Okaloosa County, Florida is located in the Florida panhandle and its land boundary extends from Alabama to the Gulf of Mexico. The most recent census puts the population of Okaloosa County at about 183,000 persons. Crestview is the county seat for Okalossa and is the location of one of the county's courts. The other annex is located on Eglin Parkway in Shalimar. Okaloosa county has three county court judges: Patricia Grinsted, T. Patt Maney, and Jim Ward. The county court Judges have jurisdication to hear all traffic infractions as well as civil and criminal cases involving misdemeanors.
Okaloosa is part of the First Judicial Circuit which encompasses Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Walton counties. Okaloosa is given the distinction of being one of the most conservative counties in Florida, with almost 80 percent of the population voting Republican.
Last year law enforcement in Okaloosa County issued over 35,000 moving violations to motorists passing through the county. Thousands of speeding tickets are issued on Interstate 10 which cuts through the entire county. The Florida Highway Patrol issued over 8,000 unlawful speeding tickets, many of which were issued with a fixed wing airplane. The Florida Highway Patrol or FHP uses a fix winged airplane and will clock you between two white lines. The pilot/trooper will then call to a trooper on the ground who will pull you over and issue a citation. Aside from civil moving violations, law enforcement in Okaloosa County issued over 6,000 citations for criminal violations. Over half of the criminal traffic violations issued in the county were for driving while license suspended in violation of Florida statute 322.34 or driving without a valid driver's license in violation of Florida Statute 322.03.
The incorporated areas of Okaloosa include Cinco Bayou, Crestview, Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Laurel Hill, Mary Esther, Niceville, Shalimar, and Valaparaiso. Unicorporated areas include Eglin Airforce Base, Lake Lorraine, Ocean City, Wright, Baker, Holt, and Milligan.