6.010. Scope

(a) Application. These rules govern practice and procedure in any traffic case and specifically apply to practice and procedure in county courts and before civil traffic infraction hearing officers.

(b) Part III. The rules under Part III of these rules apply to all criminal traffic offenses, whether prosecuted in the name of the state or any subdivision of it.

(c) Part IV. The rules under Part IV of these rules apply only to traffic infractions adjudicated in a court of the state, whether by a county court judge or civil traffic infraction hearing officer.

Committee Notes

1990 Amendment. The statutory authorization of civil traffic infraction hearing officers by chapter 89-337, Laws of Florida, necessitates reference to such hearing officers (statutorily referred to interchangeably as magistrates) in the traffic court rules. Reference in the proposed rule to traffic magistrate rather than merely magistrate is designed to distinguish the former from other magistrates, especially in relation to the applicability of the Code of Judicial Conduct (see section of code entitled “Compliance with the Code of Judicial Conduct”), thereby avoiding the possibility of conflict with authorizing statute.

1992 Amendment. Because traffic violations are contained in several chapters of Florida Statutes, references to chapter 318 have been deleted to eliminate latent inconsistencies.

1996 Amendment. Enactment of chapter 94-202, Laws of Florida, necessitated the deletion of all references in the rules to traffic “magistrates” in favor of the term traffic “hearing officers.”