Loading…
15 verbatim mandatory provisions from AO 2025-005.
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. • WHEREAS, pursuant to Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.215(b )(7), the Chief Judge "must regulate the use of all court facilities" and the Chief Judge recognizes that the security of court facilities is a daily concern due in part to the emotional nature of many court proceedings. • The Sheriffs of the Third Judicial Circuit shall provide security for the comt facilities of the circuit and county courts, their personnel, clerks' staff ( acting as an arm of the judicial court in furtherance of court business), jurors, attorneys and the public who access court facilities. • SECURITY GUIDELINES FOR ENTERING COURT FACILITIES Except as set forth below, all persons entering court facilities through public access portals shall be subject to identification verification and search. • Searches shall include protocols, techniques, and equipment most likely to detect contraband, weapons, fireanns, flammable, hazardous or toxic materials, bombs, biological and chemical agents. • Screening shall be sufficient to ensure that no firearms, weapons, or destructive devices shall enter the courtroom, hearing room, or chambers. • Minimum screening requirements shall include a bailiff to conduct the screening, use of a metal detector, a barrier to limit free ingress, and a search of personal articles of sufficient size to hide a weapon. • Persons refusing to be searched shall be denied access to court facilities. • Persons found to be in possession of contraband or illegal weapons, illegal firearms or hazardous materials shall be , in the discretion of comthouse security officers, arrested or referred for investigation to the appropriate law enforcement agency. • Any person engaged in activities observed by judges or courthouse security to be a threat to the safety of persons or property in a court facility, or who disrupts official business in the courts or in it s ancillary facilities, or who violates state, county, or municipal laws, shall, in the discretion of court facility security officers, be subject to arrest and/or ejection from the facility upon order of a judge or duly authorized law enforcement officer. • An exception shall be made for attorneys and necessary staff who will be in the comthouse for extended periods of time. • The following perso ns shall be exempt from search when entering or departing court facilities: • Items which are intended to be introduced in court as evidence, or which are in the custody of the clerk as evidence, shall be admitted into court facilities provided they are maintained in secure containers and in safe condition and made available for ins pe ction while on court facility premises and grounds. • COURTROOM ASSIGNMENTS, OFFICE HOURS, INGRESS AND EGRESS In consultation with court facility security and the Clerks, the Chief Judge shall regulate the use of courtrooms, establish the dockets, determine the hours for the public's use of the court facilities and the office hours for occupants of court facilities, designate which entrances and exits shall be public and private and accessible by court staff or the public, establish rules for after-hours access by authorized personnel, location of bailiff stations, and procedures for controlled access to secure and non-secure areas. • Access to secure areas shall be monitored by court security to prevent intrusion. • Court facility security officers shall prohibit any activity which is perceived to be a threat to the safety of persons or property within court facilities or on court facilities grounds, or which disrupts the official business conducted within such facilities, or which may reasonably be construed as an attempt to influence or intimidate jurors, litigants or judges, or which constitutes a violation of Florida Statute, county ordinance, or administrative order of this Court.
WHEREAS, pursuant to Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.215(b )(7), the Chief Judge "must regulate the use of all court facilities" and the Chief Judge recognizes that the security of court facilities is a daily concern due in part to the emotional nature of many court proceedings.
Reviewer note: Document sha256: eaa558f304a012518b7a11e7dadb8bd6d2654abd3333ff8b62a07d39f468b5f3 (1171216 bytes).
25 verbatim mandatory provisions from AO 2022-004.
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.