Areas We Serve
Criminal Defense and Car Accident Lawyer for West Miami
West Miami is a tiny city between Calle Ocho and Coral Way with its own police department. It is not the same as Miami, Westchester or Little Havana, and that changes who responds.
West Miami is a separate city of about three-quarters of a square mile, bordered by the City of Miami (including Little Havana) and Coral Gables, and close to unincorporated Westchester.
Our office is at 11401 SW 40 St, Suite 250, University Park / Westchester. We represent clients arrested or injured in West Miami.
Criminal defense in West Miami
West Miami has its own police department at 901 S.W. 62nd Avenue, West Miami, FL 33144. The city's page lists a non-emergency number, (305) 266-0530, and says the department provides service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In an emergency, dial 911. The same address houses City Hall, which has its own number, (305) 266-1122.
Mail in West Miami uses ZIP codes 33144 and 33155, and much of the area around it belongs to Miami or Coral Gables, so a street address can be confusing. If a police or news report says Miami, check the actual agency on the arrest report. We defend DUI, drug, theft, battery and license charges and speak Spanish.
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 West 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 West Miami, the usual road toward Gerstein, 1351 N.W. 12th Street, is the Dolphin Expressway (FL-836) east; the court's exits are N.W. 12th Avenue (main) and N.W. 17th Avenue (alternate).
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, 400 North Miami Avenue, is reached by Metrorail to Government Center and a one-stop Inner Loop Metromover ride, per the federal court.
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, 301 North Miami Avenue, is part of the same Miami federal complex.
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, 99 N.E. Fourth Street, Miami, FL 33132, is the complex's third building.
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 West Miami
West 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 West Miami, measured in a straight line, as listed by official sources on October 27, 2026.
Fire station: Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Station 40 (West Miami)
975 SW 62nd Avenue, West Miami, FL 33144
Emergency room: Doctors Hospital ER (Coral Gables)
5000 University Dr., Coral Gables, FL 33146
Open 24 hours.
A confirmed emergency room within reach of the area. It may not be the closest one.
Emergency room: Larkin Hospital South Miami (emergency)
7031 SW 62nd Ave., South Miami, FL 33143
Open 24 hours.
Urgent care: Baptist Health Urgent Care | Westchester
8840 Bird Rd., Ste. 100, Miami, FL 33165
Hours: 9 a.m. - 9 p.m., seven days
Urgent care: UHealth Jackson Urgent Care | Coral Gables
3737 S.W. 8th Street, Coral Gables, FL 33134
Hours: Monday - Sunday, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Listed for convenience, not as a ranking or a recommendation. Confirm hours and phone numbers before you go.
Your County Commissioner
District 6: Natalie Milian Orbis
1000 SW 57th Avenue, Suite 201, Miami, FL 33144
This is correct as of November 1, 2026.
Hurricane and flood readiness
In an emergency, call 911.
Parts of West Miami fall in storm surge planning Zone E. 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: Tamiami Trail (SW 8th 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
West Miami is small, three-quarters of a square mile, and its founding is a good story. The city dates to 1947, when four businessmen decided to incorporate the area west of Miami. The incorporation was a response to the county's decision to reduce cocktail hours and ban gambling, and each of the four put up $400 in bonds.
They floated names including West Haven, West Gate and West Miami. State law kept so small a place from becoming a city, so it incorporated as a town, with 700 residents; the official incorporation date is April 7, 1947. In 1949 it was one of the first places in Florida to elect a female commissioner.
Near the end of World War II, the federal government distributed land and private enterprises there, and soldiers returning from the war built homes on free lots. The city became known as a community of veterans. In the early 1950s Jewish families moved in, settling close to Temple Zion on S.W. 17th Street, and from the 1960s to the 1980s newly arrived Cuban refugees changed the city again.
It sits between S.W. 8th Street, Calle Ocho, and Coral Way (S.W. 24th Street), and like Little Havana, a large majority of its residents are Hispanic or Latino.
The first 24 hours after an arrest
In Florida, an arrested person has a right to be seen by a judge within 24 hours of arrest, either in person or through audio-video technology, unless the person was lawfully released earlier. See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.130(a).
Call West Miami Police at (305) 266-0530 to learn where a relative is, or use the jail search on our inmate search page. Then call us.
After an arrest: a plain checklist
- State your name, say you want a lawyer, and stop talking.
- Do not agree to let anyone look inside your phone, trunk or home.
- Write what you can recall tonight, including names, times and cross streets.
- Relatives: find the location of the person first, and then reach us. We answer around the clock.
- Tell the lawyer right away if the person is not a citizen; it affects what a plea can safely look like.
Where your case is heard
The closest branch court by map is the Coral Gables Branch Court, 3100 Ponce de Leon, Coral Gables, Florida 33134 (distance is our own estimate). Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, with a free lot at the building, entered from Santander Street or from University Drive at the traffic light.
Felonies are heard by the Circuit Criminal Division at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building, 1351 N.W. 12th Street, Miami, Florida 33125.
Coral Gables Branch Court (court guide)
Car accidents in West Miami
A crash on a West Miami street is usually worked by West Miami Police, while a crash on a county or state road around it may involve another agency. Ask for the agency name and report number.
Doctors Hospital's emergency room, 5000 University Dr., Coral Gables, is open 24 hours, and Larkin Hospital South Miami, 7031 SW 62nd Ave., says it provides emergency care 24 hours a day. For urgent care, Baptist Health Urgent Care | Westchester, 8840 Bird Rd., is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, and UHealth Jackson Urgent Care, 3737 S.W. 8th Street, is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
If you were hurt in West Miami, we take injury claims, head and brain injuries among them. Be careful about recorded statements to an adjuster.
Local roads and landmarks
SW 62nd Avenue is the thread through the city's emergency map: police and City Hall are at 901 SW 62nd Avenue, and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Station 40 is at 975 SW 62nd Avenue.
Larkin Hospital South Miami is on the same avenue, farther south at 7031 SW 62nd Ave., so the street can be a route in an emergency.
Getting to us
We do not have a West Miami office. Our one office is at 11401 SW 40 St, Suite 250, in University Park / Westchester. We do not publish a drive time because it depends on the hour.
You can start by phone or WhatsApp in English or Spanish at any hour.
Questions people ask about West Miami
- Who polices West Miami?
- West Miami has its own police department at 901 S.W. 62nd Avenue, with a non-emergency line of (305) 266-0530. On some roads another agency may arrest, and the report shows which.
- Is West Miami part of Miami?
- No. It is its own city, surrounded by the City of Miami and Coral Gables, with its own police and city government.
- Which fire station is closest?
- Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Station 40, 975 SW 62nd Avenue, is in West Miami. In an emergency, call 911.
- Where is the nearest courthouse branch?
- By map, the Coral Gables Branch Court at 3100 Ponce de Leon. Felonies are downtown at the Gerstein Justice Building.
- My cousin was arrested in West Miami. What do I do first?
- Ask West Miami Police where the person is, or run the jail search on our site, then phone us. Absent an earlier release, the person goes before a judge within 24 hours of arrest.
- Do you have an office in West Miami?
- No. University Park / Westchester is where our one office is; West Miami arrests and injuries are cases we take.
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