Terms Used In Florida Statutes 28.42

  • Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
  • Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
  • Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.

(1) The clerks of court, through their association and in consultation with the Office of the State Courts Administrator, shall prepare and disseminate a manual of filing fees, service charges, costs, and fines imposed pursuant to state law, for each type of action and offense, and classified as mandatory or discretionary. The manual also shall classify the fee, charge, cost, or fine as court-related revenue or noncourt-related revenue. The clerks, through their association, shall disseminate this manual to the chief judge, state attorney, public defender, and court administrator in each circuit and to the clerk of the court in each county. The clerks, through their association and in consultation with the Office of the State Courts Administrator, shall at a minimum update and disseminate this manual on July 1 of each year.
(2) By October 1, 2021, the clerks of court, through the Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation, shall develop a uniform payment plan form for use by persons seeking to establish a payment plan in accordance with s. 28.246(4). The form must inform the person of the minimum payment due each month, the term of the plan, acceptable payment methods, and the circumstances under which a case may be sent to collections for nonpayment.
(3) By January 1, 2022, each clerk of court shall use the uniform payment plan form developed pursuant to subsection (2) when establishing payment plans.