Loading…
35 verbatim requirements from the 15th Circuit's Division AF instructions page as published today.
Fifteenth Judicial Circuit (Palm Beach) — Division AF only. Division instructions change with judicial rotations; the division's own page controls. Procedural information only; not legal advice.
• All counsel and self-represented parties are required to act in accordance with the professionalism standards of the Florida Supreme Court and the Florida Bar, found in the following: the Florida Supreme Court and The Florida Bar Professionalism Expectations ; the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar ; the Florida Bar Creed of Professionalism ; and the Oath of Admission to the Florida Bar . • ("A lawyer should refer to all parties, witnesses, and other counsel by their last names during legal proceedings.") Please do not interrupt opposing counsel when they are presenting their position – the Court will ensure that every side has a full opportunity to be heard. • All communications must be via email to JA Perry at CAD-DivisionAF@pbcgov.org , with all parties copied and otherwise in accord with the instructions on setting hearings set forth below. • For those limited issues for which service on the Court is required and for which electronic service is allowed, please send via email to CAD-DivisionAF@pbcgov.org , with all parties copied. • Please file a Motion and do not contact the JA about any substantive matters. • Any requests to utilize any display system other than the courtroom system must be made via Motion and approved by the Court. • Self-Represented Litigants Self-Represented, pro se Litigants are required to comply with all relevant procedural rules and substantive law as are attorneys, both in Court and in their written submissions to the Court. • Any issues must be brought before the Court via Motion. • Must appear via video (phone appearances or appearances without camera are not permitted) Must have a stable video Zoom connection, tested in advance Must be appropriately dressed for Court Must be alone in a quiet place (unless client and counsel are together) If testifying, must have no other electronic devices on or other electronic windows open without Court approval, and may not have a virtual background Must not be in a moving vehicle. • (Participants may appear from a vehicle as long as the vehicle is parked.) Must not be recording the Zoom proceedings without the express permission of Judge Bell Counsel and self-represented parties must be able to use the Share Screen function of Zoom adeptly for evidence presentation, impeachment, and refreshing recollection. • If there is an objection to the Zoom appearance, requesting counsel must file a motion and set the matter for UMC hearing. • Unless there is an emergency, all requests for Zoom appearance for hearings of more than 30 minutes must be made pursuant to Motion and set for UMC hearing. • Before filing a non-dispositive motion, movants must confer with opposing parties in a good faith effort to resolve the issues raised in the motion. • Attorneys are required to "make reasonable efforts to actually speak to one another and engage in reasonable compromises to resolve or narrow the disputes before seeking court intervention." Prior to filing, the "attorney noticing the motion shall attempt to resolve the matter and shall certify to the Court the good faith attempt to resolve." Rule 1.202(b) All hearing notices must include a certificate of conferral certifying that counsel for the movant has discussed the relief requested with opposing counsel, or certify that the opposing party did not respond describing with particularity all of the efforts undertaken to accomplish dialogue with the opposing party prior to filing the motion, or that the rules do not apply to their motion. • At the hearing, counsel who requested the hearing must be prepared to detail efforts made to speak to opposing counsel in a good faith effort to resolve or narrow the issues raised. • Until a motion is ruled upon by the Court, the parties must still comply with all current court orders and deadlines. • As required under the DCMO's, after the parties have met and conferred, the movant must schedule for hearing all contested, non-dispositive motions within five (5) days of filing . • In this Division, for UMC's, scheduling the hearing means the movant must have input their hearing into the Court's Online System or emailed the JA with a hearing request within that time frame; for Special Set Hearings, scheduling the hearing means the movant must have sent an email, with all parties copied, to the JA with the request for hearing. • Scheduling the hearing does not mean that the matter must be heard by the Court within five days – it simply means that the parties have ensured their hearing is placed on the Court's docket for hearing within five days of the filing of the Motion. • Parties shall set the hearing for the first vacancy on the Court's docket when all parties are available. • As required under the DCMO's, the moving party shall be the party responsible for securing the presence of a court reporter. • The moving party shall advise all parties in writing in advance of the hearing or trial of the arrangements made, if any, for the presence of a court reporter, or shall advise all parties in advance of the hearing or trial that the moving party has chosen not to obtain a court reporter. • The parties must also be in compliance with 15th Judicial Cir. • All counsel and self-represented parties appearing at any hearing must be prepared to address case management issues, argue all motions, and have authority to make binding representations on motions, issues and scheduling for all attorney members of their client team. • Appearance at Hearings At least one attorney per represented party and all self-represented parties must be present at any scheduled hearing, either remotely or in person. • Unless the parties have agreed to shorter notice or the matter is ex parte , all UMC matters must be scheduled at least five (5) days in advance of the hearing. • Scheduling UMC Hearings Once the parties have met and conferred and agreed upon a date, the movant must: 1) reserve the timeslot in Court's Online System ; and 2) file a Notice of Hearing specifying the matters to be heard. • Please do not contact the JA until after you have confirmed in the Court's Online System that there are no slots available for your hearing. • Please do not reply to all and include the JA in threads between counsel. • Failure to Coordinate — Scheduling Case Management Conferences Unilaterally If a party is unable to coordinate a motion hearing on the UMC docket with all pertinent participants after at least four (4) attempts at least 48 hours apart over the course of at least one (1) week, the party may file a Notice of Hearing for Case Management Conference and unilaterally set a Case Management Conference on the Court's UMC docket. • The Notice of Hearing for Case Management Conference must comply with Rule 1.200 , and must identify the specific issues to be addressed during the Case Management Conference and must also provide a list of all pending motions, including any motions which were not able to be coordinated. • As the issues raised at UMC hearings should be limited, the parties should make best efforts to restrict Motions and Responses to no more than 5 pages each. • PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT A PROPOSED ORDER UNTIL AFTER THE HEARING HAS OCCURRED. • Cancelation of UMC Hearings Unless canceled, counsel and self-represented parties must be present at scheduled UMC hearings. • To cancel a hearing scheduled for UMC, the scheduling attorney's office must file a Notice of Cancellation.
All counsel and self-represented parties are required to act in accordance with the professionalism standards of the Florida Supreme Court and the Florida Bar, found in the following: the Florida Supreme Court and The Florida Bar Professionalism Expectations ; the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar ; the Florida Bar Creed of Professionalism ; and the Oath of Admission to the Florida Bar .
Reviewer note: Composed fresh after the July 2026 rotation replaced division instructions; the prior requirement-level rules for this division sit at medium with notes pointing here. Verbatim from the division's own instructions page, fetched live 2026-08-03 (sha256 f8fcfdc7a967dee9…); whitespace normalised only. [moved from the text 2026-09-14]
1 verbatim requirement on judge preferences.
20 verbatim requirements on judge preferences.