Panama City Beach gets lots of visitors, and many of the misdemeanor cases here involve them. Beach officers and deputies can arrest a person or simply write a notice to appear, which lists the court date the person has to keep. After a jail booking, a judge holds first appearance by video from Star Lane, linked to the downtown courthouse, within 24 hours. Before then, the Star Lane jail uses Florida’s 2026 statewide bond schedule, a Supreme Court chart that puts a floor under bail for every crime. Bail, or a bond, is something you put up to show you’ll come back. For some charges the jail has to wait for the judge. Bondsmen in Panama City, who must hold a Florida license, will post a bond in exchange for a fee, typically 10% of a state bond.

The State Attorney for the Fourteenth Circuit, chosen by voters across the six counties, prosecutes every state crime here. The Fourteenth Circuit Public Defender, also elected, has a Panama City office on E. 4th Street for people the court finds unable to hire a lawyer. If there is a conflict, the court turns to the regional conflict counsel or appoints private counsel. Florida’s Section 938.29 allows fees for that appointed lawyer to be charged to a person found guilty, and that charge can turn into a lien.

A first-degree misdemeanor, like DUI or battery, can send someone to the Bay jail for as long as a year, with a fine of up to $1,000 on top. A second-degree misdemeanor, like many trespass charges, has a ceiling of 60 days and $500. Some first offenders may qualify for a diversion program, and finishing one leads to dismissal. You have a right to trial within 90 days of formal charges, unless you waive it. Six jurors hear the case.

Teens: Kids under 18 are not sent to County Court; they go to the juvenile division of Bay Circuit Court. Many minor first offenses can be handled with a civil citation under Section 985.12, letting the child do service hours or counseling and stay arrest-free. Bay judges must review any child kept in custody at a detention hearing held inside 24 hours.

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Felonies start the same way, with first appearance. Then the State Attorney’s office in Panama City reviews the evidence. If it decides to go ahead, it files a charging document called an information. At arraignment, the person says if they’re pleading guilty, not guilty or no contest. Both sides then share evidence and the judge holds pretrial hearings.

The penalty depends on the felony’s degree. Grand theft of property worth $750 to $20,000 is a third-degree felony in Bay or anywhere in Florida, and the cap is 5 years. Many burglaries and drug sales are second degree, which can mean 15 years. The first-degree cap is 30. Bay judges use a Criminal Punishment Code scoresheet, which adds points for the offense and the person’s history; enough points make prison the minimum sentence. Florida prisoners have to serve at least 85% of their time. Probation, community control (a strict house arrest) and treatment courts are common choices too.

The speedy trial deadline for a Bay felony is 175 days from the filing of formal charges, and defense lawyers waive it a lot. Felony juries have six people in non-capital cases.

Teens: The Department of Juvenile Justice runs the Bay Regional Juvenile Detention Center on E. 11th Street in Panama City, where teens from Bay and nearby counties can be held. Section 985.557 gives the Fourteenth Circuit prosecutor power to “direct file,” meaning a Panama City teenager who is 16 or 17 can face most felony charges in grown-up court. At 14 or 15, only a short list of grave felonies qualifies. Since 2019, no law makes the prosecutor do this.

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Violent felony cases take the same steps in Bay Circuit Court, but the punishments are far heavier and bond may be denied after a pretrial detention hearing. If a firearm is involved, Florida’s 10-20-Life statute (Section 775.087) sets minimum prison terms for listed crimes: 10 years for possession, 20 for discharge, and 25 to life if the shot causes death or great bodily harm. Some offenses, like certain sexual batteries, are life felonies.

Planned, intentional murder is a capital felony in Florida. Prosecutors must get a grand jury to indict, and the trial jury has 12 members. The only outcomes after conviction are death or life with no parole. Since 2023, a death recommendation needs the votes of 8 jurors out of 12. Death-sentenced men from Bay would go to Union Correctional Institution at Raiford; women go to Lowell Correctional Institution.

Florida’s constitution guarantees crime victims rights through Marsy’s Law, Article I, Section 16(b). In Bay, victims and families can be notified of court dates, attend hearings and speak before a plea or sentence. The State Attorney’s victim services staff can help.

Teens: Section 985.56 goes further: when the offense could bring death or a life term, Bay grand jurors may bring adult charges against a boy or girl of any age. The death penalty, though, is off the table for anything done before a person’s 18th birthday.

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Sheriff's deputies in Bay County hold the warrants signed in Fourteenth Circuit courtrooms downtown. Their main line, (850) 747-4700, reaches staff who'll search a full name and date of birth. Before calling, it's worth opening the clerk's court case and docket search to see whether a capias was entered. A lawyer can coordinate a voluntary turn-in at the Star Lane jail, which tends to count in your favor at bond. Fresh hearing dates come from the clerk's office on East 4th Street. Warrants from every corner of Florida appear in FDLE's statewide wanted persons search.

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