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Governs all media coverage of judicial proceedings circuit-wide — credentialing, the Rule 2.450 one-camera limits, equipment and decorum rules, sidebar and jury-interview prohibitions — plus the media-committee procedures for high-profile cases.
Transcribed verbatim from the court's born-scanned order (no text layer has ever existed publicly; the register PDF was live-fetched 2026-08-19, sha256-matched to the 2026-07 custody row, rasterized at 170 dpi, and each quoted provision was read and verified against the page image at transcription time); whitespace normalised only. The full scanned document remains in custody and is the controlling text. • I. GENERAL PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO ALL MEDIA INCLUDING COVERAGE OF SPECIAL INTEREST/HIGH PROFILE PROCEEDINGS: (a) All representatives of the media must exhibit media credentials at all times. (b) All representatives of the media must read this Administrative Order and Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.450 governing technological coverage of judicial proceedings. (c) All representatives of the media must exhibit proper courtroom decorum, dress appropriately, no eating or gum chewing, and place cell phones in silent mode. • (d) As outlined in Rule 2.450, only one video camera and operator, one still camera and operator, and one audio recording device and operator are permitted to cover a court proceeding. Additional cameras and recording devices, including those not turned on or recording, must remain outside the courtroom. Use of laptop computers in the courtroom is permitted provided that they operate silently on the lap of the user and do not take up additional seating space. Laptops must operate on battery power. Cabling of extension cords and power supplies is prohibited in the courtroom. All reporters and media personnel may witness open proceedings provided there is available seating in the courtroom. Unless otherwise specified by the presiding judge, seating for members of the media is on a first-come, first-served basis. • (e) Media access to a courtroom is granted at the time the deputy opens the courtroom to the general public. All media equipment is subject to search by court deputies at any time. All set-up and breakdown of cameras and recording devices must be done when court is not in session or during breaks. Courtroom video cameras must be operated from a tripod. Cameras and recording devices must operate silently and not produce distracting light. Photographers must position themselves so they do not obstruct the courtroom or as otherwise directed by the judge. Media representatives shall not engage in any movement or discussions during proceeding that attracts undue attention. • (g) Assignment of a video and/or still pool camera is the sole responsibility of the media. The video pool camera operator must provide a pool feed signal for other media entities. All pool audio must be captured by devices supplied by the pool media organization. Placement of microphones must not be obstructive, or impair movement in the courtroom, and must be approved by the presiding judge or her/his designee. • (h) In the event that only one media entity is present in the courtroom to capture video images of any proceeding, regardless of whether any other media entity is present at the courthouse facilities, the media entity present in the courtroom must provide a pooled camera feed in the event that other media arrive after proceedings commence. (i) Use of portable signal distribution systems (e.g. portable microwave systems) is prohibited within the courthouse facility. • (j) Media personnel may not cover "side bar" or "bench" conferences. There shall be no recording or broadcast of conferences that occur in court between attorneys and their clients, between co-counsel of a client, or between counsel and the presiding judge held at the bench. Interviews of jurors after their release from service are at the discretion of the individual juror. • (k) So as not to interfere with court proceedings or with a litigant or interested party's rights, no interviews shall be permitted in the presence of the jury or any member thereof. No interviews shall be permitted within any courthouse facility which unreasonably interferes with the safety, security, or movement of persons in any courtroom, doorway, hallway, and other areas of any courthouse facility, or which disrupts any court proceeding. • II. PROCEDURES FOR SPECIAL INTEREST/HIGH PROFILE PROCEEDINGS: (a) The Chief Judge, independently, or at the request of the administrative or trial judge assigned to preside over a proceeding of great public interest, may instruct Court Administration to implement the Special Interest/High Profile Procedures set forth in this Administrative Order. (b) Upon implementation of these procedures, Court Administration will, as soon as practicable, convene a meeting of interested media representatives for the purpose of creating a media committee to establish protocols for the specific case. (d) The duties of the media committee shall include: Selection of a media representative to act as a liaison between the media and the Court for the duration of the case; designation of the pool camera positions in accordance with Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.450; evaluation of parking needs and availability and, if necessary, facilitate a lottery system for media parking; evaluation of available courtroom seating and, if necessary, facilitate a lottery system for media seating in the courtroom; determination of a process for dissemination of information to include timely access to examine and photograph submitted evidence; and identification of other special needs regarding media credentials, access through courthouse security, staging of equipment, laptops in the courtroom, additional power requirements, and any other issue. • (e) At all times, the procedures set forth in this Administrative Order are subject to the authority of the presiding judge, and when warranted, these procedures may be modified to control the conduct of pending proceedings, ensure the fair administration of justice, or ensure public safety.
Reviewer note: Document sha256: fa2451470b70-prefixed (see source_documents custody row; 247,427 bytes; 4 pages — operative order pp.2-4, read in full; provision (f) on out-of-courtroom proceedings omitted from the excerpt as venue-logistics guidance, visible in the custody scan). Born-scanned order from the 19th's named 14-scan OCR backlog (P1 task 47f5ab4e). Transcription method: page images read at 170 dpi with each quoted provision verified against the image; no raw machine OCR was published.
18 verbatim requirements from 5th Jud. Cir., M-2018-65 — sha256-hashed 2026-07-25.
2 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1986-33A.