Traffic court on the hunt for hearing officers

FORT LAUDERDALE — In a perfect world, there would be no need for traffic court.

But this is Broward County, where people speed, run red lights and make all kinds of bad moves behind the wheel.

The traffic court run by the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit has thousands of cases to hear and only 20 people to hear them.

The court is now on the hunt to hire more hearing officers to preside over more than 6,000 civil traffic court cases a year.

Those hired would make $80 for each two-hour session ruling on traffic and parking fine cases.

Traffic dockets are scheduled throughout Broward County in both the main courthouse in Fort Lauderdale and the satellite courthouses in Hollywood, Plantation and Deerfield Beach.

It’s a busy docket, with each hearing officer handling anywhere from 150 to 400 cases a month, said court spokeswoman Meredith Bush.

Traffic court is scheduled Monday through Friday, but hearing officers typically put in three to four hours for the day they work, Bush said.

As independent contractors, hearing officers are required to enter into a one-year contract with the court.

Applicants must be a member of the Florida Bar and a graduate of an accredited law school with at least five years experience in the courtroom.

Those hired must live in Broward County and will be required to complete a 40-hour training program.

You will also be required to not litigate any cases relating to traffic or parking ticket matters in civil or criminal courts, including DUI cases.

Still interested?

Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis but must be received no later than 5 p.m. Aug. 31. A completed application package must include seven copies of the following documents: cover letter, resume, copy of your Florida Bar card and a Certificate of Good Standing with the Florida Bar. Send the documents to the Trial Court Administrator’s Office, Human Resources, Room 20140, Broward County Courthouse, 201 S.E. Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301.