Thirteenth Judicial Circuit

What Thirteenth Judicial Circuit does

The Thirteenth Judicial Circuit is a state judicial circuit within the Florida State Court System, one of 20 circuits statewide, with constitutionally mandated jurisdiction over Hillsborough County, Florida. Headquartered at the George Edgecomb Courthouse at 800 E. Twiggs Street in Tampa, the circuit operates six courthouse and service locations across Tampa and Plant City. It adjudicates civil, criminal, family, juvenile, and probate matters; runs seven specialized problem-solving courts (drug treatment, mental health, veterans, early childhood, family dependency, juvenile mental health, and Marchman Act); provides mediation and diversion services; and operates the Children's Justice Center and behavioral health programs. The circuit also supports pro se litigants through Family Law Self-Help Programs delivered in partnership with Bay Area Legal Services.

Its core technology platform is JAWS (Judicial Automated Workflow System), a custom-built web portal at jaws.fljud13.org that enables attorneys to self-register, schedule hearings, associate with cases, view and upload files, search cases, and receive automated email notifications for scheduled events. Supporting technology includes Zoom-based virtual court hearings with published participant guides and integration with the statewide Florida Courts e-filing portal (myflcourtaccess.com) and Hillsborough County Clerk of Court systems for records, filings, jury management, and fee collection. The entity does not develop or operate AI-based systems based on available data.

The business model is governmental rather than commercial: the circuit is publicly funded through state and county appropriations, has no commercial revenue streams, and does not monetize its services. Court fees and fines are collected by the Clerk of Court, not retained by the circuit. Its GTM motion is direct-to-citizen public service delivery: physical courthouse access, online self-service tools (JAWS, e-Portal), virtual hearings, and self-help programs for pro se litigants. Customer segments are attorneys and legal professionals (primary), pro se litigants (primary, family law focus), and the general public (jury service, court access). Distribution is via six physical locations within Hillsborough County and integrated statewide digital platforms.

Name

Thirteenth Judicial Circuit

Legal name

Thirteenth Judicial Circuit

Website

https://fljud13.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Thirteenth Judicial Circuit is a Florida state court serving Hillsborough County, providing judicial adjudication across civil, criminal, family, and juvenile matters. It operates six courthouse locations, the JAWS online scheduling portal, Zoom-based virtual hearings, and specialized problem-solving courts serving attorneys, pro se litigants, and the public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

State Judicial Services

NAICS

Courts (92211), Courts (922110)

akta.pro primary industry

Judicial Courts & Court Administration (BPAIAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Specialty & Problem-Solving Courts (Drug, Mental Health, Veterans, Family) (BPAIAFAG), Court Services & Operations (Clerks, Records, Jury, Interpreters) (BPAIAFAH)

Keywords

• State judicial services
• Court administration
• Civil and criminal adjudication
• Problem solving courts
• Case management systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Tampa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Publicly funded judicial circuit serving Hillsborough County, Florida. Court fees and fines are collected by the Clerk of Court. No commercial revenue generation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Thirteenth Judicial Circuit is a state-level judicial circuit of the Florida State Court System that adjudicates civil, criminal, family, juvenile, and probate matters for Hillsborough County, Florida. It delivers core court administration services through physical courthouses, specialized problem-solving and treatment courts, mediation and diversion programs, and an in-house online case scheduling platform (JAWS) for attorneys. The circuit also provides self-help legal resources and remote hearing capabilities to support access to justice for self-represented litigants and the general public.

Product overview

The Thirteenth Judicial Circuit provides court administration services for Hillsborough County, Florida. The primary technology product is JAWS (Judicial Automated Workflow System), an online scheduling portal for attorneys. Supporting services include Self-Help Information resources for pro se litigants and Family Law Self-Help Programs operated by Bay Area Legal Services. The court also offers specialized Problem Solving Courts (drug treatment, mental health, veterans), Mediation & Diversion Services, Children's Justice Center programs, and Behavioral Health Programs. Virtual court hearings are conducted via Zoom video conferencing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• JAWS - Judicial Automated Workflow System

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Bay Area Legal ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOperates Family Law Self-Help Programs including Legal Information Center and Family Forms Clinic at courthouse locations. Provides free legal information and form assistance to pro se litigants in Hillsborough County family law cases. Funded by TECO Energy and law firms Holland & Knight and Carlton Fields.
• Hillsborough County Clerk of the Circuit CourtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization handling court filings, court records, jury management, and fee collection. Provides links to payment systems and court record search on the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit website.
• Florida CourtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState-level judicial system providing statewide case management, e-filing portal (myflcourtaccess.com), and court technology standards.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Hillsborough County Clerk of the Circuit Court: Adjacent public-sector partner that handles court records, e-filing, jury management, and fee collection on behalf of the 13th circuit. Highly comparable in mission and customer base but operates as a separate elected office.
• National Center for State Courts: Non-profit organization that provides policy guidance, consulting, and technology standards to state court systems including Florida circuits. Comparable as an ecosystem participant that shapes the operating environment of courts like the 13th circuit.
• Bay Area Legal Services: Non-profit legal aid organization that operates the Family Law Self-Help Programs inside the 13th circuit's courthouses. Comparable as a delivery partner addressing the same pro se litigant customer segment.

Broad incumbents

• Tyler Technologies (Odyssey Court Case Management): Major commercial provider of court case management software (Odyssey) used by many Florida and U.S. jurisdictions. Comparable in the sense that its software underpins the back-end court operations similar to what JAWS provides for the 13th circuit, and represents the most likely commercial replacement/alternative.

Direct peers

• 9th Judicial Circuit (Orange & Osceola Counties): Florida judicial circuit serving Orange and Osceola counties from Orlando. Comparable in scale and service mix to the 13th circuit, with overlapping use of JAWS-style scheduling technology and statewide e-filing infrastructure.
• 11th Judicial Circuit (Miami-Dade County): Another Florida judicial circuit court serving a large urban county (Miami-Dade). Operates the same statewide Florida court technology stack and similar problem-solving court portfolio, making it the closest structural peer within the Florida State Courts System.
• 17th Judicial Circuit (Broward County): Florida judicial circuit serving Broward County with similar population scale, caseload complexity, and urban demographic profile. Operates specialized problem-solving courts and uses the same statewide court technology platform.
• 4th Judicial Circuit (Duval County): Florida judicial circuit serving Jacksonville/Duval County. Provides comparable circuit court services including family, civil, criminal, and problem-solving courts within the same Florida State Courts System.

Regional players

• Florida State Courts System (Office of the State Courts Administrator): Statewide administrative body overseeing all 20 Florida judicial circuits including the 13th. Sets technology standards (e-Portal, myflcourtaccess.com) and budget framework that defines how the 13th circuit operates.

Emerging players

• Court Innovations (CourtChat): Commercial vendor providing remote hearing, text-message reminder, and online dispute resolution tools to courts. Comparable in offering the type of virtual hearing and scheduling functionality the 13th circuit has built with JAWS and Zoom.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/13thcourtfl
• Facebookfacebook.com/13thJudicialCircuit
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/13th-judicial-circuit

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Thirteenth Judicial Circuit