Please meet Harvey Ruvin, the longtime clerk of courts for Miami-Dade County. You might ask: “what is a clerk of the courts”? The clerk of courts provides support to judges, attorneys and other officers of the court and ensures that all court processes run smoothly and effectively in the criminal and civil justice systems. When setting out to pay a parking ticket, search records, appear as a witness, apply for a marriage license, try to pay a traffic citation, deal with probate, have questions about jury duty or receive alimony payments of child support – you are entering the domain Harvey Ruvin manages.
Your Government At Work – Parking Tickets, Jury Duty and Probate to start with…
Florida currently operates under a two-tier trial court system of circuit and county courts, established in 1972. Florida is divided into 20 Circuit Courts, mostly comprised of several of the 67 Florida counties. Only 5 Circuit Courts are stand-alone counties: Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Palm Beach, Monroe, and Broward.
The Eleventh Judicial Circuit covers Miami-Dade and has 80 circuit court judges and 43 county court judges who are elected for six-year terms. At the end of this time, judges may run for reelection and serve additional terms.
In the circuit and county trial courts, factual disputes are resolved, either by jury trials where verdicts are rendered by the people, or by non-jury or “bench” trials where a judge decides the issues in the case. In general, County Courts, sometimes called “the people’s courts”, are courts of limited jurisdiction where minor criminal (misdemeanor) and civil cases are heard. In the Circuit Courts, which are the highest state trial courts in Florida, major criminal (felony), civil, family, juvenile and probate matters are heard.
Clerk of Courts – On-line Rather Than In-Line!
Ruvin has been the Miami-Dade clerk of courts for the past 28 years. Elected to clerk of courts in 1992, he has been re-elected five times since. He was first elected to public office in 1968 at the age of 30, serving as mayor of the City of North Bay Village, Fla. In 1972, he was elected to the Metro Dade County Commission, where he served for 20 years and became president of the National Association of Counties.
In August 2020 Harvey Ruvin was named the 2020 winner of the Robert B. Yegge Award for Outstanding Contribution in the Field of Judicial Administration by the Lawyers Conference of the ABA’s Judicial Division. He was chosen for his efforts to modernize the Miami-Dade courts, improve the technology of judicial administration and improve services to the county’s citizens.
Harvey Ruvin and his Redesigned Website
COVID has make in-person interactions difficult or impossible, prompting Ruvin to redesign the office’s website to streamline these transactions and make the interaction more convenient.
The redesign effort focused on:
Easier navigation due to streamlined menus and simplified content
Most popular services available on the home page
Consolidated case search function and improved content search capabilities
Responsive design for better viewing across all platforms (desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone, etc.)
Government Needs Feedback
Everyone is encouraged to explore this website and submit feedback as the Clerk’s office continues to make improvements to meet the needs of the community.
(The new redesign was completed using only in-house resources. If you had bookmarked any pages, they will need to be refreshed).
For Feedback: https://www2.miami-dadeclerk.com/messagecenter/
To visit the Miami-Dade County Clerk of the Courts: https://www.miami-dadeclerk.com/clerk/home.page
For general information, call 305-275-1155 for the Automated Voice Response System DIAL.
