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Florida Statute 318.32 - Full Text and Legal Analysis Florida Statute 318.32 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research
Fla. Stat. § 318.32 (2026) Copy Cite Official Site Syfertize CourtListener Amendments
318.32 Jurisdiction; limitations.—
(1) Hearing officers shall be empowered to accept pleas from and decide the guilt or innocence of any person, adult or juvenile, charged with any civil traffic infraction and shall be empowered to adjudicate or withhold adjudication of guilt in the same manner as a county court judge under the statutes, rules, and procedures presently existing or as subsequently amended, except that hearing officers shall not:
(a) Have the power to hold a defendant in contempt of court, but shall be permitted to file a motion for order of contempt with the appropriate state trial court judge;
(b) Hear a case involving a crash resulting in injury or death;
(c) Hear a criminal traffic offense case or a case involving a civil traffic infraction issued in conjunction with a criminal traffic offense; or
(d) Have the power to suspend or revoke a defendant’s driver license pursuant to s. 316.655(2).
(2) This section does not prohibit a county court judge from exercising concurrent jurisdiction with a civil traffic hearing officer.
(3) Upon the request of the defendant contained in a Notice of Appearance or a written plea, the case shall be assigned to a county court judge regularly assigned to hear traffic matters.
History.—s. 3, ch. 89-337; s. 1, ch. 91-152; s. 4, ch. 94-202; s. 255, ch. 99-248; s. 51, ch. 2005-236; s. 26, ch. 2006-290.

Cases Citing F.S. 318.32

Fla. Stat. § 318.32 (2026) Copy Cite Official Site Syfertize CourtListener Amendments
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·City of Aventura v. Masone, 89 So. 3d 233 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2011 WL 5964359, 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 19039

determination (as opposed to a hearing officer), see § 318.32(3) (providing that “[u]pon request of the defendant
0 red1 yellow5 green0 procedural
Cited "but see"City of Orlando v. Udowychenko (2012)
phrase: "but see"
Cited as authorityRichard Masone v. City of Aventura (2014)
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Christopher Michael Lewis v. Dep't of High. Saf. & Motor Vehs. (Fla. 4th DCA 2026).

Cited 1 times | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal

...nfractions. Substantively, petitioner argued on appeal that the hearing officer violated Florida Rule of Traffic Court 6.130, which prohibits hearing officers from adjudicating civil infractions issued in conjunction with criminal offenses. See also § 318.32(1)(c), Fla....
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Ago (Fla. Att'y Gen. 2002).

Published | Florida Attorney General Reports

...rogram is responsible for providing the funds necessary to operate the program. 3 As lawyers, these hearing officers are subject to The Florida Bar Code of Professional Responsibility but are not subject to the Judicial Code of Ethics. 4 Pursuant to section 318.32 , Florida Statutes, "Hearing officers shall be empowered to accept pleas from and decide the guilt or innocence of any person, adult or juvenile, charged with any civil traffic infraction and shall be empowered to adjudicate or withhol...
...Butterworth Attorney General RAB/tgh 1 See, Rule 6.630(c), Fla. R. Traf. Ct. 2 See, s. 318.35 , Fla. Stat., and s. 318.37, Fla. Stat., which caps the hourly rate of pay for civil traffic infraction hearing officers at $50 per hour. 3 See, s. 318.37, Fla. Stat. 4 Section 318.36 , Fla. Stat. 5 Section 318.32 (1), Fla. Stat. 6 Section 318.32 (1)(a)-(c), Fla....
...10 See, Art. I , s. 22 , Fla. Const. 11 Brouwer v. Metropolitan Dade County, 139 F.2d 817 , 819 (C.A. 11th Fla. 1998), citing Thiel v. Southern Pacific Company, 328 U.S. 217 , 222-224 , 66 S.Ct. 984 , 987 , 90 L.Ed. 1181 (1946). 12 Sections 318.34 and 318.32 , Fla....
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James Nelson Obo Minor Child, N.N. v. The State of Florida (Fla. 3d DCA 2021).

Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal

...4 3 “Hearing officers” are also “empowered to accept pleas from and decide the guilt or innocence of any person, adult or juvenile, charged with any civil traffic infraction and shall be empowered to adjudicate or withhold adjudication of guilt in the same manner as a county court judge . . . .” § 318.32(1), Fla....

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