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40 verbatim requirements from document (unlisted) [unlisted] FamilyLawProceduresKirshy.
20th Judicial Circuit. Procedural information only; not legal advice.
Verbatim from https://www.ca.cjis20.org/pdf/judge/FamilyLawProceduresKirshy.pdf, harvested 2026-07-25; whitespace normalised only. • In accordance with the direction from the Florida Supreme Court, this Court shall require professionalism and civility from the litigants in all cases. • Lawyers must adhere at all times to the Florida Rules of Professional Conduct and the Oath of Admission to practice law in the State of Florida. • Self-Represented parties must follow the same rules, procedures and laws that lawyers must follow in court. • The Court shall not tolerate the failure to adhere to the standards and sanctions may be imposed as well as referral to appropriate disciplinary authorities if necessary. • Self-Represented litigants must follow the Twentieth Judicial • Do not mail original documents to the Judge’s office for filing. • Proposed orders submitted to the Court, by mail or through the E-filing Portal, where there has not been a prior hearing must include: a stipulation or cover letter informing the Court that the proposed order has been reviewed and approved by opposing counsel; sufficient copies for conforming; and self- addressed, stamped envelopes. • Before contacting the JA about the scheduling of hearings or whether hearings shall be conducted remotely or in person, attorneys and their staff and self-represented parties should first follow the requirements set forth below for said hearings. • Judges and the Judicial Assistant may not give legal advice, including any advice or direction regarding the preparation of court documents. • Judges may not have any one-sided communication with any party. • Judges and the Judicial Assistant must remain neutral and impartial. • A party without a lawyer is not entitled to special treatment and must follow the same rules or procedures, rules of evidence and laws that govern lawyers. • Self-Represented litigants must follow the Twentieth Judicial Circuit’s rules for Self- • Motions for remote appearances in trials shall be presented no later than the pretrial conference. • Any such motions filed after pretrial conference shall only be heard and granted if agreed to or, if not agreed to, if they are based on unanticipated circumstances that could not have been foreseen despite the exercise of due diligence. • For remote appearances in evidentiary hearings, said remote appearances must be addressed by motion filed prior to seeking hearing time from the Judicial Assistant. • The parties must utilize their own Zoom account for this connection. • All motions must be filed with the Clerk prior to requesting hearing time. • Do not email the JA for hearing time until the motion has been scanned into the Clerk’s file and appears in ShowCase with the Clerk of Court. • Requests for hearing time in excess of one hour must be submitted in writing with an explanation as to the reasons for exceeding one hour. • Any hearings scheduled by the parties that do not comply with the requirements previously stated shall be cancelled. • A Motion for Temporary Relief regarding children issues MUST be mediated prior to a hearing being held (See Standing Order for • A Notice of Hearing must be filed after reserving hearing time through the JA. • The notice of hearing must include the confirmation number that was provided by the JA. • Accordingly, the party reserving and scheduling the hearing date and time shall confer with opposing counsel and attempt to agree to the actual total time needed and requested. • If counsel cannot agree to the total time needed for the hearing, counsel shall: • The Court shall then promptly make a decision as to the total hearing time to be afforded. • If the parties do not adhere to the time reserved for the hearing, the Court shall stop the hearing at the end of the allotted time. • The parties shall have the responsibility of coordinating the new date and time with the Court and between themselves. • Once a motion has been set for hearing, additional motions may not be “crossed-noticed”, substituted or added on during the time reserved for the original motion without express consent of opposing counsel and the Court. • Notice of Cancelation of Hearing must be filed with the Clerk and a courtesy copy of the Notice provided to the Judicial Assistant via email. • All Emergency, Expedited or Urgent motions must first be filed and viewable with the Clerk’s ShowCase system. • A copy of the motion and a cover letter must be provided to the Court and the opposing party -- 3 of 5 -- • When a Motion for Relocation is filed, counsel must simultaneously email a copy of the motion to the Court and contact the Judge’s office for hearing time. • Requests must be timely made if statutory hearing time is requested. • All motions must be in writing and must state the reasons for the continuance request. • When submitting the proposed Order of Referral, the cover letter to Judge Kirshy shall state whether the opposing party consents to the magistrate hearing the matter. • If the other side is self-represented, you must state in the cover letter if you have served the self- represented party with a copy. • All orders must reflect the date on which the matter was heard. • The title of the order must reflect and identify the matter heard.
In accordance with the direction from the Florida Supreme Court, this Court shall require professionalism and civility from the litigants in all cases.
Reviewer note: Order PDF sha256: 3000df118396c7e5c90a042e4e77ab6cf9db832f29a31319fceaaa4db53bd6b8. 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.