About the federal court for the Middle District of Florida

The Middle District of Florida stretches geographically over 350 miles from the Georgia border on the northeast to south of Naples on Florida’s southwest coast. The Middle District of Florida has five divisional offices located in Jacksonville, Ocala, Orlando, Tampa and Fort Myers. The Clerk's Office headquarters is in the Orlando Division. Population growth in the Middle District of Florida has been explosive over the past thirty years. The district includes 35 of Florida’s 67 counties. In 2011, the population of the Middle District of Florida was 56% of the total population of the state of Florida. The district was estimated to have close to 11 million residents in 2011. Only seven states (including Florida) are more populous. The U. S. Census Bureau has projected that Florida’s population will soon surpass New York thereby making Florida the third most populous state behind only California and Texas.

In fiscal year 2012, there were 8,792 cases filed in the Middle District of Florida (7,512 civil cases and 1,280 criminal cases). Although the district has 15 authorized district judgeships, two of those judgeships are vacant. One has been vacant since December 2011 and the other since April 2012. The district also has 12 senior judges and 16 magistrate judges.