Assignments
Family: All post-judgment matters in FA
No Ex-Parte Communication will be accepted by US mail or by email.
Order of Referral:
For post judgment non-child support matters an Order of Referral pursuant to Florida Family Law of Procedure 12.490 must be prepared for the Magistrate and shall list the assigned magistrate by name and room number. Please see administrative order 5.104-1/21 for updated procedures for the Order of Referral.
All Order of Referral should be submitted through the on-line services system [OLS] DIVISION MJCAK.
No Order of Referral Needed for Child Support Only Motions/Pleadings:
For matters in which only child support or child related expenses are being requested, no Order of Referral is necessary since the matter will be heard pursuant to Rule 12.491, Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure. If any other issues are included in the Motion/Pleading, including but not limited to attorney's fee, timesharing, or parental responsibility, an Order of Referral must be entered on said Motion/Pleading.
Submission of Proposed Reports/Orders/Judgments:
Do not submit orders to the divisional CAD - follow instructions below
- ALL proposed orders/dismissals/judgments, orders of referral etc. should be submitted through the on-line services system [OLS] without a signature line, as the orders will be signed electronically and will be E-Filed and E-Served. If the order being submitted is regarding a hearing held in open court, the date of that hearing and the parties in attendance must be included in the first sentence of the order. All orders/judgments are to be reviewed by all counsel of record prior to submission. Do not submit any orders in anticipation of an upcoming hearing unless it is a UMC hearing.
- The online scheduling system does not allow you to hold dates, so you must be sure the date is coordinated with all parties prior to setting the hearing. All motions must be filed and docketed with the clerk prior to scheduling a UMC hearing. All proposed orders must include the motion filing date.
- The proposed Orders/dismissals/judgments, etc. must be in WORD FORMAT that's being submitted via Online Services [OLS].
- To submit your order/judgment: Log on to the NEW 15th Judicial Circuit website and click View All Web Applications under Circuit Web Applications then click online services and sign in with user name and password, then case number and follow the prompts. Pick the 3rd option: Upload a Proposed Order.
- If you need any help submitting proposed orders via OLS please visit the courts YouTube page, CourtHelp4U, for additional help.
- When you are uploading a proposed order to OLS you must verify you are uploading to the correct General Magistrate and Division.
- All proposed orders are to be formatted using the modified semi-block format. Use the Times New Roman font, in font size 12. Single-space within the paragraphs and double-space between paragraphs. Set the left and right margins at 1-inch and the bottom margin at a 1-inch minimum.
Uniform Motion Calendar- UMC hearings (Scheduled online):
The Uniform Motion Calendar shall be set on each Wednesday (unless suspended) at 8:30am.
The Uniform Motion Calendar is for non-evidentiary matters that require less than five minutes per side.
All Uniform Motion Calendar hearings shall be scheduled via Zoom or other video conferencing at the request of any party per Rule 2.530, Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. The Zoom information (below) must be included in your Notice of Hearing and a courtesy copy sent to the Magistrate via the Cad-email CAD-MJCA-L@PBCGOV.ORG.
Counsel must submit proposed Orders via OLS prior to the UMC hearing. Otherwise, your scheduled matter may not be heard.
As of February 24, 2023, ZOOM instructions for all UMC hearings ONLY are as follows:
Zoom Link for Family Division Uniform Motion Calendar (UMC)
Meeting Link: Zoom Link
Meeting ID: 892 8106 6053
Passcode: 234459
AUDIO ONLY: by calling:
- US Toll-free 877-853-5257
- US Toll-free 888-475-4499
When prompted enter,
Meeting ID: 892 8106 6053
When prompted enter,
Passcode: 234459
Request for Evidentiary Hearings and/or Request for Trial:
Effective June 30, 2022
Special Set hearing, Non-Jury Trials, and evidentiary Motion hearings are set with the Court through the Magistrate Assistant
Before requesting a special set hearing or request for trial (1) the motion(s) must be filed and docketed with the Clerk of Court; (2) If needed, the Order of Referral shall be prepared and the objection period expired; and (3) The parties shall comply with AO 5.209, except for section regarding envelopes, prior to requesting a hearing date and time. In keeping with professional courtesy, any party scheduling a hearing shall make a good faith attempt to resolve the matter, undertake reasonable efforts to contact the opposing party/counsel for availability or scheduling conflicts.
For matters that require a hearing before Magistrate Judette N. Fanelli, the party requesting said hearing should submit an email to CAD-MJCA-K@pbcgov.org {with a copy to the opposing party} and the email shall include:
- an estimate of the time needed to hear the matter;
- a copy of the signed order of referral [if necessary]; and
- a copy of the motion(s);
- a copy of the notice of unavailability that has been filed with the court
- the subject line of the email must include the words:
SPECIAL SET, the case number and name of the parties
The Magistrate's staff will make every effort to contact the parties to schedule a hearing. Please note that the Magistrate's office may, from time to time and as the circumstances require, schedule hearings without coordinating it with the parties or their counsel.
Electronic Submission of Documentary Evidence (i.e., Exhibits)
If you wish to introduce documentary evidence to the General Magistrate in the form of exhibits at your hearing or Non-Jury Trial please comply with the following procedure. Documentary evidence includes any papers, photographs, or other items that can reasonably be shared electronically.
If the documents comprising your exhibits total 10 pages or less, then submit at least 7 days prior to the hearing or Non-Jury Trial. Attorneys and self-represented parties shall submit the documents in electronic format to the General Magistrate's Office through the DIGITAL EVIDENCE PORTAL ON LINE SERVICES (OLS) TO DIVISION MJCAK at least three (3) days BEFORE the hearing. Please navigate to CourtHelp4U on YouTube for training materials on uploading documents.
If your proposed exhibits are comprised of more than twenty (20) pages total, then please submit an exhibit binder with a table of contents to the Magistrate’s Office via US Mail.
You must send these documents to the opposing party at the same time you submit same to the General Magistrate, in the same method as submitted to the General Magistrate. If the documents have not been submitted to the other party then the evidence will not be considered by the General Magistrate. Your submission of the documents to the General Magistrate does not guarantee the admissibility of same into evidence and each party is required to lay the appropriate foundation for the admissibility of each piece of evidence under the Florida Rules Of Evidence. Finally, you are cautioned that confidential information (such as Bank Accounts and Social Security Numbers, etc.) should be removed from documents provided to the Magistrate as required by Fla. R. Jud. Admin., Rule 2.420(d).
The parties are advised to bring up to three (3) copies of all documents they want to introduce into evidence if not submitted electronically. The Magistrate cannot make copies for you.
If the parties attempt to comply in good faith with these instructions governing the submission of documentary evidence but technological issues prevent a meaningful submission or review of the evidence through remote means, the General Magistrate may continue or reset the evidentiary hearing or Non-Jury Trial to ensure that due process is complied with.
Continuances:
Any request for continuance must be in writing and co-signed by the Client and set for hearing on the Magistrate's Calendar (after receiving a hearing date from the Magistrate's Assistant). Alternatively, if the continuance is agreed to by opposing counsel, and it is the first time the parties are requesting to continue the matter, a stipulation signed by both counsel and their clients, stating the reason for the continuance, should be submitted together with a proposed order either: (a) assigning a new hearing or non-jury trial date; or, (b) setting a status conference to obtain a reset date. All subsequent requests for continuances, shall be by proper motion and hearing before the Magistrate.
Cancellations:
Cancellations may occur by (1) Agreed Order confirming that the matter has been resolved and the pending matter resolved or withdrawn; or (2) Notice of cancellation confirming that the matter has been resolved and the pending motion or petition resolved or withdrawn. (3) All cancellations must be approved by the General Magistrate. The proposed Agreed Order shall include the Agreement, and if applicable, the Parenting Plan and child Support Guidelines Worksheet.
Interpreters:
An interpreter will not be provided by the Court for hearings before the Magistrate, except for in a Department of Revenue (DOR) proceeding. If an interpreter is needed for a party or a witness, it shall be the responsibility of the party needing same to provide a disinterested, qualified interpreter. For further information or for assistance locating an interpreter, please visit Court Interpreters.
Documents Filed in the State E-Portal:
DOCUMENTS TAKE APPROXIMATELY 2-3 DAYS TO BE DOCKETED AND VIEWED. It is extremely important to file your documents timely for the Magistrate to review.