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89 verbatim requirements extracted from media-14181__2025-IRC-Family-Court-Procedures-revised.pdf, across 6 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.
Verbatim from the order, captured 2026-07-24; whitespace normalised only. No OCR was used anywhere in this chain. HEARING TIME & ARGUMENT LIMITS • IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN ATTORNEY: The Judge must apply the same rules to all parties, regardless of whether you have an attorney. The Judge will not talk to you about your case outside of the courtroom. Your opportunity to speak with the Judge is only during your hearing. The Judicial Assistant may not help you with your case or send information to other parties or attorneys on your behalf. The Judicial Assistant may not “give the Judge a message” or answer any legal questi ons. Additionally, please do not ask the Judicial Assistant for the outcome of a hearing or verify that an order has been signed; you may review the Clerk’s online docket for details about your case. Please remember anything you file with the Clerk must be provided to the opposing attorney or party. • Purpose of Email (Proposed order, Notice of Cancellation of Hearing, Request for hearing for more than 1 hour, etc.) If you are requesting an Emergency Hearing, please clearly indicate in the subject line that it is a Request for an Emergency Hearing; and The body of the email must contain a brief description of th e purpose of the email . If a potential hearing date and time over one (1) hour is being requested, please include a good faith estimate of time need ed for the entire hear ing (after consulting with opposing counsel/ pro se party/parties), and a good faith certification that attempts have been made to resolve the matter and the outcome of those attempts. Documents submitted to this office by email should be attached as a document with a name that is easily identifiable and searchable , and not attached under a “scanned doc” name. The file name must contain short case style and short case number for reference. Example of file name for a document: Smith v. Smith 18DR00 Notice of Hearing. • MULTIPLE EMAILS, SAME SUBJECT MATTER: DO NOT submit multiple emails concerning the same subject matter. It may take up to 48 hours or more to respond, depending on the nature of your email. Please be patient as we try to respond to your email at the earliest possible opportunity. • PRO SE/SELF-REPRESENTED PARTIES: Petitioners and/or Respondents without an attorney are pro se. If both parties are pro se/self-represented, the case will be referred to a pro se Case Manager. If you are self-represented and wish to i nquire about your case st atus or are looking to schedule a hearing, you may complete a Form A or a Form B (as applicable) at www.circuit19.org. Under the JUDGES & DIVISIONS tab, click on Family. Select Form A or Form B. Carefully review the instructions prior to submitting the applicable form. Please make sure you select th e county your case is filed in. Fill the form out completely and click on Submit Form. Your assigned case manager will receive the Form A or Form B and will contact you via email at the earliest possible opportunity. • COURT ATTENDANCE REMOTE APPEARANCES: Uniform Motion Calendars, Case Management Conferences, Uncontested Final Hearings, and Non-Evidentiary Hearings thirty (30) minutes or less shall be held via Zoom teleconference (see Zoom information below), unless otherwise directed by the Court. • IN-PERSON APPEARANCES: All Trials, Evidentiary Hearings, Injunction for Protection Hearings, and hearings that require more than thirty (30) minutes are held in-person, in Courtroom 8, of the Indian River County Courthouse, located at 2000 16 th Avenue, Vero Beach, Florida, unless otherwise directed by the Court. • SCHEDULING HEARINGS ALL MOTIONS/PETITIONS MUST BE FILED WITH THE CLERK OF COURT BEFORE YOU CONTACT THIS OFFICE FOR HEARING TIME OR SET THE MOTION FOR HEARING ON THE ONLINE JUDICIAL CALENDARING SYSTEM. • HEARINGS THAT ARE NOT EMERGENCIES SHALL NOT BE SCHEDULED LESS THAN FIVE (5) BUSINESS DAYS IN ADVANCE. • EMERGENCY, EXPEDITED REQUEST, AND HARDSHIP MOTIONS: If a party believes there is a factual basis for setting an emerge ncy or hardship hearing, a detaile d, sworn, and verified motion setting forth the following should be filed: • That the movant first conferred with or made a good faith effort to contact opposing counsel/pro se party to resolve the matter without Court interv ention (efforts to be delineated in the motion re: contact and resolution); The issue(s) that need to be resolved on an e xpedited basis and why they require an expedited hearing; The basis for the waiver of any required mediation; and The amount of time needed, taking into account each party’s presentation. • The original emergency motion shall be filed with the Clerk of Court and a copy em ailed to the Court at IRCJudge4@circuit19.org advising of the motion, along with a proposed Emergency Handling Order (located on the Judge’s webpage). The word “EMERGENCY” should appear in the subject line as well as the short style of the case and case number. If, after review, the Court determines that the issue(s) qualify as an “emergency” under the prevailing case law or whether a hardship exists thus justifying the waiver of mediation or the setting of an expedited hearing, the Judicial Assistant will contact you to set the matter for hearing on an emergency basis. The Court may issu e an order requesting the non-moving party to file a written response. Failure to follow the steps as outlined in this section will constitute a basis for denial of the motion. Failure to plan does not constitute an emergency. • INJUNCTIONS FOR PROTECTION/ DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: DO NOT schedule injunction for protection cases using the online judicial calendaring sy stem. The Clerk will provide the filed petition to the Court and the Court will issue an appropriate order and set the date for the hearing. DO NOT contact this office for hearing dates and times. These hearings may not be cancelled or continued without a court order. • COOPERATION OF COUNSEL: Hearings MUST be coordinated with opposing counsel and/or pro se parties. Good faith cooperation is expected and required from counsel, th eir support staff, and pro se litigants. Should counsel, their staff, or pro se litigants fail to respond within three (3) business days or refuse to cooperate in obtaining or in setting a heari ng, the difficulty should be set forth in the Notice of Hearing. After three (3) business days , the requesting party may unilatera lly set the hearing. Notice of the hearing must be provided at least five (5) business days prior to the hearing. All Notices of Hearing must contain a certificate of good faith as follows: • I HEREBY CERTIFY that I have personally contacted opposing counsel/party in an effort to resolve the issue(s); however, the matter cannot be resolved, and a hearing is necessary. • UNIFORM MOTION CALENDAR (UMC): UMC hearings may be sc heduled using the online calendaring system. Prior to setting a matter on the UMC, the party or attorney noticing the motion shall attempt to resolve the matter and shall, in the No tice of Hearing, certify what at tempts have been made to resolve the issue without the need for a hearing and the outcome of those attempts. • Hearings on the UMC are limited to ten (10) minutes or less per case (not per motion) and only non- evidentiary motions will be heard on the UMC. Pursuant to Administrative Order 2015-12 , Civil Contempt, Temporary Relief, and non-routine evidentiary matters shall not be heard at UMC. • The sequence of the UMC hearings will be set by the J udge. After proper notice, failure of any party to appear at the hearing will not prevent a moving pa rty from proceeding with th e matter when the case is called. If a party called for the hearing chooses to wait for the absent party, the matter may be passed over until the end of the UMC. If the Judge runs out of time on the UMC, any remaining hearings will need to be re-scheduled. • HEARINGS ONE (1) HOUR OR LESS: All hearings (generally evidentiary in nature) one hour or less, may be scheduled using the online calendaring system. Pr ior to setting a matter for a hearing, the party or attorney noticing the motion shall attempt to resolve the matter and shall, in the Notice of Hearing, certify what attempts have been made to resolve the issue without the need for hearing. All motions hearings may be scheduled on the Family Hearings motion docket. DO NOT schedule motions on the Family Final Hearings docket. • HEARINGS MORE THAN ONE (1) HOUR: Contact the Judicial Assistant by email to obtain hearing dates and times to coordinate with opposing counsel/parties. Your email must include: a copy of the filed motion/petition, the amount of time re quested for all parties to be heard, and that attempts to resolve the issue have failed. • Pursuant to Administrative Order 2015-12, unless otherwise determined by the Court, any party who seeks to schedule a trial or hear ing on any contested issue, other than contempt, enforcement, injunctions against domestic or repeat violence, or Title IV-D actions, which will take more than one (1) hour, shall first participate in mediation. • UNCONTESTED FINAL HEARINGS: All uncontested final hearings may be scheduled using the online calendaring system. Prior to the scheduling of a final hearing, the moving party shall first complete and file the Verified Checklist for the specific case type located on th e Judge’s webpage. For reference, please review Required Documents for Final Hearings also located on the Judge’s webpage. • Failure to complete the verified checklist and ensure all required docu ments are filed will result in your final hearing being stricken from the Court’s docket by order without further notice or warning. • All Uncontested Petitions for Dissolution of Marriage require a final hearing and may be scheduled on the Family Final Hearings docket and will be limited to five (5) to ten (10) minutes. • Adoptions, Name Changes, Petitions for Support, Pe titions for Temporary Le gal Custody, and Paternity actions may be scheduled on the Family Final Hearings docket if set for fifteen (15) minutes or less. If more than fifteen (15) minutes is needed, you must schedule on the regular Family Hearings motion docket. • It is preferred that uncontested fi nal hearings be scheduled on the Family Final Hearings docket, however, the UMC and Family Hearings docket may be utilized if needed. • DEFAULT FINAL HEARINGS: Default final hearings may be scheduled using the online calendaring system and should be scheduled on the Court’s regular Family Hearings motion docket or the Family Final Hearings docket. The final hearing should be schedu led for 15 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the issues involved. If the final hearing is set for more than 15 minutes, you must schedule on the regular Family Hearings motion docket. If the final hearing is set for fifteen (15) minutes or less, you may schedule on the Family Final Hearings docket. If there is no physical evidence and only testimony is required, the default final hearing may be scheduled via Zoom. The defaulted party must be noticed of the hearing at least fifteen (15) business days prior to the hearing. • ONCE A HEARING DATE AND TIME IS CONFIRMED: It is the moving pa rty’s responsibility to file a Notice of Hearing no later than two (2) business days after the hearing is added to the online judicial calendar and submit to the Court the required hearing packet at least five (5) business days prior to the hearing date via email to IRCJudge4@circuit19.org. If the hearing was scheduled on the Court’s calendar on a Monday, then the Notice of Hearing shall be filed no later than close of business on Wednesday. If the hearing is schedu led to be heard on a Wednesday, th en the Hearing Packet is due no later than close of bus iness on the Wednesday before the hearing. The day of the hearing does not count as the fifth day. Failure to file a notice of hearing and/or provide the hearing packet will result in the hearing being stricken from the Court’s docket by order without further notice. • CANCELING HEARINGS: Only the party noticing the matter for hearing may cancel the hearing. Trials or hearings scheduled by Court order (including Injunctions for Protection) may not be cancelled. If your case (or motion) settles and you no longer require a hearing, you must file a Notice of Cancellation and email to IRCJudge4@circuit19.org no later than 12:00 noon, the business 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 contact the Judici al Assistant to advise of the cancellation AND file a Notice of Cancellation in the court file. Simply filing a Notice of Cancellation does not automatically remove the hearing from the Court’s docket. • CROSS-NOTICE, “PIGGY-BACKS,” OR SUBSTITUTIONS: Once a motion has been set for hearing, additional motions may not be cross-noticed, piggy-backed, or substituted during the time reserved for the original motion without the expr ess consent of opposing counsel and the Court. The scheduling party should be contacted for consent BEFORE seeking the Court’s approval to add additional motions. Any motion added, cross-noticed, or substituted without approval will not be heard. • RESERVING MULTIPLE DATES AND DUPLICA TE CASE ENTRIES ON THE ONLINE JUDICIAL CALENDAR: DO NOT reserve hearing time on the online judicial calendaring system unless you have coordinated the h earing date and time with opposing counsel/parties. The calendar system will not allow duplicate case entrie s on the same hearing date. If you need additional time on a scheduled • hearing date, and there is time available on th e calendar, you must FIRS T confer with opposing counsel/parties pursuant to the CROSS-NOTICE, “PIGGY-BACKS”, OR SUBSTITUTIONS” section of the Court’s procedures. If multiple dates and times are reserved for the same matter/case, and there is no Notice of Hearing filed in the court file, the he aring will be stricken from the docket by order without notice or warning. • ATTORNEYS AND PRO SE PARTIES WHO REPEATEDLY ABUSE THE ONLINE CALENDARING SYSTEM MAY BE DENIED FURTHE R PRIVILEGES OF SELF-SCHED ULING. (e.g. not removing hearings from the calendar, scheduling multiple hearings for the same matter on the same date, etc.) • ONLINE JUDICIAL CALENDAR PROCEDURES: Logon to https://slccjis.stlucieco.gov/attorney_calendar/default.aspx. You must register to obtain your user ID and password on the site: 1. Click Case Scheduling. 2. Enter County, Judge Griffin, month, and year in drop down fields. 3. Hit available hearing time. View button and a screen will open showing all available hearing times. For UMC dates: UMC. For Family Hearings one (1) hour or less: FAMILY HEARINGS. For Uncontested Final Hearings: FAMILY FINAL HEARINGS. 4. Any issues relating to your login/use of the online calendar should be directed to webmaster@circuit19.org. • ZOOM/REMOTE/VIRTUAL APPEARANCE: At the designated hearing time, you will appear through Zoom teleconferencing (without charge) via video by clicking https://zoom.us/j/5230674356 OR by phone by calling 1 (646) 558-8656 ; Meeting ID – 523 067 4356 . You will remain in the Zoom “WAITING ROOM” until your case is called, and the Court allows entry. YOU MUST APPEAR BY VIDEO AND AUDIO TO TESTIFY AT THE REMOTE HEARING. It is not necessary to ha ve a Zoom account to partic ipate in a remote hearing. However, you may be prompted to download the software once you have clic ked on the meeting link. Additionally, if using a smartphone, you may be prompted to download the Mobile App. This is not necessary. However, you may wish to create an account. Additional information about Zoom is available at www.Zoom.US. • PROPOSED ORDERS – ATTORNEY CASES All proposed orders must be submitted via email to IRCJudge4@circuit19.org, in WORD format along with a copy of the e-filed motion/petition in PDF format. The proposed order must reflect if it is ex-parte (considered in chambers) or he ard in Court, indicating the da te of the scheduled hearing. Please ensure that the motion being addressed in the proposed order is filed through the E-Portal. • AFTER HEARING: Following a hearing, the Court may ask a party to submit a proposed order. Do not submit a proposed order until all pa rties have reviewed and approved the proposed order. In some cases, the Court will ask each party to submit a proposed orde r. Make sure to abide by any deadlines that the Court gives and ensure that all parties are copied on the email. • The Court does not allow the hearing/motion to be reargued through email. If there are still outstanding issues, the Court will give instruction on how to proceed and possibly set an additional hearing. • If four (4) weeks have elapsed without a ruling, the movant may email the Judicial Assistant to advise the matter has been under advisement for four (4) weeks. The four (4) weeks begins upon the Court’s receipt of the last post-hearing submission (e.g., transcripts, supplemental briefs, legal authority, proposed orders). • When following up on a proposed order submitted to the Court for review or from a scheduled hearing, please respond to the original email containing your submission/hearing packet. • HEARING PACKETS Once a hearing date and time has been confirmed, th e moving party shall furnish the Judge by email to IRCJudge4@circuit19.org a copy of the motion to be heard, th e Notice of Hearing, and a Proposed Order in WORD format, at least five (5) business days prior to the sche duled hearing. (The day of the hearing does not count as the fifth day.) • Failure to provide the hearing packet will result in the hearing being stricken from the Court’s docket by order without further notice or warning. • The Proposed Order/Proposed Final Judgment must reflect the date of the hearing and contain a complete service list. • Hearing Packets for Final Hearings should contain copies of exhibits to be attached to the Final Judgment (e.g. Marital Settlement Agreement/Me diation Agreement, Parenting Pl an, and Child Support Guidelines Worksheet – if applicable, in PDF format) and must be properly marked as referenced in the Final Judgment. The document file name must indicate that it is an exhibit. • Hearing packets for matters invol ving child support to be paid through a withholding order must include a completed Supreme Court approved Income Deduction Order (Form 12.996(a)) and a completed Federal Income Withholding Order (Form 12.996). • CASE LAW: You may also submit/e-file any case law with the motion which you think may be helpful to the Court. You must make the same information available to the opposing party. Any legal memoranda or briefs for hearings, along with hard copies of si gnificant cited authorities (h ighlighting the pertinent sections), should be provided to the Court with the hearing packet. • You must comply with Fla.Fam.L.R.P. 12.380. There is no requirement for a hearing on such a motion and the Court will issue an order. Gaspar, Inc. v. Naples Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass’n., 546 So.2d 764 (Fla. 5 th DCA 1989). • You must obtain the client’s consent, in writing, wh ich shall be filed with the Clerk of Court, or a hearing must be held after proper notice to the client. Motions to Withdraw may be scheduled by using the online judicial calendaring system. Moti ons to withdraw may be scheduled on the UMC or Family Hearings motion docket. • MOTIONS FOR TEMPORARY RELIEF: Pursuant to Administrative Order 2015-12 , parties must attend mediation before a Temporary Relief Hearing may be set. If a temporary relief hearing is set withou t first having been to mediation, your motion will not be heard, and your hearing will be stricken from the Court’s docket by order without further notice or warning. • All motions for temporary relief will be set for a ma ximum of thirty (30) minut es only. You scheduled a temporary relief hearing for one (1 ) hour with good cause shown. Moti ons for temporary relief may be scheduled on the Court’s regular Family Hearings motion docket. • If a temporary relief hearing is set for more than 30 minutes without approval, the hearing will be stricken from the Court’s docket by order without further notice or warning. • If the temporary relief motion involves financial issues, both parties must have up-to-date Financial Affidavits filed in the court file prior to the scheduling of the motion for hearing. • MOTIONS FOR CONTINUANCE: If a case is set for a Motion hearing, Case Management Conference/Pre-Trial/Docket Call, or Trial and you desire a continuance (for good cause), you must first contact the other party/attorney and determine if they will stipulate to a continuance. • If there is no stipulation, you must file a motion and schedule a hearing on the UMC docket. Any such motion must be filed as s oon as you are aware of the need for a continuance. If an emergency occurs, contact the other party and the Court as soon as possible to resolve such an issue. • STATUS CONFERENCES: If you wish to have a status conference on a case, please file a motion that details the reasons for the request. Status conferences may be scheduled on the online judicial calendar on the Family Hearings motion docket. • CHILD TESTIMONY: No other entity can permit attendance of a child to a hearing other than the Court’s office. See Rule 12.407, Florida Rules of Family Procedure . Child testimony is not permitted unless a Motion to Allow Child Testimony has been filed, set for heari ng, and granted by Court order. Do not bring children to the courtroom without prior approval of the Court. • LITIGATION BY LETTER OR EMAIL: The Court does not allow litigation by letter or email. If the parties cannot agree on an issue, the appropriate motion should be filed and set for hearing. • BACK-UP TRIALS: Due to the volume of case s and the Court’s availability for scheduling trials, the Court may find it necessary to schedu le a case as a back-up trial. If th is occurs, at the Case Management Conference/Pre-Trial/Docket Call hearing, the Court will provide the partie s/counsel with the case information for the trial scheduled before them. The Court will contact the parties/counsel in the event the case scheduled before them has settled. All parties and counsel shall be prepared to move forward on the back-up trial date and shall comply with the provisions set forth in the Order Setting Trial unless otherwise directed by the Court. • SANCTIONS: Failure to appear for trial will be grounds for sanctions being imposed, including, but not limited to, attorney fees, costs, striking of pleadings, default, or dismissal. INTERPRETERS: The responsibility for scheduling and securi ng an interpreter rest s solely with the person in need of interpreting services. EXHIBITS: Prior to trial, all exhibits are to be pre-marked for identification by the side seeking to offer the exhibit into evidence. If assistance is needed with evidence labels, pro se parties may contact the Clerk of Court, Domestic Relations/Family Division, for evidence template(s). You must submit all your evidence/exhibits and a copy of the exhibit list to the other party within the deadlines established by your pre-trial order or Florida rule. DO NOT submit evidence/exhibits directly to the Judge’s office or Clerk of Court office. The Court will NOT review or consider any evidence/exhibits before being admitting during the trial. ONLY THE EXHIBIT LIST SHOULD BE FILED IN ADVANCE. COURT REPORTERS: In absence of agreement otherwise, it is the responsibility of the moving party to arrange for a court reporter to be present, if deemed necessary, and to be responsible for payment of the court reporter's services. The Court does not require a court reporter to be present; however, failure to provide a transcript for an appeal is likely to prevent a successful appeal. DAUBERT MOTIONS: Any Daubert motion must be filed at least fifteen (15) days prior to the first day of trial and a copy provided to IRCJudge4@circuit19.org. Daubert motions will be considered waived if not filed at least fifteen (15) days prior to the first day of trial. CASE DISPOSITIONS: If at any time after the entry of the Order Setting Trial, a case is dismissed, or results in a completed settlement, counsel must imme diately notify the Judicial Assistant by email at IRCJudge4@circuit19.org. The case will not be removed from the Court’s trial docket unless a final hearing is scheduled with the Judicial Assistant. Counsel is required to follow the procedures for moving forward with a final hearing. If the necessary paperwork is not filed in the court file, the trial will remain on the Court’s trial docket. • EVIDENCE/EXHIBITS DO NOT SUBMIT EVIDENCE/EXHIBITS DIRECTLY TO THE JUDGE’S OFFICE. THE COURT WILL NOT REVIEW OR CONSIDER ANY EVIDENCE/EXHIBIT BEFORE BEING ADMITTED DURING THE SCHEDULED HEARING/TRIAL. • ATTORNEYS shall pre-mark their own exhibits for id entification utilizing the Clerk’s evidence template/stickers. DO NOT submit evidence to the Clerk of Court, Domestic Relations Division, prior to the hearing/trial. • PRO SE/SELF-REPRESENTED PARTIES shall deliver their exhibits to the Clerk of Court, in-person, for pre-marking no less than five (5) business days prior to the hearing/trial. The Clerk will mark the exhibits and return them to the party with instructions to bring them as marked to the hearing/trial. • IN-PERSON HEARINGS AND TRIALS: Hard copies of all evidence/exhibits, including electronic media, must be brought to the hearing/trial and be pre-marked using the evidence template. Two (2) copies of all paper evidence/exhibits must be brought to the hearing/trial: one (1) copy shall be the original evidence/exhibit, and one (1) copy shall be provided to the Judge. Copies of proposed evidence/exhibits should be provided to opposing counsel/parties prior to the hearing. • ALL EVIDENTIARY HEARINGS AND TRIALS ARE REQUIRED TO BE IN-PERSON UNLESS REMOTE APPEARANCE IS GRANTED BY MOTION. • You must send all evidence/exhibits and a copy of the Exhibit List to the other party within the deadlines established by your pre-trial order or Florida rule. IF NONE, then, at least five (5) business days prior to the start of your hearing/trial. • Attorneys: If the incarcerated party is located outside of Indian River County, you must file a Motion to Transport. Submit the e-filed moti on to the Court for review, via email, along with a proposed Order to Transport in WORD format, no later than fifteen (15) business days prior to the hearing/trial or as soon as counsel is made aware that their client or opposing party is incarcerated. • COURT REPORTERS: Only injunction hearings (domestic vi olence, dating violence, sexual violence, sexual violence, repeat violence an d/or stalking) and adoption hearings are recorded. The Court does not provide a court reporter or digital recording for any other proceeding. It is the responsibility of the parties/attorneys to arrange for a court reporter to be present, if deemed necessary, and to be responsible for payment of the court reporter's services. Information on obtaining a transcript from a digitally recorded proceeding can be found on the Digital Court Reporting webpage located on the Circuit’s Website. • Self-Help FAQ Form A: Family Case Inquiry / Update Form Form B: Request for Hearing on Pleading or Motion (Department of Revenue/Child Support Enforcement Case) PROPOSED ORDERS • POST-JUDGMENT CASES: Pursuant to Administrative Order 2013-02, all post-judgment matters will be referred to the Magistrate. ORDER OF REFERRAL TO THE MAGISTRATE: If your motion/petition is post-judgment and does not already have a referral to the Magistrate, you may obtain one by emailing a request to the Magistrate’s office at IRCMagistrate@circuit19.org. Your email should contain a copy of the filed Motion(s)/Petition(s) to be referred to the Magistrate. Please DO NOT s ubmit an Order of Referral to Magistrate to Judge Griffin’s office. You will be prompted to submit your referral to the Magistrate’s office. Once an Order of Referral has been entered, you may object in a timely manner. If an objection is filed, the matter would be heard before the Judge. If no object ion is filed, then the cas e would remain with the Magistrate. At that point, the Magistrate’s Assistant will assist you with your case. ANY POST-JUDGMENT MATTER NOT FOLLOWING THESE PROCEDURES WILL BE STRICKEN FROM THE COURT’S DOCKET BY ORDER WITHOUT FURTHER NOTICE. • SERVICE LIST: Your proposed order must contain a comple te service list, sett ing forth e-service addresses, as well as any postal addresses if there is no e-service address on file . Do not reflect that service was made on “all counsel of record.” • If a pro se party does not have an e-service address on fi le (and clearly printed in the service list on the order), it is the movant’s respon sibility to provide the opposing party with a copy of the signed order. • STIPULATIONS: DO NOT submit Agreed Orders or Stipulated Orders to this office. If there is a stipulation, you must file the signed stipulation/stipulated motion and submit a copy of same via email along with a Proposed Order Approving Stipulation in WORD format. • FOLLOWING UP ON PROPOSED ORDERS: If the Court takes a matter under advisement, the Court makes every effort to rule as quickly as possible under the then curr ent circumstances. Do not call to ask about the status of the Order. • Parties not qualifying for th e Circuit’s Mediation Progr am shall attend mediation with a private mediator as coordinated by counsel. Counsel shall submit to the Court a proposed Order of Referral to Mediation. • Order of Referral to Family Mediation Program: When submitting a Proposed Order of Referral to Family Mediation, the proposed order must state the combined income for the parties and that both parties have current Financial Affidavits on record. The Proposed Order of Referral must be filled out completely and correct service/e-service addresses listed. • MOTIONS TO COMPEL: If there is a Motion to Compel a Response to Discovery for a complete failure to respond, you may submit a copy of the filed motion to the Court with a proposed order giving the opposing party ten (10) days from the date of the order to comply. • If a consent by the client has been filed , you may submit, via email, a c opy of the motion and client’s consent with a proposed order in WORD format. If th e client’s consent is obta ined after the motion has been filed, you must file an amended motion referencing the consent. • MOTIONS FOR REHEARING/RECONSIDERATION: DO NOT schedule a Motion for Rehearing/Reconsidera tion on the online judicial calendaring system. Submit a copy of the e-filed motion in PDF format, t ogether with a proposed order in WORD format, via email for the Court’s consideration with all parties/opposing counsel copied. The Court shall issue an order accordingly. • If so, please submit a stipulatio n for continuance and a proposed order in WORD format to IRCJudge4@circuit19.org. • TRIAL PROCEDURES NOTICES FOR TRIAL: Submit a copy of the fi led Notice for Trial in PDF format via email to the Judicial Assistant. The Notice for Trial must contain a Good Faith estimate of time required for trial after conferring with opposing party/parties and set forth the relevant pleadings that are to be disposed of. After the Court’s receipt of the Notice for Trial, you will receive an Order Setting Case Management Conference/Pre-Trial/Docket Call. Notices for Trial are scheduled in the order received on the Court’s next available Case Management Conference/Docket Call docket. • Nineteenth Circuit – Family Division Webpage Nineteenth Circuit – Mediation Program Nineteenth Circuit - Administrative Order 2015-12 EXHIBITS & EVIDENCE • (Example: Doe v Doe 21DR37 Exhibit A MSA or simply Exhibit A). • Contact the Clerk of Court, Domestic Relations/Family Division, for the evidence template(s): • Video, audio recordings, and any other electronic media must be forwarded to the Clerk on a CD. The CD must be labeled with the case number, case style, and evidence/exhibit number. Thumb drives will not be accepted. • ONLY THE EXHIBIT LIST (NOT THE EXHIBITS) SHOULD BE E-FILED WITH THE COURT AT LEAST FIVE (5) BUSINESS DAYS IN ADVANCE. REMOTE & VIRTUAL APPEARANCES • REQUESTS FOR REMOTE APPEARANCE: Any party requesting a remote appearance must comply with Rule 2.530, Fla. R. Jud. Admin. • INCARCERATED PARTIES: Incarcerated parties must appear in-person unless remote appearance is granted. The Court must be notified of any incarcerated party in a case as soon as opposing counsel or pro se party is made aware. See below for additional information concerning incarcerated parties. • INCARCERATED PARTIES: In-person appearance is required unless remote appearance is granted by motion. Attorneys and pro se parties are responsible for notifyi ng the Court if their client or opposing pro se party is incarcerated. The Indian River County Jail does not require an Order to Transport for inmates to appear in-person. FILING & INITIATION • PLEADINGS AND MOTIONS All original pleadings must be filed with the Clerk of Court. It is not the responsibility of this office to file original pleadings. Online filing is available through th e Florida Courts E-Filing Portal (www.myflcourtaccess.com). CONTINUANCES • All motions for continuance must comply with Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.545(e). An email does not constitute a Motion for Continuance.
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN ATTORNEY: The Judge must apply the same rules to all parties, regardless of whether you have an attorney. The Judge will not talk to you about your case outside of the courtroom. Your opportunity to speak with the Judge is only during your hearing. The Judicial Assistant may not help you with your case or send information to other parties or attorneys on your behalf. The Judicial Assistant may not “give the Judge a message” or answer any legal questi ons. Additionally, please do not ask the Judicial Assistant for the outcome of a hearing or verify that an order has been signed; you may review the Clerk’s online docket for details about your case. Please remember anything you file with the Clerk must be provided to the opposing attorney or party.
Reviewer note: Document sha256: 9ee10bad0d4ab76e9cedbe90994b2180344ef897e892981fc0dcef7700ed787f. 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-14181__2025-IRC-Family-Court-Procedures-revised.pdf: published requirements". Only the display title changed — the requirement text, source URL and hash are untouched.
46 verbatim courtroom requirements published by Judge Michael Rudisill.
16 verbatim courtroom requirements from Judge Jessica G. Costello's published division procedures.