Areas We Serve
Criminal Defense and Car Accident Lawyer for South Miami
South Miami is a small city with its own police and a long, odd history. This page covers who responds, where the nearest court sits, which hospitals are close, and how to reach the downtown courthouses.
South Miami is an incorporated city with very irregular edges that wrap around county land, and the University of Miami campus abuts its eastern boundary along Red Road. See also Pinecrest, Kendall and Coral Gables.
Our office is at 11401 SW 40 St, Suite 250, University Park / Westchester. We represent clients arrested or injured in South Miami.
Criminal defense in South Miami
The City of South Miami runs its own police department from 6130 Sunset Drive, the same address as City Hall. An arrest inside city limits normally starts there, though a stop on a county road or by another agency can lead somewhere else. The report tells you which agency booked the person.
Our South Miami clients are charged with offenses that range from DUI after a night on Sunset Drive to drug possession, domestic violence allegations, retail theft and weapons counts, as well as felonies. The city's odd, jagged boundary means a corner can be South Miami on one side and county land on the other, so confirm the agency before assuming anything.
Jurors in Miami-Dade state court report to one of two courthouses: civil jurors to the Osvaldo N. Soto Miami-Dade Justice Center, 20 NW 1st Avenue, and criminal jurors to the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building, 1351 NW 12th Street. Jury trials are held at those two buildings. The branch courthouses hold hearings and bench (non-jury) trials.
Closest branch courthouse
The closest branch courthouse to South Miami is the Coral Gables Branch Courthouse. Details are below. Courts move calendars, so confirm before you go.
Coral Gables Branch Courthouse
3100 Ponce de Leon, Coral Gables, Florida 33134
Court Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday
Parking: Free parking in lot at building.
Getting to the main courthouses
Five main courthouses handle most Miami-Dade cases. Each card has the court’s address, a Google Maps link that starts from this place, and what the court itself publishes about transit and parking. Tolls apply on several routes.
Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building (state criminal)
1351 N.W. 12th Street, Miami, Florida 33125
From South Miami, the court's directions from the south for the Gerstein Justice Building begin on US-1 and lead to I-95 North and exit 3A onto FL-836 West.
Transit: Miami-Dade Transportation & Public Works
Parking: Limited street meters and off-street lot parking
Civil courthouse (circuit and county civil, probate): Osvaldo N. Soto Miami-Dade Justice Center
20 N.W. 1st Avenue, Miami, Florida 33128
Court Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday
Civil cases (circuit and county civil) and probate are at the Osvaldo N. Soto Miami-Dade Justice Center, 20 N.W. 1st Avenue, downtown, per the Clerk of Courts' location page. The court's own directions: from the north, I-95 South to the exit marked N.W. 8th Street; from the south, US 1 North to I-95 North and the N.W. 8th Street exit. Parking is limited, and the court suggests Metro Bus or Metrorail to Government Center.
Clerk’s office in this building: Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Clerk lists Circuit Civil Court, County Court and Probate Court (Suite 6.223) here.
Transit: Metro Bus or Metrorail to Government Center station (court's parking note)
Parking: Limited street and off-street parking. Best bet is taking Metro Bus or the Metrorail and exiting at Government Center station.
Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse (federal)
400 North Miami Avenue, Miami, FL 33128
The Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse is at 400 N Miami Ave; by Metrorail, the federal court says to exit at Government Center and ride the Inner Loop Metromover to the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Station.
Transit: Metrorail riders: Exit Metrorail Station, Government Center. Take the Inner Loop Metromover to the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Station (first stop).
Parking: There are public parking lots (fees charged) within walking distance for all locations.
C. Clyde Atkins U.S. Courthouse (federal)
301 North Miami Avenue, Miami, FL 33128
The C. Clyde Atkins U.S. Courthouse is at 301 N Miami Ave, across from the Ferguson building, with paid public lots within walking distance.
Transit: Metrorail riders: Exit Metrorail Station, Government Center. Take the Inner Loop Metromover to the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Station (first stop).
Parking: There are public parking lots (fees charged) within walking distance for all locations.
James Lawrence King Federal Justice Building (federal)
99 N.E. Fourth Street, Miami, FL 33132
The James Lawrence King Federal Justice Building is at 99 N.E. Fourth Street in downtown Miami.
Transit: Metrorail riders: Exit Metrorail Station, Government Center. Take the Inner Loop Metromover to the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Station (first stop).
Parking: There are public parking lots (fees charged) within walking distance for all locations.
Miami-Dade courthouse guide: locations, hours and holidays
Police in South Miami
South Miami has its own police department:
For an emergency, call 911.
Nearby emergency services
In an emergency, call 911.
These are the closest to the center of South Miami, measured in a straight line, as listed by official sources on October 27, 2026.
Fire station: Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Station 14 (South Miami)
5860 SW 70th St, South Miami, FL 33143
Emergency room: Larkin Hospital South Miami ER
7031 SW 62nd Ave., South Miami, FL 33143
Open 24 hours.
Urgent care: Urgent Care | South Miami (Baptist Health)
6300 South Dixie Hwy., Ste. 100, South Miami, FL 33143
Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.
Emergency room: South Miami Hospital ER (Baptist Health)
6200 SW 73 St., South Miami, FL 33143
Open 24 hours.
Listed for convenience, not as a ranking or a recommendation. Confirm hours and phone numbers before you go.
Your County Commissioner
District 7: Raquel A. Regalado
3750 S. Dixie Hwy, Suite 201, Miami, FL 33133
This is correct as of November 1, 2026.
Hurricane and flood readiness
In an emergency, call 911.
Parts of South Miami fall in storm surge planning Zones C, D. Check your exact address. County storm surge zone map · Know Your Zone
Flood zones vary property by property. Look up your address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center and the county's flood zone map.
Nearby official evacuation routes: US 1 (South Dixie Highway), Snapper Creek Expressway (SR 878), Kendall Drive (SW 88th Street). Follow official orders and road closures. The county route data was last updated in 2018 and the state map is undated. State evacuation route and zone map (PDF)
Evacuation centers and shelters
The county decides which centers open, and which accept pets, only when an evacuation is ordered, and not every center opens for every storm. Check official announcements, or call 311, before you go. Open evacuation centers map · County hurricane information
Also: the FEMA App, or text SHELTER and your ZIP code to 43362. Storm forecasts come from the NOAA National Hurricane Center (storm information, not shelters). County emergency information: 311 in Miami-Dade, 305-468-5900 from outside the county, or 711 for Florida Relay. National Hurricane Center
History
South Miami began as Larkins. Wilson Alexander Larkins arrived at Fort Dallas in 1896 with his wife, five children and livestock, bought land west of Red Road and Sunset Drive, became the first postmaster, and named the settlement Manila. Most settlers preferred Larkins in his honor. A depot opened on the Florida East Coast Railway in 1904, and John Moses Dowling built the first house within today's city limits that year.
Mango and avocado growers shaped the early economy: Harold W. Dorn and his brother Robert arrived in 1910, and the Dorn brothers built the Riviera Theatre in 1925. Marshall Williamson, the first African American to buy land in the Larkins area, donated land for St. John's AME Church in 1916 and later for the J. R. E. Lee School, and the Black neighborhood became known as Madison Square after his hometown.
In 1926 residents chose to incorporate as the Town of South Miami, naming it for the booming city to the north. That same year the 1926 Miami hurricane hit the town hard, and the railroad station burned down. Boundary cuts in 1933 and 1937 left the city with the most irregular boundaries in Miami-Dade, and the current City Hall on Sunset Drive was approved by referendum in 1955.
The first 24 hours after an arrest
Florida requires that an arrested person appear before a judge within 24 hours, in person or by audio-video, unless a lawful release came first. See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.130(a). The judge informs the person of the charge and sets the stage for release, which is why speed matters.
The South Miami Police Department lists 305-663-6301 as its non-emergency dispatch line on the city's directory page. Our inmate search page also shows the county jail roster. Have the full name and date of birth ready before you phone.
First-day checklist
- Be polite, be brief, and ask for a lawyer before answering questions.
- Never sign a consent-to-search form or a written statement on the spot.
- Jot down the officers, the time and the street while it is fresh.
- Families should confirm the holding location and then ring us at any hour.
- Anyone without U.S. citizenship should say so to counsel before a plea is even floated.
Where your case is heard
The closest branch courthouse on the court's list is the Coral Gables Branch Courthouse, 3100 Ponce de Leon, Coral Gables, Florida 33134. It is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and the court says its lot is free.
The court lists the Coral Gables Branch Court as one of its County Criminal locations, for misdemeanor and criminal traffic cases, but a case can be set at any county court location, so go by your paperwork. Felony cases are heard by the Circuit Criminal Division, whose judges sit at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building, 1351 N.W. 12th Street, Miami.
Coral Gables Branch Courthouse (court guide)
Car accidents in South Miami
A crash on Sunset Drive, US 1 or Red Road may be handled by South Miami Police, the Sheriff's Office or another agency depending on the spot. Ask for the report number and the agency before you leave.
Two hospital emergency rooms are close: Larkin Hospital South Miami at 7031 SW 62nd Ave. and South Miami Hospital at 6200 SW 73 St. (both listed as 24 hours, below). Photograph the scene and your injuries, and send insurers to us rather than giving a recorded statement.
We represent people hurt in South Miami collisions, including pedestrians and cyclists near the Sunset corridor, as well as head and brain injury cases.
Local roads and landmarks
Miami-Dade Transit describes the Metrorail line as running from Kendall through South Miami, Coral Gables and downtown Miami, and the court says Metrorail riders bound for the federal buildings exit at Government Center.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Station 14 serves South Miami from 5870 SW 70th Street. Landmarks to remember: City Hall and police at 6130 Sunset Drive, and the Baptist Health urgent care on South Dixie Highway.
Getting to us
Our one office is in University Park / Westchester, at 11401 SW 40 St, Suite 250. We do not keep a South Miami office and we do not quote drive times, which swing with traffic.
Call or send a WhatsApp message in English or Spanish whenever you need to. After an arrest, we often start with the family by phone and meet at the courthouse.
Questions people ask about South Miami
- Does South Miami have its own police department?
- Yes, at 6130 Sunset Drive. The city's directory lists 305-663-6301 for non-emergency dispatch. On county roads another agency may be involved, and the report names it.
- Why are South Miami's boundaries so strange?
- The city's territory was cut back in 1933 and again in 1937, and local histories say it now has the most irregular boundaries of any city in Miami-Dade. Check your exact address.
- Where is the nearest courthouse?
- The Coral Gables Branch Courthouse is the closest branch on the court's list. Felonies are downtown at the Gerstein Justice Building. Your paperwork shows where your hearing is.
- Which ER is closest to South Miami?
- Larkin Hospital South Miami (7031 SW 62nd Ave.) and South Miami Hospital (6200 SW 73 St.) both list around-the-clock emergency care. Call 911 for a life-threatening emergency.
- Is there urgent care in South Miami?
- Baptist Health Urgent Care is at 6300 South Dixie Hwy., Ste. 100, open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily according to Baptist Health.
- Do you have an office in South Miami?
- No. We have one office, in University Park / Westchester, and we represent clients arrested or injured in South Miami.
Where to go next
Our work
- Drug charges
- Domestic violence charges
- Theft charges
- Personal injury and car accidents
- Traumatic brain injury
Local guides
- Arrest and court process
- Florida DUI arrest: the 10-day license deadline
- Daily arrests in Florida
- Courthouse guide