17th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida

General magistrates are judicial officers who assist the circuit judges by holding hearings and providing recommendations in the areas of family law, support enforcement, mental health, guardianship, substance abuse and juvenile dependency.

The general magistrates are responsible for cases involving: temporary relief (alimony, child support, and attorneys fees and costs in family law cases), contempt of court, support enforcement, mental health (Baker Act), substance abuse (Marchman Act), tuberculosis, sexually transmissible diseases, incapacity, guardianship (including guardian applications, background investigations and annual reports filed with the court), modification of prior rulings, dependency review hearings.

As part of the Guardianship Law, General Magistrates assist the Probate Court with guardian application and background checks, and plenary and limited guardianships.

* Hearing Officer