courtrooms, and that photography, video, and audio recording are prohibited without a judge’s prior approval. Weapons, anything usable as a weapon, pepper spray, and handcuff keys do not come in. There is also a published dress code: no tank tops, no exposed midriff, no shorts above mid thigh, and no hats except for religious or medical reasons.
Service dogs and miniature horses are permitted. Emotional support animals require advance written ADA approval, so do not bring one on the day and hope.
County court or circuit court
County court handles misdemeanors. Circuit court handles felonies. That single distinction decides which judge you see, which prosecutor is assigned, and how long your case takes. A first DUI, a driving while license suspended, a petit theft, a simple battery: those are misdemeanors, and they are county court cases. A third DUI within ten years, a grand theft, a felony battery: those are circuit court, and they move on a slower and more formal track. If you are not sure which one you have, the charge on your paperwork will say, and I can tell you in a two minute phone call.
Both sit in this building, which is why reading the docket screen matters. Florida’s criminal rules require a judge to allow remote appearance for non-evidentiary pretrial matters set for thirty minutes or less absent good cause, and Sixth Circuit judges publish their own practice preferences at the circuit’s practice requirements page.
Because Pasco shares the Sixth Circuit with Pinellas, a DUI license suspension is challenged at the Clearwater BAR office, and the first offense diversion program is DROP.
If someone you love is in the county jail
The jail is not at the courthouse. Start with the Sheriff’s jail page for custody and visitation, and use the public records portal for reports and body camera video. Ask for the video early. Retention windows are shorter than most people assume.
The Clerk also runs an East Pasco records retention facility on McDonald Street in Dade City, which holds archived court files and is not a courthouse. If someone directs you there for a hearing, it is a mistake.
Who sits where, and how to look up your own case
The prosecutor and the public defender are both in this building. The State Attorney’s East Pasco office is (352) 521-4333 and the Public Defender’s is (352) 521-4388, both at 38053 Live Oak Avenue.
The Public Defender represents people who qualify financially, and the office is appointed by the court rather than chosen. If you are represented privately you will not deal with them, but it helps to know which building is which.
Your case file is public and you can read it yourself. Pasco County online court records is the records platform run by the Florida Court Clerks and Comptrollers, which the clerks in smaller counties use instead of hosting their own. Public search needs no login and costs nothing. Looking at your own docket before a hearing is one of the cheapest useful things you can do: it tells you what has actually been filed, what the next setting is, and whether anything was entered that you were not told about.
Who your judge is, and what they want. The Sixth Circuit lists every judge with their division, their courthouse, their judicial assistant’s name and phone number, and a link to that judge’s own practice preferences I do not list judges by name on this page on purpose, because divisions rotate and a name here would go stale. The directory is always current.
Common Questions
Which Dade City building is the courthouse?
The Robert D. Sumner Judicial Center at 38053 Live Oak Avenue. The historic domed courthouse on Meridian Avenue is a landmark and an event venue, and no hearings are held there.
Is my Pasco case in Dade City or New Port Richey?
It depends on where the offense occurred and which agency made the arrest. Your notice of hearing gives the address. The two courthouses are about forty minutes apart, so confirm it before you leave.
Where do I park in Dade City?
Free, in the courthouse lot and around it, with handicap accessible spaces near the main entrance.
Why is it so hard to find the courtroom?
The interior loops, so it is easy to walk past the door you want. That is my own observation from practicing here. Get there early, check the docket screen after security, and ask a deputy. The docket is also often very busy, which makes a crowded hallway harder to read.
Can I bring my phone in?
Yes. The Sixth Circuit permits phones but requires them silenced in courtrooms, and photography and recording need a judge’s prior approval. Weapons, pepper spray, and handcuff keys are prohibited, and there is a published dress code.
Related reading
My Pasco County defense page covers how I handle cases here, and the West Pasco courthouse guide covers New Port Richey. Pasco is in the Sixth Circuit with Pinellas, so the Pinellas County Justice Center guide describes the same circuit, and DROP is the shared diversion program.
Your court date is not the finish line, it is the starting gun. If you have a date at the Dade City courthouse, call or text me at (727) 761-4318 before you go. In many cases I can appear for you so you do not have to be there at all. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Your judge publishes their own rules. How hearings get scheduled, deadlines before trial, plea cutoffs, and whether they will let you appear remotely. Where to find them, by circuit, and what you are looking at when you get there.
