Miami-Dade County Courthouse

Very long line, if you coming without appointment, you can easaly spend here hole day

Here a lot for work. The building is pretty and the staff is helpful, but when the line at the clerks officers long be prepared to wait.
Also, some of the floors are condemned due to mold. You could really smell it in 6 – 2 and 6 – 3. I had to do a couple trials in those courtrooms and it was rough. They really need to renovate this place.

«What you doin at the court house, what you doin at the court house, what you doin at the court house, cause JP wants to know…» LOL…
I have been twice, once for jury duty, and once for mediation with my daughter’s «father»… Both times I have been pleased. My 9 – 5 is hard, to say the least, so no, I didn’t mind sitting in a room all day, watching movies, studying, and taking a nap, while still getting paid my regular wage. A walk in the park. The staff seemed respectful and nice. And as far as the mediation… It went well :-)
For a government building in Miami… This place is A-​OK

Here for jury duty. I don’t mind doing my civic service, but in this case they made the experience as abusive to this «citizen juror» as possible. For one, they sent the jury duty notice between 5 – 1 working days before my summons report-​in date. Five is being generous, as I hadn’t checked my box for three days due to a small trip.
When calling to see if I could postpone since I have a big trip that could collide with the trial and hadn’t been able to plan for the service in general, I was informed that I needed to request a postponement 7 days in advance in writing/​form. When I said I hadn’t even gotten the summons that far in advance, the rather surly answer was literally «that’s not our problem. Maybe it was the Post Office». I was informed we send them out a month in advance.
Also, I was informed by the «helpful» lady on the phone, I needed to inform my employer of jury 7 days in advance to qualify to be paid by them as per Florida law even during my tenure. Since I didn’t get it 7 days in advance I’d be out of luck again. Fortunately, that won’t be a problem here, but still…
Now, a couple of things. First — even a month in advance to send it, not receive it, is already close. Even Texas does it 60 days in advance, and California 90. Of course, this could be Miami’s «well run» (ha!) government at work. Or based on their management of the city, they naturally expect they’ve rendered their citizens unemployed. However, as mentioned, I didn’t even get this courtesy. Also, in both those states, you get one automatic postponement if needed and don’t have to grovel for it if it happens that the SMALL window of time happens to be terrible for you.
By the way, is this crappy policy toward potential jurors really in the best interest of the court? I would have had a much different attitude if I had been able to reschedule to my 60 day extension (or at least gotten the notice considered rational in other jurisdictions), thus giving me time to plan around it. Thus, I would have been a happier juror.
Finally, to add an additional pointless inconvenience, they didn’t even assign me to the closest courthouse, but made me travel 2 hours in traffic to a particular courthouse when the closest with jury trials is about 30 minutes away.

To park at this place just plain sucks. Other than that it is OK. What more do you want from a court house?

Maybe it’s cool for JA’s to be miserable and nasty on the phone? It’s funny how people can project such negativity even when it’s only through the phone.
Ohhhh and I just looooove their new system where they only answer the phone til noon. And some case managers only m-​w-​f til noon. Way to go miami dade. Your in the big league of cities aintcha.

A cool, historical building. The security and clerks are nicer than the typical encountered in buildings of this ilk. Due to the age of the elevators, don’t expect to get anywhere fast.

Surprisingly fast service. I almost fell of the chair when they took care of my problem in less than 10 minutes… This place definitely needs a face lift. Talk about a strange order lurking … eeekk…

The history behind this building is really neat if you ever get a chance to listen to some judges who are history buffs. The upper floors of this courthouse used to be the jail and so it makes for an interesting layout for some of the courtrooms on these floors (including posts in the middl of the courtroom that block your view of the judge or jury).
Unlike some other counties, Miami-​Dade does not offer lockers for items that you are not allowed to bring into the courthouse. So be sure to leave that pocket knife in your car or at home. Also, bring lots of patience and come early. During peak hours you might encounter a line at the metal detector and the elevators can be packed and SLOW! Be sure to keep opinions of the judiciary to yourself as the judges take the same elevators! Also, be sure you use the correct elevators as they are divided by floors.
One really great thing about this courthouse is the public law library that is on the second floor. Not only is there a vast array of legal resources, but there are computers, copiers and plenty of work space.
While the historic nature of this building may cause some inefficiencies, it certainly invokes the hollywood-​esque power of the justice system!

Don’t bother waiting for an elevator. The building, yes it’s lovely, but the folks you encounter there are really just not happy to be there. It’s a freaking court house. I had to go for a traffic violation, thank god I came with an attorney, or I just might have been sitting there all day waiting for my case to be presented to the judge. I don’t even know why I’m reviewing this — I mean really — how often can you say to the Clerk of Courts — «you know, I reviewed this place on Unilocal,and I’m not really happy about having my case be tried here — do you think you can get me into another place?»

Beautiful. Old. Smells kinda old too. I may be wierd, but I simply love being inside this massive and powerful structure.
It’s always bustling and exciting. Lawyers and workers and nerves as people get ready to face judges and have their cases heard.
For those in the biz, please note that the clerks are not the friendliest beasts. They don’t seem happy to be there. Truthfully, they are over-​worked as recent budget cuts forced the system to cut the staff in half.

Housed in one of the finest historic buildings in downtown Miami, the 11^th judicial circuit is your one-​stop-​shop for all civil and probate litigation needs (for family issues, go across the street, and for criminal matters… an escort will be provided).
County Clerk Harvey Ruvin’s iron fisted rule has gone unopposed since he assumed the position in 1992. Since his installation, he has streamlined and digitized record management, making it accessible to all and cherry picked an elite unit of multilingual clerks (where else can you hear legal clerks discoursing in Creole other than perhaps Port-​au-​Prince?) to ensure that the reach of the law’s long arm extends to its full potential.
There is also a small stand in the lobby, next to the metal detectors, which is overseen by a woman who will only make change for customers, thus forcing the otherwise unwilling to buy her samplings of weak coffee and microwavable sticky buns in order to break that 20 spot.
All in all, this courthouse is what makes Miami-​Dade County a most desirable jurisdiction in which to sue or be sued.