19th Cir. — 2017-09 Amended

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Requirement

Verbatim from the order, captured 2026-07-24; whitespace normalised only. No OCR was used anywhere in this chain. HEARING TIME & ARGUMENT LIMITS • Whereas, Baker Act hearings for involuntary inpatient placement pursuant to section 394.467, Florida Statutes, are conducted in each of the four counties in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit; and • Whereas, the Clerk of the Court for each county in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit processes Baker Act petitions initiated by the receiving faciliti es and schedules proceedings for hearings; and • Whereas, representatives of the receiving facilities, the Offices of the State Attorney and Public Defender , the Clerks of Court, and the Sheriffs’ Offices for each county in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit have reviewed, approved, and advise they are able to comply with the hearing schedules and procedures set forth herein; and • Whereas, the following hearing schedules and procedures will permit Baker Act proceedings to be held throughout the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit in an efficient and timely manner in accordance with the requirements of chapter 394, Florida Statutes; • Now, therefore, I, Elizabeth A. Metzger, pursuant to the authority vested in me as Chief Judge of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit of Fl orida under Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.215, do hereby order that the following hearing schedules and procedures shall be established within the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit and are to continue until further order: • All petitions and supporting documents for involuntary inpatient placement must be filed with the Clerk of the Court no later than noon on the day prior to the hearing day designated below for each receiving facility. • II. Designated H earing Times and Days at Receiving Facilities; Alternative Hearing Times and Days for Compliance with Chapter 394 • Behavioral Health Center at Indian River Medical Center. Hearings for Baker Act proceedings for t he Behavioral Health Center at Indian River Medical Center will take place beginning at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday at the courtroom facilities located at the receiving facility. In the event the Behavioral Health Center misses the filing deadline and/or the Clerk of the Court is unable to properly process the petition in time for hearing on Tuesday, the Clerk may schedule the petition for hearing beginning at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday at that receiving facility to ensure compliance with the hearing requirements of chapter 394. • Coral Shores Behavioral Health. Hearings for Baker Act proceedings for Coral Shores Behavioral Health will take place beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday at the courtroom facilities located at the receiving facility. In the event Coral Shores Behavioral Health misses the filing deadline and/or the Clerk of the Court is unable to properly process the petition in time for hearing on Wednesday, the Clerk may schedule the petition for hearing at 10:00 a.m. on Friday at that receiving facility to ensure compliance with the hearing requirements of chapter 394. • New Horizons of the Treasure Coast and Port St. Lucie Hospital . Hearings for Baker Act proceedings for New Horizons of the Treasure Coast and Port St. Lucie Hospital will take place beginning at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the courtroom facilities located at New Horizons of the Treasure Coast. In the event either facility misses the filing deadline and/or the Clerk of the Court is unable to properly process the petition in time for hearing on Wednesday, the Clerk may schedule the petition for hearing at the next available hearing date at Lawnwood Pavilion to ensure compliance with the hearing requirements of chapter 394. The facility missing the deadline will coordinate and transport the patient to Lawnwood Pavilion for the hearing at the time and date scheduled. • Lawnwood Pavilion and St. Lucie Medical Center . Hearings for Baker Act proceedings for Lawnwood Pavilion and St. Lucie Medical Center will take place beginning at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday at the courtroom facilities located at Lawnwood Pavilion. In the event either facility misses the filing deadline and/or the Clerk of the Court is unable to properly process the petition in time for hearing on Thursday, the Clerk may schedule the petition for hearing at the next available hearing date at New Horizons of the Treasure Coast to ensure compliance with the hearing requirements of chapter 394. The facility missing the deadline will coordinate and transport the patient to New Horizons of the Treasure Coast for the hearing at the time and date scheduled. • Holidays. Each year, following the designation of court holidays by the Chief Judge, the dates of such holidays will be reviewed for any conflict with designated hearing days for Baker Act proceedings, and additional hearing dates will be designated as may be necessary to ensure compliance with the hearing requirements of chapter 394. Any additional hearing dates will be adopted by memorandum, without need for additional Administrative Order, and made available to all parties and the public. • Declared Emergencies. In the event of a declared emergency requiring the closure of the courts in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit and interfering with any scheduled hearing date for Baker Act proceedings, additional hearing dates will be adopted by memorandum as may be necessary to ensure compliance with the hearing requirements of chapter 394. • This Administrative Order shall take effect on June 26, 2017. Administrative Order 2012-03, Re: 2012 Baker Act Hearings, is hereby SUPERSEDED. PROPOSED ORDERS • AMENDED ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER 2017-09 (Supersedes Administrative Order 2012-03)

Source of truth

AMENDED ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER 2017-09 (Supersedes Administrative Order 2012-03)

Official source

19th Circuit — Administrative Orders (circuit19.org)

Source health

Healthy · checked September 8, 2026

Effective date

—

Last verified

July 24, 2026benchpath-completeness-2026-07-24

Reviewer note: Document sha256: 0e3a468e51fb0594de69a2363762da383b69152d5e041dffceaa0e2d9525cf96. One rule per order rather than per topic, so an order's requirements stay together. Published during the completeness pass. | Title normalised 2026-07-26 for readability; the court's own asset name was "19th Cir. — 3958-01__2017-09-Amended.pdf: published requirements". Only the display title changed — the requirement text, source URL and hash are untouched.

Change history

August 5, 2026Monitor: content changed at 19th Circuit — Administrative Orders (circuit19.org). Review before republishing dependent rules.

August 4, 2026Monitor: content changed at 19th Circuit — Administrative Orders (circuit19.org). Review before republishing dependent rules.

August 3, 2026Monitor: content changed at 19th Circuit — Administrative Orders (circuit19.org). Review before republishing dependent rules.

July 28, 2026Monitor: content changed at 19th Circuit — Administrative Orders (circuit19.org). Review before republishing dependent rules.

July 27, 2026Monitor: content changed at 19th Circuit — Administrative Orders (circuit19.org). Review before republishing dependent rules.

July 26, 2026Monitor: content changed at 19th Circuit — Administrative Orders (circuit19.org). Review before republishing dependent rules.

July 25, 2026Monitor: content changed at 19th Circuit — Administrative Orders (circuit19.org). Review before republishing dependent rules.

19th Cir. — 2017-09 Amended

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Requirement

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