The Clerk of Court will require a written request to view criminal evidence contained in the Clerk’s vaults at least 10 days prior to the requested viewing date.
Procedures for viewing Criminal Evidence at Moore Justice Center, 2825 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera 32940, can be viewed on the Evidence View Procedure page.
The Brevard County Clerk of Court thanks you for your consideration, attention, and cooperation in this matter.
The Seal and Expunge process, instructions, and forms can be found at fdle.state.fl.us (Florida Statutes 943.045, 943.0581, 943.0585, & 943.059)
These instructions are intended as a brief guide for those who wish to expunge or seal their criminal history record. They are not intended to replace the assistance of a qualified attorney nor statutes concerning the expunction or sealing of a criminal history record.
- Before you can file your petition to expunge or seal your criminal history record with the court, you must apply to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for a certificate of eligibility for sealing or expunction. The application for the certificate of eligibility must include a money order, cashier’s check, or certified check for $75.00 made payable to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
- This processing fee is non-refundable, regardless of the results of the certificate review. A fee waiver may be granted by the Executive Director of the Department upon submission of a written request and in his determination that the waiver is in the best interests of criminal justice.
- A completed Application for Certification of Eligibility. Section A must be completed by you, and if you are seeking an expunction in addition to Section A, Section B must be completed by the State Attorney’s Office, Sealing and Expunction Section, at 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, FL 32940. The application (form number, FDLE 40-021) may be obtained from any of our offices.
If you are scheduled for a first appearance or arraignment on a misdemeanor or traffic charge and you have not previously received a continuance, the Clerk’s office may be able to grant you a continuance of your court date.
You must contact the Clerk’s office in person, by phone, or in writing to receive the continuance prior to the date and time of your scheduled court appearance. You must sign the documentation reflecting the continuance and return it to our office. By accepting the continuance, you are waiving your right to a speedy trial. You will be given the next available court date, and you must attend court on that date or a bench warrant will be issued for your arrest.
If you fail to appear at any scheduled court event, the judge can order a bench warrant for your arrest. The judge who signs the bench warrant will decide if a bond amount is to be set or specify that you are to be held in jail and prohibited from bonding out.
It may be possible for the Clerk’s office to reschedule your court date, provided the court event that you failed to appear for was a misdemeanor arraignment, traffic arraignment, or an order to show cause hearing.
The Clerk’s office can reschedule you for these types of court events only. However, any issued bench warrant for failing to appear at the original court date will remain outstanding. On the new court date, the judge will address the issue of the bench warrant and failure to appear, along with the original charge.
For any other types of court appearances that you failed to appear, you will need to turn yourself in at the jail and bond out, or contact your attorney or probation officer.
A bail bond is a document which assures to the court that a person charged with an offense and who typically is in jail, will, if released from incarceration, appear for future court dates and remain in the jurisdiction of the court.
For example, if a person is charged with violating the law and is taken into custody by law enforcement, that person will be held in jail until they can see a judge. The judge will decide the amount and type of the bond based on the gravity of the charges and/or the prior record of the defendant. It is also possible that the judge may order the defendant released without requiring a bail bond.
There are very specific charges that a defendant may be able to bond out on without the necessity of seeing a judge. One example of this is an arrest as a result of a bench warrant. The amount of the bond may have been set at the time the bench warrant was signed by the judge. Another example is those charges that have a bond schedule established.
Generally speaking, 2 types of bail bonds are utilized. A surety bond is a written guarantee by a bonding company ensuring the appearance of a defendant for all future court dates. A surety bond is an independent agreement between the defendant and the bonding company. Normally, the defendant is required by the bonding company to deposit with them a nonrefundable percentage of the overall bond amount. The bonding company is essentially providing the court with an insurance policy that the defendant will appear in court and is then liable for the full amount of the bond if the defendant does not appear.
If the defendant fails to appear in court, the bond can be forfeited by the judge. Once the defendant is re-arrested for the failure to appear, they will be required to go through the bonding process again, attempting to bond out on the initial charge and the failure to appear charge. It is possible for the bonding company to produce the defendant and request the judge to waive the forfeiture. The defendant will still be required to post a bond, if any, on the failure to appear charge.
After the case has been disposed of by the court, the surety bond will be released, and a certificate of discharge will be sent to the bonding company by the Clerk’s office.
The other type of bond traditionally used is a cash bond. If a cash bond is ordered by the judge, the total amount of the bond will have to be posted with the jail before the defendant is released. If, for any reason, the defendant fails to appear in court, the judge presiding over the case may forfeit the bond. The money will then be held in a special forfeiture fund pending any orders issued by the judge.
If a cash bond is posted, after the case has been disposed of by the court, the cash bond will be returned to the party who posted the bond. However, the judge may order the deduction of any fine amounts from the cash bond. Once the judge releases the bond, the Clerk’s office will prepare a check, minus any judicially ordered deductions, and mail it to the appropriate party within 4 weeks of receipt of the judge’s order.
Pursuant to Florida Statute 903.286, any cash bond posted on or after 07/01/2005 will be applied to any unpaid court fees, court costs, and criminal penalties. It does not matter who posted the bond for the defendant. If the defendant has any unpaid criminal fees, court costs, or penalties, the bond will be applied to those obligations. Any funds remaining after all of the above-noted fees are paid will be refunded to the depositor.
After you have been arrested and at your first appearance before a judge, you will be asked if you can afford the services of an attorney. If you state that you cannot, the judge will review your financial situation and then decide whether to appoint a public defender as your attorney or instruct you to seek private counsel. If a public defender is appointed, you will be assessed an application fee to be determined by the judge.
During the final disposition of your case, the judge will determine whether or not you are required to pay a fixed amount for utilizing the services of the public defender. The judge may order that a lien be entered against you to help pay for operating costs incurred by the public defender in preparing your defense. You must pay this lien and the application fee through the Clerk’s office.
After you have fulfilled all obligations for the criminal citation(s) that have gone into suspension, you must obtain an Affidavit to Reinstate. There is a $7.00 fee for the preparation of this document. You can make your payment by mail, over the internet, via Western Union, at any Amscot location, or in person at one of our offices in Titusville, Viera, Melbourne, Merritt Island, or Palm Bay. Once you receive the affidavit, you must present it to the Driver’s License Bureau (your DL State) and pay any applicable reinstatement fees.