Williams J.- Divisional Instructions

Department of Revenue
Child Support Hearing Officer Jurisdiction

The CSHO reiterates that administrative order 5.301 is applicable and will be enforced in this division.

The Magistrate sits as a Child Support Hearing Officer (CSHO) in this division, pursuant to Rule 12.491, Fla. Fam. L. R. P. and presides over Department of Revenue Child Support matters arising under 42 USC §§ 601 et. seq., and Florida Statutes 61, 88, 409 and 742. The Magistrate may handle enforcement of alimony matters concurrent with the enforcement of child support.

The Magistrate may not have any communications with any party outside of the courtroom pursuant to Judicial Code of Conduct Cannon 3(B)(7). Please do not attempt to communicate with the Magistrate via email, mail or in any other manner. All email communications shall be limited to scheduling hearings or providing evidence as indicated below and all emails shall by copied to opposing counsel and/or unrepresented litigants.

No order of referral is permitted nor is it necessary under Rule 12.491 and this circuit's administrative order 5.104.

ALL HEARINGS WILL BE HELD IN-PERSON

With the exception for Notice of Contest Hearings and UIFSA Matters. Those matters will be conducted via Zoom and In Person (i.e., Hybrid).

Zoom Meeting Information

Requests to Appear Virtually, by Zoom or Telephone

If the matter is not already scheduled virtually or via Zoom, all requests to appear virtually or by Zoom, must be by Motion pursuant to Rule 2.530, Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. Please email a copy of the Motion to the Magistrate's Office, copying opposing counsel or party, if unrepresented, at CAD-DORA-K@pgcgov.org and the Magistrate will review the request and enter an order or set a hearing on the request, if needed.

Uniform Motion Calendar-There are no UMC’s in this Division.  Please do not attempt to set one on OLS.

Request to set a Hearing on a Motion:

Email your request for hearing to CAD-DORA-K@pbcgov.org, AND to the office of counsel for Department of Revenue (pmalaw@att.net) AND to the other party at the same time. The subject line should be, Request for Hearing – and include the parties' names and case number. In your email include a copy of your Motion that you wish to set and indicate how much time is necessary for the hearing. For Commitment hearings, no more than 30 minutes will be set aside.

Upon receipt and review of your request, you will be provided three dates and times the Magistrate is available. You must coordinate a date with opposing counsel. Please do not include the Magistrate's assistant with the emails coordinating the hearing between the parties. Once a hearing date is agreed upon please notify the Magistrate's assistant of the date and time selected and it will be reserved on the Magistrate's calendar and the Magistrate will either prepare an order setting the hearing or ask the moving party to prepare a notice of hearing. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE DATES PROVIDED BY THE MAGISTRATE'S ASSISTANT ARE NOT HELD UNTIL CONFIRMATION THAT THE PARTIES HAVE AGREED TO A DATE IS RECEIVED BY THE MAGISTRATE'S ASSISTANT.

Request to set a Hearing on a Petition:

To obtain a hearing on a Petition, a party must file a Notice the Petition is ready for trial.  The notice must contain the name of the Petition, the date it was filed, and the estimated time needed for the hearing.

Submission of Orders:

All proposed Orders shall be submitted via OLS (OnLine Services) to division DORA-K. If the proposed order is an Agreed Order please add a note confirming that opposing counsel has approved the order and send an email to CAD-DORA-K@pbcgov.org with the email correspondence with opposing counsel confirming the order has been approved.

Cancellation of a Final Hearing Scheduled by the Court:

Final hearings scheduled by Order of the Court cannot be canceled or re-set unless the issues have been settled and an order entered, the Petition/motion is withdrawn or dismissed, or until further order of the Court. Prior to the date and time of the hearing, a copy of the entered order or a filed notice of withdrawal/dismissal shall be provided to the Magistrate's office at CAD-DORA-K@pbcgov.org AND to the office of counsel for Department of Revenue (pmalaw@att.net) AND to the other party at the same time.

At the Hearing or Trial:

Please pre-mark all exhibits and exchange exhibits with opposing counsel or the opposing self-represented party.

Remote Hearing and Non-Jury Trial Etiquette

Although some hearings and Non-Jury Trials are being conducted remotely, they are still Court proceedings and as such are to be conducted with the same dignity and protocol that would apply if the parties and attorney appeared in person. As such, all participants should conduct themselves accordingly.

The Magistrate is required to record all hearings and Non-Jury Trials in order to create and preserve an appellate record. As such, the Parties and Attorneys are cautioned that when appearing remotely either telephonically or via ZOOM, each should be in a quiet, secluded room without children, music, pets, or other audible and visual distractions that would prevent the Court from creating a clear and pristine official audio and video recording of these proceedings. Because of the visual aspect of ZOOM each person appearing should be appropriately attired. Witnesses other than the Parties should be secluded and not present in the same "room" with the attorney and party until called as a witness at the hearing.