Defendant's Presence at Final Pretrial Can NEVER Be Waived — Division CR-C

High confidence· verified July 5, 2026Case Management4th Jud. Cir., Criminal Div. CR-C Policies, Procedures & Expectations (eff. Oct. 16, 2023), ¶ 7, 13

Summary

Judge Sacks: waivers of an in-custody defendant's appearance need prior Court approval and must be written and filed — and there is no waiver, ever, of the defendant's appearance at the Final Pre-Trial Conference.

Applies to

Florida > Fourth Judicial Circuit > Duval County > Felony Division CR-C (Judge Jonathan D. Sacks)

Source of truth

"there shall be no waiver of the defendant's appearance at the Final Pre-Trial Conference." / "Defense counsel shall not waive the presence of any in-custody defendant who has been transported to the courthouse from the jail without prior approval of the Court"

Official source: Div. CR-C Policies, Procedures & Expectations (Judge Sacks) — PDF
Source health: Healthy · checked September 4, 2026
Effective date: —
Last verified: July 5, 2026Live fetch + sha256 of official PDF — 2026-07-05

Reviewer note: Verified against the live official PDF on 2026-07-05. 30-day recheck scheduled.

Criminal — Felony

Change history

July 14, 2026Monitor: Div. CR-C Policies, Procedures & Expectations (Judge Sacks) — PDF unreachable (timeout or network error).

Pretrial Motions Not Heard by the Transferring Judge Are WAIVED — Trial Division 3

Judge Wolfe enforces AO S-2024-062(28)(A) with teeth: every pretrial motion in a case transferred to TD-3 must be scheduled and heard by the original transferring judge — failure to do so timely is deemed a waiver.

High confidence· verified August 3, 202613th Jud. Cir., Judge Wolfe Practices & Procedures (Trial Division 3), citing AO S-2024-062(28)(A)

Case ManagementHillsborough County · Circuit Criminal Division I · Judge Elizabeth G. Rice

Motions (Except Limine) Waived If Not Heard Before the PTC — Criminal I

Judge Rice mirrors the F-division waiver with an exception: all motions other than motions in limine must be filed AND heard before the Pretrial Conference or they are waived; limine motions must at least be filed by then.

High confidence

· verified August 4, 2026

13th Jud. Cir., Judge Rice Judicial Practices & Procedures (Crim. I)

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Traffic Is In Person; Motions Idle 60 Days Are Presumed Denied — Civil Traffic M

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High confidence· verified August 4, 202613th Jud. Cir., Judge Cuellar-Stilo Procedures (Traffic M / NCNT T / IV-D Y)

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High confidence· verified August 4, 202613th Jud. Cir., Judge Tesche Arkin Procedures & Preferences (Probate B / RPO N)

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