E Divisional Instructions

Division E Standing Order

	Div E Standing Order RE Inmate Transports

All hearings in Division E are held in person. If requesting virtual appearance, AND if agreed to by opposing counsel, a proposed Agreed Order may be submitted via OLS no later than three (3) days before the scheduled hearing. Virtual appearances will be considered for Case Dispositions and/or Status Checks ONLY.

Status Checks, Plea Conferences and any Motion hearings which are 5 minutes or less can be set on the Uniform Motion Calendar as follows:

All motion hearings five minutes or less may be set on Thursday or Friday, 8:30am for In-Custody and for Private Counsel and 9:00 am for the Public Defender and Pro Se. Please check our suspension calendar before setting a hearing. You must file a Notice of Hearing with the Clerk of Court.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays are reserved for JURY TRIALS. You must contact the Judicial Assistant via email at CAD-DivisionE@pbcgov.org for permission to set on these days.

The original Motion and Notice of Hearing must be filed with the Clerk's Office in order to be put on the docket.

Parties shall discuss all motions with opposing counsel before requesting time.

Motions to Suppress, Motions in Limine, Bond Hearings, Restitution Hearings, Evidentiary Hearings and any hearing requiring longer than 5 minutes will need to be specially set by e-mailing the Judicial Assistant for a date and time at CAD-DivisionE@pbcgov.org. These hearings will be set on a Monday or Thursday at 1:30 p.m. or later. All parties must have reasonable notice and the Judge must receive courtesy hard copies of the Notice of Hearing, Motion, and any case law being relied upon at least 48 hours prior to the hearing date. Each case shall be stapled and highlighted with the highlighting referencing the material ruling/basis upon which counsel is relying concerning the specific cited case. Voluminous case law (more than 7 cases) shall be indexed and furnished in alphabetical order.

Boiler-plate motions including motions which fail to include a factual recitation or which simply provide "facts to be presented or argued at hearing" are not permitted and will be stricken as legally insufficient. Such motions will not satisfy this Court's requirement of a written motion.

It is the responsibility of Defense Counsel to request an interpreter if needed for the Defendant or defense witnesses by emailing CAD-ALLCOURTINTERPRETERS@pbcgov.org. All requests must be received 7 days in advance of the scheduled proceeding.

Compliance with Local Rule 4

Prior to setting a Motion for Hearing, the party or attorney noticing the motion shall attempt to resolve the matter and shall, in the Notice of Hearing, certify that good faith attempts have been made to resolve the matter.

Agreed Motions

Although the Court encourages Agreed Orders, Motions to Withdraw Capias will not be automatically granted - they will require a hearing. The Defendant must be present at any hearing on a Motion to Withdraw Capias.

Agreed Motions and Agreed Orders are to be timely submitted to the Judge for review. Proposed Orders should be submitted in Word Format through the Online Services System by visiting the 15th Circuit Court's Online Services page and click the online scheduling button.

The Judge will not sign an Order without a hearing unless it has been agreed to by opposing counsel and it is so noted in the Motion when practical, and the agreement of counsel is also noted in the Agreed Order. If opposing counsel will not agree or you are unable to make contact with opposing counsel, you must set a hearing on the motion as outlined above.

Motion for Continuance

Motions for Continuance shall be in writing, and shall be filed at least ten (10) days prior to the Calendar Call or Trial. If a party has already been granted a prior continuance of the trial, any further motion for continuance must be set for a hearing and heard prior to the trial date. Any motion for continuance shall include a description of prior continuances of the case.

Discovery Motions

Motions to Compel Discovery shall be in writing and shall certify that counsel has attempted in good faith to resolve the issues with opposing counsel but has been unable to do so. Said motion shall also describe what independent efforts counsel has made to obtain the discovery sought.
Discovery Motions (motions to compel, motions to take deposition, etc.) shall be filed and served a reasonable time before hearing, to permit opposing counsel an opportunity to respond and to prepare for hearing.

Calendar Calls/Pretrial Conferences

The Defendant must be present at Calendar Call and Trial. Calendar calls are set on two (2) designated Fridays each month.
The Court's trial docket runs from Tuesday through Wednesday every week and continues for a three (3) week period. Counsel and parties should confer prior to calendar call regarding the trial date, length of trial, etc.
All cases shall remain on 2-hour call for the trial period immediately following calendar call.
Plea offers must be conveyed to and fully discussed by Defendant's Counsel with the Defendant prior to trial. Absent good cause or articulable change in circumstance, negotiated pleas will not be accepted on the day of trial. A Defendant may, at any time, enter an "open plea" to the Court, including a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, as permitted in Fl.R.Crim.P. 3.170.

Pleas

Negotiated pleas should be conveyed to, and fully discussed by defense counsel with the defendant prior to announcing the plea to the Court. Such discussion should include the maximum and minimum penalties and the issues covered by Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.172. If counsel wishes to address the Court on any issue regarding the plea (e.g., early termination of probation, length of time to pay fine or costs), this should be done at the time the plea is first announced, not after the plea colloquy has been concluded.