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44 verbatim requirements extracted from media-13111__UPDATED-Civil-Jury-Procedures-6.2.2025.pdf, across 5 topics.
Nineteenth Judicial Circuit (Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, St. Lucie). Check the order's own effective and rescission dates before relying on it. Procedural information only; not legal advice.
HEARING TIME & ARGUMENT LIMITS • - Case Short Style Name (Jones v. Jones) - Case Number (short case number is okay – example: 21CA234) - Purpose of Email (Order, Notice of Cancellation of Hearing, Request for Hearing more than one hour, etc.) - If you are requesting an Emergency Hearing, you MUST indicate in the subject line “Request for EMERGENCY Hearing” • The body of the email must contain a brief description of the purpose of the email. If a hearing date and time over one (1) hour is requested, then you must include a good faith estimate of time needed for the time for the entire hearing (after consultation with opposing counsel/party). • All motions must be filed with the Clerk before you set the motion on the online calendaring system or contact this office for hearing time. • If you are scheduling a hearing on objections, the good faith conferral must be listed in the Notice of Hearing. • Failure to include this certification will result on the motion and/or hearing being stricken from the docket. • UNIFORM MOTION CALENDAR (“UMC”) PROCEDURES: Non-Evidentiary, Length of Hearing and “Piggy -Backing” Motions: These hearings are non- evidentiary (no witnesses) and will not be permitted to exceed ten (10) minutes in length. This means that each side will have five (5) minutes to argue their position. Hearings are limited to ten (10) minutes per case (not per motion). Additional motions may not be “piggy -backed” by cross-notice without permission from the Judicial Assistant. All UMC Motions will be conducted via Zoom only. Meeting ID: 553 306 8943 • Scheduling UMC Hearings: Attorneys may schedule UMC hearings using the online scheduling program at https://aicalendar.circuit19.org/. • SPECIAL SET HEARINGS: o All special set EVIDENTIARY hearings will be conducted in person without exception. Non- Evidentiary hearings may be noticed for Zoom or in person. If a NON -EVIDENTIARY hearing is noticed in person and you would like to appear via Zoom, a motion must be filed. Meeting ID: 553 306 8943. • o HEARINGS FOR LESS THAN ONE (1) HOUR: All hearings of one (1) hour or less may be scheduled online at https://aicalendar.circuit19.org/. • o HEARINGS FOR MORE THAN ONE (1) HOUR: Please note any hearings that require more than one hour must be requested in writing with an explanation as to why more than one hour is needed and that attempts to resolve the issue have failed. Please contact the Judicial Assistant by email at SLCJudge4@Circuit19.org with your request for hearing and indicate whether opposing counsel agrees with the estimated time requested for hearing. A copy of the motion MUST be attached. • MOTION, NOTICE, AND PROPOSED UMC ORDERS: The notice of hearing must be e- filed with the Clerk within five (5) CALENDAR days of scheduling the hearing. A copy of the motion, notice of hearing, (and a proposed order if a UMC hearing) MUST also be emailed to the Judicial Assistant at SLCJudge4@Circuit19.org within five (5) CALENDAR days of scheduling the hearing. All proposed orders must be submitted in WORD format. Failure to timely provide a copy of the notice, motion, (and proposed order if a UMC hearing), to the JA will result in the matter being stricken from the docket. If your case is stricken from a docket, it will not be rescheduled on that same date. See below for instructions on proposed orders for special set hearings. • COORDINATING HEARINGS AND UNILATERALLY SETTING HEARINGS: The moving party is responsible for contacting the opposing party to coordinate the hearing date. If after three (3) business days you are unable to coordinate the hearing date, you may unilaterally schedule the hearing setting forth in your good faith certificate the attempts that were made to coordinate the hearing. • CANCELLING HEARINGS: If you cancel your hearing, you must file a Notice of Cancellation and advise the Judicial Assistant by email no later than noon, the day • before the hearing, with a copy to all parties, so that it may be removed from the Court’s docket. It is the responsibility of the moving party to remove any hearing from the Court’s calendaring system. Simply filing a Notice of Cancellation does not remove the hearing from the Court’s docket. Attorneys who repeatedly abuse the online calendaring by not removing hearings from the online calendar may be denied the privilege of self-scheduling. • WITNESS AND EXHIBIT LISTS FOR SPECIAL SET EVIDENTIARY HEARINGS: At least five (5) business days prior to the evidentiary hearing, a witness list and an exhibit list should be e-filed and e-mailed to the Court and all parties. Exhibits should not be emailed to the Court in advance of an in person hearing. Exhibits shall also be exchanged between the parties at least five (5) business days prior to the day of trial or evidentiary hearing. The exhibits will be marked by the Clerk at the beginning of the trial/hearing alphabetically for identification by the side seeking to offer the exhibit into evidence. If the exhibit is admitted into evidence, the Clerk will sequentially number the exhibit in evidence. If the exhibit is not admitted, the Clerk will retain it with only the alphabetical identification. Once exhibits are marked, either for identification or in evidence, and given to the clerk, they become the property of the Clerk of Court and may not be altered or removed from the courtroom without order of the Court. • REQUIREMENTS FOR COURT REPORTERS: All evidentiary matters (both trials and hearings) must be reported by a court reporter. It is the moving party’s responsibility to arrange to have a court reporter present, or to obtain stipulation from the non-moving party of the parties’ intent to not have a court reporter present. • EMERGENCY MOTIONS: If an emergency situation arises, counsel may request that a hearing be set on short notice. The body of the motion must contain a • detailed explanation of the circumstances constituting the emergency as well as the substance of the motion. The motion must be emailed to the Court before a hearing will be set. The Court will review the motion and, if it is determined that an emergency exists, the Judicial Assistant will contact counsel to set the hearing. In light of the short setting, opposing counsel may attend the hearing via ZOOM if their schedule will not allow them to appear in person. The Court will be flexible with the deadline for witness and exhibit lists for special set emergency evidentiary hearings if such a hearing is set less than five (5) business days’ notice. Please note that when an emergency motion is filed, the Court has to stop everything and rule on your motion. Please consider this when filing an emergency motion. • CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE: The Court will schedule certain cases for a formal Case Management Conference (CMC) . Cases such as some medical malpractice cases, complex commercial litigation, multiple party litigation, and cases with voluminous records or exhibits, as well as other types of cases will be set by the Court, without request, for a CMC. However, any case can be submitted for a CMC by simply filing a written motion setting forth the specific reasons why a CMC is needed and scheduling the same for hearing . See general hearing procedures above. Once submitted, the action may be controlled, not only by Case Management Plan and Order Setting Trial, but also by the CMC order. • MOTIONS FOR REHEARING, RECONSIDERATION, OR NEW TRIAL : Upon filing said motion the moving party shall send a copy to the Judicial Assistant for review. The copy of the motion sent to the Judicial Assistant shall be accompanied by a generic order granting/denying the motion. If the moving party fails to comply, any party may furnish a copy of the motion and the required documents to the Court. If the Court determines that a hearing is necessary, the movant will be • advised to schedule and hearing and file appropriate notices. Do not set a Motion for Rehearing, Reconsideration, or New Trial for hearing without first receiving permission from the Court. • WITHDRAWAL OR SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL : You must follow the provisions of Fla.R.Jud.Ad. 2.505. You must obtain the client’s consent in writing which shall be filed with the Court, or a hearing must be held after proper notice to the client. • ORDERS AND RULINGS OF THE COURT: The Court will strive to issue orders and rulings in a timely manner. If counsel is asked to prepare an order, the order shall be drafted and circulated to opposing counsel or pro se party within 2 business days of the hearing and must be submitted to the Court in Word format and to all counsel and pro se parties within 7 days of the hearing, unless otherwise ordered at the hearing. Counsel or opposing party must advise the Court of any objection to the form of the proposed order upon submission. All proposed orders must describe, in the caption, the subject and ruling of the C ourt, i.e. “Order Granting Plaintiff Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Liability” See Rule 1.100(c)(1), Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. • The proposed order shall reflect the date that the hearing was or will be held. As an example, if the hearing will be held on March 1, 2023, the proposed order should state something to the effect of: “THIS CAUSE came on to be heard on March 1, 2023 on Plaintiff’s Motion to … .” • CONTINUANCE OF E-DOCKET CALL: If your case is continued or rolled over to another date for trial and/ or E -Docket Call this does not extend the cut -off dates set out in the original Case Management Plan and Order Setting Trial . You must obtain a Court order either by stipulation or hearing to extend the cut -off dates as set forth in the Case Management Plan and Order Setting Trial. PROPOSED ORDERS • SUBMISSIONS: Documents submitted to this office by email should be attached as a document with a name that is easily identifiable and searchable. As an example: Jones v. Jones, 21CA234 O-Set Hrg. Motions must be submitted in .pdf format. All proposed orders must be submitted in WORD format. Please • CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE OF ALL COURT FILINGS AND PROPOSED ORDERS: All court filings and proposed orders MUST contain proper address certification—i.e. the FULL address of ALL parties or email address where the motion was served (or order will be served.) “I certify that a copy of the foregoing was emailed to all parties through the e-service portal” is NOT sufficient. Likewise, listing a party on the order “cc:” without listing the address is insufficient. If the party does not have an e- service address, then the moving party will be required to mail a copy of the court filing or order to that party. • DISCOVERY MOTIONS AND MOTIONS TO COMPEL : Motions to Compel, as well as all discovery motions must comply with the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 1.202. Motions to Compel must also comply with Administrative Order 94-10. • When a motion to compel discovery alleges a complete failure to respond or object to discovery, and the time for complying with the discovery request has lapsed and there has been no request for an extension of time, an ex parte order may be entered requiring compliance with the original discovery demand. The movant shall submit a copy of the motion and proposed order(s) shall be emailed to the Judicial Assistant (copies to other side) in WORD format. • The Court will not execute proposed orders, agreed orders, or stipulations without a written verification or cover letter stating the action requested, that a copy was provided to all counsel of record and pro se parties, and if there is a stipulation or an agreed order, that there are no objections to the entry of the order. Do not state in a cover letter words to the effect: “By copy of this cover letter to opposing counsel, opposing counsel is requested to advise the C ourt if there is an objection to the proposed order.” Instead, advise the C ourt if there is an objection to the proposed order. • Proposed orders shall be submitted to the Court via email to SLCJudge4@Circuit19.org. • The proposed order shall utilize the Supreme Court Case Numbering System (County Code, Year, Division, and Six Digit Number, i.e.: 562021CA000006). • Proposed orders should be submitted separately from any other document. • The Court will not execute agreed orders, or stipulations without a written verification or cover letter stating the action requested, that a copy was provided to all counsel of record and pro se parties, and if there is a stipulation or an agreed order, that there are no objections to the entry of the order. Do not state in a cover letter words to the effect: “By copy of this cover letter to opposing counsel, opposing counsel is requested to advise the C ourt if there is an objection to the proposed order. ” Instead, advise the Court if there is an objection to the proposed order. EXHIBITS & EVIDENCE • This procedure does NOT change or modify the Court’s Case Management Plan and Order Setting Trial stating the deadline to meet and exchange documents and the deadline to list all witnesses and exhibits. • If you have reached an agreement/stipulation, a separate agreed order in WORD must be provided to the Court with language approving the agreement/stipulation. If you have exhibits to include in the agreed order, you must also submit the agreed order in .pdf format and include all necessary attachments. Agreed Orders shall be submitted to the Court via email to SLCJudge4@Circuit19.org along with a copy of the corresponding motion. Motions must be in in compliance with rule 1.202. • OPENING AND CLOSING : Only demonstrative aids or exhibits marked by the Clerk, agreed to by all counsel, or approved by the Court may be used in either opening or closing. The Court will discuss with counsel the time requirement of both opening and closing and will expect that a reasonable estimate be provided by counsel. Please note that opening statements will begin immediately after a jury is selected and sworn unless otherwise ordered by the Court. • EXHIBITS: If counsel has questions regarding submitting exhibits to the Court, please contact the Clerk of Court/Civil Division. All exhibits are to be marked for identification by the clerk prior to the start of trial. Exhibits which will be stipulated into evidence may be marked in evidence. Once exhibits are marked, either for identification or in evidence, they become the property of the Clerk of Court and • may not be altered or removed from the courtroom without order of the Court. No exhibits are to be published or exhibited to the jury until admitted into evidence and authorized by the Court. Objections to exhibits not preserved in the pre- trial stipulation shall be deemed waived. • DEMONSTRATIVE AIDS: Any demonstrative aide that is to be used at trial must be marked by the clerk and exhibited to opposing counsel and the Court prior to the start of trial. The Court will hear argument of any counsel opposing the use of the demonstrative aids prior to the start of trial. No aids are to be shown to the jury without prior approval of the Court. CASE MANAGEMENT • All other trial specific information is found on your Case Management Plan and Order Setting Trial or your Trial Order. • SETTLEMENT OF CASES: If your case settles after you have received an executed Case Management Plan and Order Setting Trial, please first immediately • JURY INSTRUCTIONS: Jury instructions are to be prepared by both sides and exchanged prior to the E-Docket Call pursuant to the Case Management Plan and Order Setting Trial. A final draft in Word format shall be provided to the Court by e-mail (SLCJudge4@Circuit19.org), no later than noon the Friday prior to the start of the trial. The Court intends to provide the jury with a written copy of all jury instructions when the jury retires to deliberate. Therefore, there should be enough copies of the final instructions for each juror and the Court, counsel and the court reporter. In addition, the final instructions (the instructions that go back with the jury for deliberations) should not contain any citations, jury instruction titles, or information as to who requested the instruction. In certain cases, and with the agreement of all counsel, the Court may provide some substantive law PAGE & WORD LIMITS • LEGAL MEMORANDUM AND CITATIONS : Any legal memoranda or briefs, along with copies of significant cited authorities (highlighting the pertinent sections are required by the Court), shall be provided to the Court via email and opposing counsel at least five (5) business days prior to the hearing. BREVITY IS APPRECIATED AND ENCOURAGED, and memorandums should be kept to no more than five (5) pages in length. Case law and Memorandums provided to the Court during the hearing may not be considered. The Court, on occasion, may rule on motions without a hearing. Therefore, both counsel filing the motion and opposing parties are encouraged to timely file written argument with the Court.
- Case Short Style Name (Jones v. Jones) - Case Number (short case number is okay – example: 21CA234) - Purpose of Email (Order, Notice of Cancellation of Hearing, Request for Hearing more than one hour, etc.) - If you are requesting an Emergency Hearing, you MUST indicate in the subject line “Request for EMERGENCY Hearing”
Reviewer note: Document sha256: 72ba0118cf570219f69a72d990299df06ac2726e5ea7b720d09861a67428afec. 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. — media-13111__UPDATED-Civil-Jury-Procedures-6.2.2025.pdf: published requirements". Only the display title changed — the requirement text, source URL and hash are untouched. Text layer cleaned 2026-09-08 (Phase 3f): page headers/footers, ligatures and letter-spaced headings normalised; wording untouched. Text layer cleaned 2026-09-08 (Phase 3g): 1 kerning-split word rejoined; wording untouched. Verbatim from the order, captured 2026-07-24; whitespace normalised only. No OCR was used anywhere in this chain. [moved from the text 2026-09-14]
4 verbatim requirements on hearings.
2 verbatim requirements on hearing time in LAUREN N. PEFFER's division.