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40 verbatim requirements from admin. order [unlisted] AO 2 41.
20th Judicial Circuit. Procedural information only; not legal advice.
Verbatim from https://www.ca.cjis20.org/pdf/ao/ao_2_41.pdf, harvested 2026-07-25; whitespace normalised only. • Amended) and all previously issued memoranda relating to COVID-19 shall terminate at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, June 21, 2021. • Participants may request to be physically distanced, and the judicial or quasi- judicial officer shall address such requests as appropriate under the circumstances at the time of the request. • Effective Monday, June 21, 2021, the following trial court proceedings must be conducted in-person: • Grand Jury selection and proceedings. • Criminal Jury selection and trial proceedings, and Criminal Non-Jury trial proceedings, unless consent for remote proceedings is given in accordance with AOSC21-l 7, Section II.E.(3)a.ii. 2 -- 2 of 40 -- • Civil Jury selection and trial proceedings, unless consent for remote proceedings is given in accordance with AOSC21-17, Section • All other trial court proceedings may be conducted remotely or in-person, except that a proceeding must be conducted in-person if the Chief Judge or presiding judge determines that remote conduct of the proceeding is inconsistent with the United States or Florida Constitution, a statute, or a rule of court, a court order, or an opinion that has not been suspended by administrative order. b. • The presiding judicial or quasi-judicial officer in all cases must consider the constitutional rights of crime victims and criminal defendants and the public's constitutional right of access to the courts. • To the extent that there may be conflicting needs, the Chief Judge shall have the discretion to determine how best to utilize available resources (including jurors and staff) and facility space. • When the suspension ends and the time periods resume, any time that accrued under the procedure for a person before the suspension began at the 4 -- 4 of 40 -- close of business on March 13, 2020, must be subtracted from the time periods provided by the procedure. b. • When the suspension ends and the time periods resume, any time that accrued under the procedure for a juvenile before the suspension began at the close of business on March 13, 2020, must be subtracted from the time periods provided by the procedure. • When the suspension ends and the time period resumes, any time that accrued under the procedure for a person before the suspension began at the close of business on March 13, 2020, must be subtracted from the time period provided by the procedure. • Resumption of Court Proceedings and Services (Fourth Amended) related to COVID-19, and any other related policies, shall be incorporated as a supplement to the Administrative Office of the Courts Personnel Regulations and shall remain applicable to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as future pandemics, subject to revision by the Chief Judge or the Trial Court Administrator as the Chief Judge's designee. • This local Administrative Order shall be effective Monday, June 21. 2021, and shall remain in effect until otherwise vacated or superseded by further order of this Court or the • At this time, effective vaccines for COVID-19 are adequately available in Florida for persons ages 12 and older; almost half of this state's population has been partially or fully vaccinated; and government-issued health standards and guidance provide that fully vaccinated persons do not need to wear face masks or physically distance in most indoor and outdoor settings unless • The protocols and measures shall take effect at 12:01 a.m. on June 21, 2021, and shall remain in effect until amended or terminated by subsequent order. • The following three administrative orders shall terminate at 12:01 a.m. on June 21, • (1) The health and safety protocols required under Section LB. may be implemented by a court as early as June 21, 2021, and must be implemented by all courts by August 2, 2021, unless the • If a court requires an extension of time, the court must file a written request for an extension by submitting the request via email to - 4 - -- 10 of 40 -- • The written request must identify the local conditions warranting the extension, propose a plan for alternative health and safety protocols that complies with authoritative or controlling government-issued health standards or guidance, and specify the period requested for the extension. • (2) A court that does not implement the health and safety protocols required under Section LB. on June 21, 2021, must: a. • Statutes, courts must make "a good faith effort to substantially - 5 - -- 11 of 40 -- comply with authoritative or controlling government-issued health standards or guidance" during their operations.3 To this end, unless required by federal, state, or local laws, rules, or regulations, the wearing of face masks and physical distancing are not required during in-person court proceedings;4 however, during in-person court proceedings: • (1) Participants and observers may wear face masks.s Upon request, a face mask must be provided to a participant or observer for an in-person court proceeding. • If such a policy is adopted, it must apply consistently across all in- person court proceedings in the same courthouse. • All in-person court proceedings must be conducted in a manner consistent with Section I. • If a request for physical distancing during an in-person court proceeding is granted, the measurement used for physical distancing must comply with authoritative or controlling government-issued health standards or guidance. • (1) The presiding judge in all cases must consider the constitutional rights of crime victims and criminal defendants and the public's constitutional right of access to the courts. 7 (2) To maximize the availability of facility space for trial court proceedings that must be conducted in person, each chief judge of a judicial circuit should take all necessary steps to support the remote conduct of other trial court proceedings with the use of technology, in accordance with this administrative order and other applicable standards and guidance as may be adopted by the Chief • Justice or supreme court. s (3) Participants who have the capability of participating by electronic means in remote appellate or trial court proceedings must do so.9 For purposes of this administrative order, "remote • 109. - 8 - -- 14 of 40 -- conduct," "remotely conduct," or "conducted remotely" means the conduct, in part or in whole, of a court proceeding using telephonic or other electronic means.10 (4) All rules of procedure, court orders, and opinions applicable to court proceedings that limit or prohibit the use of communication equipment for the remote conduct of proceedings shall remain suspended.11 (5) The Chief Justice and chief judges remain authorized to establish procedures for the use, to the maximum extent feasible, of communication equipment for the remote conduct of proceedings to facilitate the efficient and expeditious processing of cases.12 • Florida, provided they can positively identify the witness.13 (2) If a witness is not located within the State of Florida, a witness may consent to being put on oath via audio-video communication technology by a person qualified to administer an oath in the State of Florida.14 (3) All rules of procedure, court orders, and opinions applicable to remote testimony, depositions, and other legal testimony, including the attestation of family law forms, that can be read to limit or prohibit the use of audio-video communication technology to administer oaths remotely or to witness the attestation of family law forms shall remain suspended. 15 • The supervising attorney and law student must maintain a separate, confidential communication channel during the proceedings. • (2) In a law school practice program, the requirement in Rule 11-l.2(b) of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar that an indigent person and the supervising attorney must consent in writing to representation by a supervised law student may be satisfied by the judge receiving the consent verbally under oath. • Non-statewide grand jury selection and proceedings, civil jury selection proceedings and trial proceedings, and criminal jury selection proceedings and trial proceedings must be conducted in person, unless a remote civil or criminal jury selection proceeding or trial proceeding is authorized under Section II.E.(3). • Hearings to determine whether an individual should be involuntarily committed under the Balcer Act or the Marchman Act must be conducted in person unless that individual waives the right to physical presence at the hearing. • The cases selected for a remote jury proceeding must be based upon the case being conducive to a remote proceeding and conducted pursuant to the requirements specified in the report - 15 - -- 21 of 40 -- titled Requirements and Evaluation Criteria - Remote Civil and • Within 30 days after the remote conduct of a jury selection proceeding or trial proceeding for the first time in a judicial circuit, the circuit must present the results of the proceeding and report its findings and recommendations to the Chief Justice through the state courts administrator. • II.E.(3)a.ii. are satisfied or, if not, must be conducted in person. 1i. • AOSC20-23, Amendment 1, on May 4, 2020. - 16 - -- 22 of 40 -- judge or the presiding judge or, if not, must be conducted in person. b. • All other trial court proceedings may be conducted remotely or in person, except that a proceeding must be conducted in person if the chief judge or presiding judge determines that remote conduct of the proceeding is inconsistent with the United States or Florida • Trial court proceedings shall continue to be remotely conducted, as appropriate, to facilitate the efficient and expeditious processing of cases. • (5) In-Person Trial Court Proceedings.2 4 It is the responsibility of the chief judge to ensure that trial court proceedings that must be in person pursuant Section II.E.(2) or (4) are conducted to the fullest extent feasible consistent with Section I. • Chief judges shall have the discretion to determine how best to utilize available trial court resources and facility space to conduct in-person proceedings, • Must direct all judges within their circuits to strictly comply with Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial
Amended) and all previously issued memoranda relating to COVID-19 shall terminate at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, June 21, 2021.
Reviewer note: Order PDF sha256: 5cc02c6d7fd4db413848f92341470bd21236094271a6bcd52420226567eed7c3. Extracted from the order's own text layer.
Judge Bell caps motions and responses at 5 pages for UMC hearings and 12 pages for special-set hearings.
Judge Alijewicz requires every motion for attorney's fees and/or costs to attach a document detailing time records — no records, no fee award.
Judge Corlew bars informal contact: every communication with the Court must be in writing, filed with the Clerk, with copies furnished to all parties — and no calls to the JA to schedule or cancel UMC.