Loading…
20 verbatim mandatory provisions from S-2005-153.
Thirteenth Judicial Circuit. Check the order's own effective and rescission dates before relying on it. Procedural information only; not legal advice.
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. • The following procedures shall apply to interviews of victims who are under the age of 16 or who are persons with a developmental disability in child abuse, disable adult abuse, child sexual abuse and disabled adult sexual abuse cases: -- 1 of 6 -- 1. • Definitions For purposes ofthis administrative order, the following terms have the following meanings: "DCF" means the Department of Children and Family Services and, if contracted to perform child protective investigations under section 39.3065, Florida Statutes, the Hillsborough County Sheriff. "Interview" means any procedure in which the victim is required to provide a detailed account or demonstration ofthe nature and circumstances of the abuse, but this definition does not include a history obtained for the purposes of medical or psychological diagnosis or treatment or an initial contact with the victim by law enforcement or DCF to assess the validity ofthe complaint or the need to take protective measures on behalf of the victim. lithe assessment can be made without the necessity of obtaining a statement from the victim, such shall be the preferred procedure. "Interview" does not include the taking of a deposition. 2. • To 2 -- 2 of 6 -- the extent possible, the Child Protection Team, the Guardian ad Litem Program, and whatever agency is designated to conduct medical examinations of a victim of child sexual abuse shall rely on the interview ofthe victim conductedjointIy by the representatives oflaw enforcement, DCF, and the Children's Justice Center. • A criminal investigation shall be coordinated, whenever possible, with the child protection investigation ofDCF. • Additional interviews shall be limited in scope as much as possible to assure minimal impact on the victim. 7. • Settin~, Manner, Timin~ and Location of Interviews All interviews shall be conducted in a setting and manner intended to minimize the traumatic effects of the interview on the victim who is under the age of 16 or who is a person with a developmental disability. • The interviews by law enforcement, the State Attorney's Office, and DCF shall be held as soon as practical after notification of the alleged abuse. • Interviewer Any individual who conducts any interview shall be specifically trained in techniques for interviewing victims who are under age 16 or who are persons with a developmental disability. • Recordin~ of Interview All interviews conducted at the Children's Justice Center shall be recorded on two original digital video disks ("DVDs"), or on one original DVD while simultaneously producing a digital electronic recording for electronic storage. • One original DVD shall be designated the "Court DVD" and sealed to verify authenticity and for use in court. • The other original DVD or the digital electronic recording shall be maintained by the Children's Justice Center or the Court Business Center for purposes of review by the State Attorney's Office, DCF, or law enforcement. 10. • Maintenance of Recordin~s Both original DVD recordings shall be kept in accordance with procedures established by Florida Statutes, the Children's Justice Center, and the Administrative Office of the Courts. • All original videotapes of any interviews recorded pursuant to previous administrative orders shall also be kept in accordance with these procedures. • These procedures shall be precise and uniform to establish a proper chain of custody. 11. • The Children's Justice Center shall instruct the Court Business Center to duplicate the original recording, and requesting representatives of the respective entities shall execute an acknowledgment that the recording was received. • Any recording released to any of these entities shall remain confidential to the extent provided by the Florida Statutes and shall be returned to the Children's Justice Center for storage or destruction when no longer needed by the respective entities. • Duplication of Recordin2s Any person who is in possession of any original recording or any copy released pursuant to this administrative order or through discovery shall not duplicate it for disclosure to anyone, without prior written order of the court. • Any other requests for duplicates should be made to the Children's Justice Center, and the requesting party shall pay the costs associated with the production ofthe duplicate. • All Florida Statutes relating to confidentiality of child abuse records, including section 39.202, shall apply to the original recordings and any and all duplicates. 13. • Upon notification of violation ofthis order, the court shall hold a hearing to determine whether violations occurred and impose appropriate sanctions. 5 -- 5 of 6 -- ( 15.
The following procedures shall apply to interviews of victims who are under the age of 16 or who are persons with a developmental disability in child abuse, disable adult abuse, child sexual abuse and disabled adult sexual abuse cases: -- 1 of 6 -- 1.
Reviewer note: Document sha256: f4a1c1f7fca2271abf01e352214d394c59150b86d139c451e6d8af55c2c600f5 (254180 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.
The 17th Circuit's circuit-wide AI disclosure/certification mandate (Jan 2026, twice amended) was VACATED in its entirety effective June 15, 2026 by Chief Judge Phillips's AO 2026-19-Gen, expressly citing the statewide framework (AOSC26-12; Rule 2.515(d)(2), SC2026-0673). Several division procedure pages still cite the vacated order.
Every circuit-civil case reviewed within 120 days of commencement and assigned a track (complex, streamlined, or general); case management orders required; firm continuance policy; sanctions for missed deadlines. Rescinds AO 21-09.
Circuit-civil hearing-availability standards: motion calendars ~2 weeks from request; 15-30 min special sets within 45-60 days; longer special sets scale.