Television compresses a criminal case into about forty minutes. The reality is the opposite. A felony case in Broward County is a short sequence of brief hearings separated by long stretches where nothing visible happens, and the waiting is the part nobody explains in advance. Understanding what each stage is for, and roughly how long it runs, makes the silence considerably less alarming.
The Clock That Governs Everything
Florida guarantees a speedy trial by statute. Section 918.015 provides that in all criminal prosecutions the state and the defendant each have the right to a speedy trial, and directs the Supreme Court to set the procedures by rule.
Those rules set the familiar numbers. Without a demand, a misdemeanor must be tried within 90 days and a felony within 175. The detail that surprises people is where the count begins, which is the date of formal charge rather than the date of arrest.
Why the deadline rarely decides anything
In practice, the defense frequently needs more time than the rule allows. Depositions, independent lab analysis and expert review rarely fit inside 175 days, so continuances are routine and the clock is commonly waived. The period works as a backstop against indefinite delay rather than a schedule anyone expects to keep.
Stage One: The Filing Decision
Police make arrests. Prosecutors decide charges, and they are not the same decision. The State Attorney reviews the report and files an information, files different charges than the arrest, or files nothing.
For someone held in custody, the state must file formal charges within 30 days of arrest. If it has not, the court acts on the 30th day and orders release on recognizance on the 33rd day unless charges are filed by then, extended to the 40th day if the state shows good cause. Section 907.045 separately allows a defendant confined for 30 days without trial to request a preliminary hearing.
Typical duration is three to six weeks. For someone who was released rather than held, it can be considerably longer.
This window is also the one most often misread as good news. Nothing arriving in the mail does not mean nothing is coming, and the period before charges are filed is the only point at which the decision itself can still be influenced. People facing allegations of this kind frequently retain a Fort Lauderdale legal professional for sex‑crime defense during that gap rather than waiting for a court date to arrive.
Stage Two: Arraignment
The formal reading of the charge and the entry of a plea. It takes minutes, and defense counsel often files a written plea of not guilty so the hearing itself is waived. It usually falls two to four weeks after charges are filed.
Stage Three: Discovery
This is the long one, and it is where Florida differs sharply from most states.
What the state turns over
Police reports, witness lists, statements, physical evidence, lab results and any material favorable to the defense.
Florida allows depositions in criminal cases
Once the charging document is filed, a defendant may elect into the discovery process and either party may take sworn depositions of witnesses on oral examination. Most states do not permit this in criminal matters. It means the defense can question an accuser or a detective under oath, on the record, months before trial, which is one reason cases here resolve on information that elsewhere surfaces only at trial.
This stage commonly runs three to nine months, and longer where forensic testing is involved. Charges carrying the heaviest exposure take the longest, because the volume of material and the number of witnesses to depose both grow with the seriousness of the allegation.
Stage Four: Motions
Motions to suppress
These challenge how evidence was obtained, covering stops, searches, warrants and statements. A granted suppression motion can end a case. Hearings are scheduled weeks out and frequently reset.
Sworn motions to dismiss
Florida permits a sworn motion arguing that the undisputed facts do not establish a prima facie case. The state can defeat it by filing a traverse disputing any material fact, so it succeeds only where the facts genuinely are not in dispute.
Motions practice typically adds one to four months.
Stage Five: Case Management and Docket Soundings
Short status hearings every four to eight weeks where the judge asks whether the case is resolving or proceeding. Each lasts a few minutes, and their purpose is to keep the case moving and set a trial date.
Stage Six: Negotiation
Plea discussions run alongside everything above rather than after it, and the state’s position usually shifts as discovery develops.
What Conditions Apply Throughout
Release conditions persist for the entire pretrial period. Section 903.046 sets the purpose of a bail determination as ensuring appearance and protecting the community, and lists the factors a court weighs, including the nature of the offense, the weight of the evidence, ties to the community and past conduct.
One constitutional exception matters here. Florida grants pretrial release on reasonable conditions to everyone except a person charged with a capital offense or an offense punishable by life imprisonment where the proof of guilt is evident or the presumption great. For the most serious charges, release becomes a contested hearing rather than an assumption.
Start to finish, a contested Broward felony commonly runs nine to eighteen months.
