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25 verbatim mandatory provisions from AO 2022-004.
Third Judicial Circuit (Columbia, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor). Check the order's own effective and rescission dates before relying on it. Procedural information only; not legal advice.
Verbatim from the order's own text layer, harvested 2026-07-25; whitespace normalised only. No OCR. Only sentences carrying mandatory language are reproduced — the full order is in custody and is the controlling text. • The Third Judicial Circuit shall have a circuit-wide mediation program for mediation of family, juvenile dependency, county court, and small claims cases. 2. • All court mediation programs shall be administered and coordinated by the Alternative Dispute Resolution Director at the direction of the Chief Judge, the Trial Court Administrator, or their designee. • Funding for the Third Judicial Circuit Court Mediation Program shall be from general revenues appropriated by the Legislature, and funds provided by the Mediation and Arbitration Trust Fund, mediation user fees, and other available sources, such as grants or county revenues. 4. • Mediation user fees shall be collected by the Clerk of Court. • The Clerk of Court shall provide a receipt when payment is made. 5. • The Clerk of Court shall distribute user fees as follows: one dollar shall be retained by the Clerk of Court as a processing fee. • The Clerk of Court shall send the remainder of the fee to the state Mediation and Arbitration Trust Fund. 6. • The Clerk of Court shall provide a monthly accounting of all mediation user fee collections to the Trial Court Administrator. -- 1 of 5 -- Administrative Order No. 2022-04, Third Judicial Circuit Mediation ogram 2 FAMILY MEDIATION 7. “Family mediation” refers to mediation of family matters, including, inter alia, married and/or unmarried persons; before and after judgments involving dissolution of marriage; property division; parental responsibility; child support; and timesharing. • The parties in any case involving family matters must participate in mediation unless exempt by statute, rule, or court order. • The court shall refer the parties to family mediation at an early stage of the proceedings, if possible. • All mediation reports involving pro se parties shall be sent to the family law case manager for review and to schedule a final hearing if appropriate. 9. • Because many family law cases involve domestic violence or power and control issues that may adversely impact the mediation process or jeopardize the safety of a litigant, a domestic violence screening shall be conducted by Court Administration prior to scheduling mediation. • Parties shall be eligible to use the family mediation program when the parties’ combined annual gross income is less than $100,000.00. • To determine the appropriate user fee, each party shall file a financial affidavit no later than ten (10) days before the scheduled mediation. 13. • User fees shall be paid prior to mediation unless a finding of indigency has been made. • Contract mediators shall be compensated in accordance with the terms of their Professional Services Agreement. • Private mediators shall be paid by the parties or as otherwise ordered by the court. • The order referring the parties to mediation must name those persons who are required to appear at mediation and any parties or participants who are prohibited from appearing. • Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties or ordered by the court, any party or participant ordered to mediation must attend the mediation conference. 21. • Persons representing an agency, department or program must have full authority to enter into an agreement that is binding on that agency, department, or program. -- 3 of 5 -- Administrative Order No. 2022-04, Third Judicial Circuit Mediation ogram 4 COUNTY COURT AND SMALL CLAIMS MEDIATIONS 23. “County court mediation” refers to mediation of civil cases within the jurisdiction of county courts, including small claims. • User fees shall be paid prior to mediation unless a finding of indigency has been made. 27. • Parties to county court cases which exceed $15,000.00 are ineligible for the Third Judicial Circuit Mediation Program, and must hire a private mediator to mediate the case. • Private mediators shall be paid by the parties or as otherwise ordered by the court. -- 4 of 5 -- Administrative Order No. 2022-04, Third Judicial Circuit Mediation ogram 5 GENERAL PROVISIONS 32. • Except as otherwise provided by sections 44.401-44.406, Florida Statutes, verbal, or written communications made during mediation, other than a written, executed mediation agreement, shall be confidential and inadmissible in subsequent legal proceedings. • Confidentiality shall be strictly maintained in accordance with the law. 34.
The Third Judicial Circuit shall have a circuit-wide mediation program for mediation of family, juvenile dependency, county court, and small claims cases. 2.
Reviewer note: Document sha256: d021a2794a12bb7b2d8f192f4b7c55021a3e1cf686fd54c8386d2f852b022908 (274159 bytes).
10 verbatim mandatory provisions from AO 2014-025.
The 17th Circuit's circuit-wide AI disclosure/certification mandate (Jan 2026, twice amended) was VACATED in its entirety effective June 15, 2026 by Chief Judge Phillips's AO 2026-19-Gen, expressly citing the statewide framework (AOSC26-12; Rule 2.515(d)(2), SC2026-0673). Several division procedure pages still cite the vacated order.
10 verbatim mandatory provisions from AO 2013-073.