STANDING PRETRIAL ORDER FOR CASES IN COUNTY CRIMINAL DIVISION A

The Court enters this Pretrial Order, which, consistent with all relevant rules of procedure and administrative orders, governs practice in this Division.

MOTIONS

No motion, other than a legitimate emergency motion, will be set for a hearing unless the motion is electronically filed with the clerk prior to contacting the Judicial Assistant for a hearing date and time.  The Judicial Assistant will check the court file when a request is made to set a hearing to determine whether the motion is in the file.  If the motion is not in the court file, the motion will not be calendared absent a representation by counsel that the motion has in fact been filed, but has not yet appeared for viewing.  This process is facilitated if the attorney filing the motion includes the JA’s email address on the e filing.  Counsel will still need to call the JA to get a hearing date.  The email address for the Judicial Assistant is crimdiva@fljud13.org .

All motions and notices of hearing requiring witness testimony must be filed a sufficient length of time in advance of the hearing date for the opposing party to comply with Section 48.031 (4)(a) Florida Statutes.  It is the responsibility of the party affected by late filing to raise this issue.

All cases, statutes, rules or other citations of authority a party wishes the Court to consider should be provided to the Court at least two business days prior to the hearing on the motion.  Cases and other citations will be cited in the motion.  The Court will not consider cases provided for the first time at the hearing absent a showing of good cause.

All motions shall contain the facts and law which form the basis for the relief sought.

Courtesy copies of motions are neither required nor desired.  The Court will consider only the electronic file.

As a courtesy to the Court and your colleagues, a party should notify the Judicial Assistant as soon as possible, by fax or email that hearing is to be cancelled.

ALL MOTIONS MUST BE HEARD PRIOR TO THE PRE TRIAL CONFERENCE.  Any motion not timely filed and set for hearing is waived absent a showing of good cause as to why the motion was not timely filed and heard prior to pre trial conference.

Any motion for continuance shall state whether any prior motion for continuance has been filed and shall, as with any other motion, be in writing and be set and heard prior to the trial date.

DISCOVERY MOTIONS AND MOTIONS IN LIMINE:  All motions in limine and all motions pertaining to discovery disputes shall contain a statement by the moving party that good faith attempt to resolve the matter without Court involvement has been made and shall describe the manner in which the attempt was made.

Motions to compel discovery should be filed within 10 days after the date the discovery is due.  Motions to compel more adequate responses to discovery should be filed within 10 days of receipt of the alleged incomplete discovery.   Lack of diligence in pursuing remedies for discovery will be considered in determining whether to grant a continuance or to which party a continuance should be charged.

DISPOSITION HEARINGS:   Attorneys and their client(s) are expected to attend disposition hearings.  If an attorney has a conflict, the attorney should arrange coverage by another attorney or may submit a request for a trial date or another disposition date.  The request forms are available outside Courtroom 22 or by email to the Judicial Assistant.  Attorneys wishing to be placed on the email list should contact the Judicial Assistant by email at crimdiva@fljud13.org .  A failure to appear or to request a new court date will result in the case being set for trial and may result in a warrant being issued for the arrest of the defendant.

Absent good cause shown, no more than 3 disposition hearings are allowed.  This number includes any hearings missed due to a conflict and as to any dispositions which took place prior to counsel’s Notice of Appearance.

REQUEST FOR ZOOM HEARINGS

In accordance with Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.116, effective July 1, 2024, the court will allow for appearance by zoom for all non-evidentiary hearings of 30 minutes or less.  Any hearing requiring a party or witness to be placed under oath to testify is considered evidentiary and must be done in person.  Change of pleas, other than pleas in absentia, are considered evidentiary and must be done in person. If unsure if a hearing is considered evidentiary, please contact the court.  All motions to withdraw or set aside capiases or warrants shall be done in person with the defendant present.  Violations of Probation are in person. All parties and attorneys choosing to appear by zoom must file a written motion requesting such with the court and upload through JAWS a proposed order for the court to review in advance of the hearing. Those appearing by zoom must log into zoom at the beginning of the court session and be available in the zoom waiting room until called.  Zoom appearances will be called at the conclusion of the in-person docket.  All parties and attorneys must appear at a zoom hearing dressed as if they are appearing in court in person.

The Meeting ID for Division A, County Criminal is 995-1068-3326, no password is required and must be included in the order.