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52 verbatim mandatory provisions from AO 2023-30 MEDIA COVERAGE OF JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS, USE OF ELECTRONICS, AND PROCEDURES FOR HIGH PROFILE AND SPECIAL INTER.
First Judicial Circuit. Check the order's own effective and rescission dates before relying on it. Procedural information only; not legal advice.
• Any reference in this order to a “court facility” shall be applied to any established court facilities within the First Judicial Circuit and to any facility designated by the Chief Judge for temporary use as a court facility. • For the purposes of this order, court proceedings conducted either in whole or in part by means of video conferencing technology shall be conducted as if taking place in a court facility, regardless of whether the media, parties, or public are physically present in court, and this order shall apply to the fullest extent possible. MEDIA COVERAGE OF JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS 1. • Media representatives1 shall notify Court Administration no less than 24 hours in advance that they are seeking approval from the presiding judge, general magistrate, or hearing officer to be present for any court proceeding, or at the earliest opportunity practicable when 24 hours’ notice is not possible due to exigent circumstances. • The number of any additional permitted cameras shall be within the sound discretion and authority of the presiding judge. b. • Not more than one still photographer, using not more than two still cameras, shall be permitted in any proceeding which would otherwise be open to the public. c. • Not more than one audio system for radio broadcast purposes shall be permitted in any proceeding. • Audio pickup for all media purposes shall be accomplished from existing audio systems present in the court facility. 1 “Media representatives” are those individuals who are regularly engaged in collecting, photographing, recording, writing, editing, reporting, or publishing news, for gain or livelihood, who obtain information sought while working as a salaried employee of, or independent contractor for, a newspaper, news journal, news agency, press association, wire service, radio or television station, network or news magazine. • There shall be no audio pickup or broadcast of conferences that occur in a court facility between attorneys and their client(s), between co-counsel of a client, or between counsel and the presiding judge held at the bench. • Only equipment that does not produce distracting sound or light shall be used to cover judicial proceedings. • No artificial lighting device of any kind shall be used in connection with the television or still camera. f. • It shall be the affirmative duty of media personnel to demonstrate adequately and in advance of any proceeding, upon request by Court Administration on behalf of the presiding judge, that the equipment sought to be used meets the sound and light criteria enunciated in this rule. • If requested, a failure to obtain advance judicial approval for equipment shall preclude its use in any proceeding. g. • Any “pooling” arrangements among the media required by these limitations on equipment and personnel shall be the sole responsibility of the media without calling upon the presiding judge to mediate any dispute as to the appropriate media representative or equipment authorized to cover a particular proceeding. • In the absence of advance media agreement on disputed equipment or personnel issues, the presiding judge shall exclude all contesting media personnel from a proceeding. • Any media representative granted permission to record judicial proceedings shall be capable of acting as a “pool” camera should additional media representatives request to cover the proceedings. • During the course of proceedings, interviews are not permitted in the presence of the jury or witnesses and may not interfere with safety, security, or movement of persons in the courtroom, doorways, hallways, and other areas of the court facility. • Interviews shall not disrupt court proceedings at any time. i. • Use of audio and camera recording equipment is prohibited at any location in court facilities without prior approval from the Chief Judge, the Court Administrator, or their designee(s). j. • Television camera equipment and any still camera photographer shall be positioned in a location in the court facility as shall be designated by the Chief Judge, the Court Administrator as his or her designee, or the presiding judge. • If areas remote from the court facility that permit reasonable access to coverage are provided, all television camera equipment, still photographic equipment, and audio equipment shall be positioned only in such area. • Video recording equipment that is not a component part of a television camera shall be located in an area remote from the court facility. k. • Any still camera photographer shall assume a fixed position within the designated area, and once established in a shooting position, shall act so as not to call attention to themselves through further movement. • A still camera photographer shall not be permitted to move about in order to obtain photographs of court proceedings. l. • Any broadcast media representative shall not move about the court facility while proceedings are in session, and microphones or taping equipment shall not be moved during the proceeding. m. • Media representatives shall set up or remove any camera or audio equipment from the courtroom only before court proceedings begin, during appropriate recesses, or after the proceedings conclude each day, unless other arrangements have been made prior to the proceedings. n. • All media representatives shall exhibit proper courtroom decorum, must dress appropriately, and must place cell phones on vibrate or silent. • As with any media coverage, any request to live-stream proceedings must be made in advance of the court hearing. • Live-streaming by media shall be accomplished by use of a camera mounted on a tripod, and any media granted permission to live-stream should be capable of acting as a “pool” camera for all media wishing to participate. • None of the film, videotape, still photographs, or audio reproductions developed during or by virtue of coverage of a judicial proceeding shall be admissible as evidence in the proceeding out of which it arose, in any proceeding subsequent or collateral thereto, or upon retrial or appeal of such proceedings. 4. • Media representatives shall not obstruct or impede persons entering or exiting a court facility, any courtroom, or judicial chamber. • Any and all cables or wires must be located in a manner so as not to constitute a safety hazard or an obstruction to pedestrian traffic. 5. • For court proceedings conducted outside of the known courthouses, such as in jail courtrooms, media representatives shall comply with the instructions of the presiding judge and the respective Sheriff’s Office for Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton Counties. • The Court Administrator shall designate a member of staff to serve as the Court Public Information Officer (hereinafter “CPIO”) or alternate CPIO. • After a proceeding is classified as a high profile or special interest case, the CPIO shall as soon as practicable convene a meeting of interested media representatives for the purpose of establishing a media committee. • The CPIO shall provide appropriate notice to media representatives in advance of the meeting. 9. • The media committee shall include at least one media representative from the video, audio, and print media. • The media committee shall perform the following duties, when and if necessary: • Subject to availability of space, the Court Administrator or his or her designee shall designate an area to serve as a media center. • The CPIO shall supervise the center, and it will be open during normal working hours to media representatives with court-issued press credentials. 12. • For safety reasons, no other television cameras, still cameras, or other broadcasting or recording equipment shall be permitted in the court facility unless: • The Court Administrator or his or her designee shall designate a specific number of seats in the public areas of the courtroom for the following categories of individuals: • Members of the general public who wish to attend the proceedings must obtain a pass from the CPIO or his or her designee and present the pass upon entering the courtroom. • Prior to trial the CPIO will establish procedures for the issuance of these passes and have information available for the general public concerning these procedures. 16. • The CPIO or designee shall issue the passes for the general public on a first- come-first-served basis. • Unless the court orders a recess and absent special circumstances, any observer who leaves the courtroom during proceedings must surrender the pass when exiting. 17. • Media representatives shall arrange with the CPIO to obtain access to the courtroom before a proceeding begins to permit installation of necessary equipment and cables. 18. • Satellite trucks shall be parked in areas designated by the appropriate authority for the respective facility in Pensacola, Milton, Crestview, Fort Walton Beach, or DeFuniak Springs. • Review of an order excluding the electronic media from access to any proceeding, excluding coverage of a particular participant or upon any other matters arising under these standards shall be pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.100(d). • Video recording, audio recording, or live-streaming of proceedings by the public, including proceedings conducted via videoconferencing technology, by means of any electronic device, without the express permission of the presiding judge or quasi- judicial officer, is prohibited. • Electronic recording shall include taking photographs, filming, videotaping, audiotaping, broadcasting, and telecasting, and includes devices such as portable television cameras, still cameras, cellphone cameras, audio equipment, and any other devices capable of taking a photograph, making a record, or transmitting a broadcast. • Members of the public also may not use or display cell phones, laptops, or other portable devices in any courtroom, hearing room, or during any court proceeding without the express permission of the presiding judge. • This Administrative Order vacates and replaces Administrative Order Number 2010-39 and shall be effective immediately.
Any reference in this order to a “court facility” shall be applied to any established court facilities within the First Judicial Circuit and to any facility designated by the Chief Judge for temporary use as a court facility.
Reviewer note: Document sha256: 8fe204d4f7cb050c3554030431a6640b1844fe99d8b195079d7a2eca726aeb02 (376349 bytes). BenchPath harvested this circuit itself because no research corpus existed for it. Extraction is conservative: mandatory-language sentences only, so this rule is a faithful subset of the order, never a summary of it. Text layer cleaned 2026-09-08 (Phase 3a): page markers removed; wording untouched. Verbatim from the order's own text layer, harvested 2026-07-24; whitespace normalised only. No OCR was used. Only sentences containing mandatory language (shall, must, may not, no later than, within N) are reproduced — the full document is in custody and is the controlling text. [moved from the text 2026-09-14]
1 verbatim requirement on discovery in DANIEL J. KANNER's division.
1 verbatim requirement on discovery in BETSY BENSON's division.
1 verbatim requirement on discovery.