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38 verbatim requirements from Practices & Procedures.
Fourth Judicial Circuit (Duval, Clay, Nassau). Procedural information only; not legal advice.
Verbatim from https://www.jud4.org/getContentAsset/76ebe9f8-53a3-4484-b549-a0958d76eb6a/135b97c9-84fa-4e82-b956-0fbccec4aa1f/2026-CC-F-Practices-Procedures-(FSC-Template).pdf?language=en, harvested 2026-07-25; whitespace normalised only. • All communications to the judicial office must be submitted by e-mail to tlevine@coj.net. • The subject line must contain the case number, case name, and relevant matter (e.g., 2024 DR 001234 SC – Doe v. • All communications with the judicial office must comply with Canon 3 of the Code of Judicial Conduct, which prohibits a judge from initiating, permitting, or considering ex parte communications and from considering other communications outside the presence of all parties concerning a pending or impending proceeding, unless authorized by law. • All parties must be copied on any e-mail directed to the judicial office, unless an ex parte communication is authorized by law. • Unsolicited Communications: • All attorneys and self-represented litigants must provide an e-mail address to receive signed orders electronically, unless excused. • All proposed orders must be submitted in the appropriate format for the E- • Courtesy copies may be emailed to the Judicial Assistant and all parties. • Proposed Orders may be submitted to the Court through the e-portal which must be copied to all opposing counsel/unrepresented parties. • A courtesy copy of the motion, joint stipulation, etc. related to the proposed Order must be provided. • The Motion must state that opposing counsel/unrepresented party has been provided with the same materials being provided to the Court and whether (i) opposing counsel/unrepresented party consents to the relief requested in the order and, if so, (ii) whether opposing counsel/unrepresented party agrees with the language of the proposed Order. • The service list on the Order must contain e-filing addresses for opposing counsel/unrepresented parties. • If an unrepresented party does not receive e-filings, counsel must immediately mail a conformed copy to the opposing party. • All consent Orders shall include the word “Consent” or “Agreed” in the caption of the proposed Order. • If a party believes there is a factual basis for setting an emergency hearing, a detailed motion setting forth the following must be filed: • All parties shall make themselves available for the emergency hearing, barring exigent circumstances. -- 2 of 8 -- 3 • All attorneys shall be available and prepared to handle their assigned cases as called by the Court. • Cases shall be called in the following order, with some exceptions. 1) Out-of-custody defendants 2) Female inmates 3) Male inmates • The courtroom bailiffs are aware of this procedure and shall have the inmates available and ready to be called in the prescribed order. • For private counsel and RCC, and cases requiring language interpreters, cases may be called out of order to accommodate the attorneys’ and interpreters’ presence in other courtrooms before other judges. • Those attorneys have the responsibility to timely notify the courtroom bailiffs of the needed presence of an inmate. • Defense counsel shall not waive the presence of any in-custody defendant, who has been transported to the courthouse from the jail, without prior approval of the Court or absent good cause. • There shall be no waiver of defendant’s appearance at the initial Arraignment and Final Pre-Trial Conference. • Once a case is set for trial, this Court shall distribute a written Trial Order, by which all parties shall abide. • At the Final Pre-Trial Conference, the Defendant shall be present in person (there shall be no waiver of Defendant’s appearance at FPT), as well as the attorney(s) who are to try the case. • If an attorney wishes to add, remove or pass a case to another scheduled date, that attorney shall notify the Court’s judicial assistant VIA EMAIL at TLevine@coj.net (cc’ing opposing counsel) NO LATER THAN 3:00 PM THE DAY PRIOR TO THE • If an attorney or Defendant cannot appear in person for a pre-trial conference, the Court will allow appearance via Zoom, pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.116, “Use of Communication Technology.” • Requests to use communication technology for an appearance must be made by motion unless otherwise authorized by Judge Lee. o Platform Used: • Accommodation Request Form - Duval and Clay to access the form, that must be submitted to the ADA Coordinator at (904) 255-1695 (or 711 Florida Relay Service); or at 501 West Adams Street, Room 6204, Jacksonville, FL 32202; or • All hearings must be coordinated with opposing counsel or party if unrepresented. • The Court must receive all materials for the hearing no later than three (3) business days before the hearing. • Continuance Procedure: • A request for continuance must be submitted at least five (5) days prior to the scheduled court date. • Except for good cause shown, the motion must be signed by the party requesting the continuance, as required by Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial • If a party wishes to attend a hearing set for Zoom in person, they must contact the Court no later than five (5) days prior to the hearing. • Similarly, if a party wishes to appear -- 5 of 8 -- 6 remotely at a hearing set to be in person, they must contact the Court no later than five (5) days prior to the hearing. • Technology Needs: • Proposed Orders without a hearing may be submitted to the Court through the e-portal which must be copied to all opposing counsel/unrepresented parties. • A courtesy copy of the motion, joint stipulation, etc. related to the proposed Order must be provided. • The Motion must state that opposing counsel/unrepresented party has been provided with the same materials being provided to the Court and whether (i) opposing counsel/unrepresented party consents to the relief requested in the order and, if so, (ii) whether opposing counsel/unrepresented party agrees with the language of the proposed • Such proposed orders after a hearing are to be timely submitted to the Court as follows: • Proposed orders must be submitted within 20 days after any hearing. • If there is an unrepresented party involved in the case not using e-Portal, the party presenting the proposed Order, shall be responsible for providing a conformed copy to the unrepresented party. • Courtesy copies of case law must be submitted to the Court for any evidentiary proceeding. • Format: • Courtesy copies shall be submitted via electronic submission. • Voluminous pleadings (more than 20 pages, including attachments) must not be emailed. • Any binders containing case law shall be received by the Court at least 5 days prior to the hearing. • Deadline for Submissions: • Courtesy copies must be delivered to the Court at least three (3) days prior to the hearing with copies provided to all other parties at the same time. • Any request for a status conference must articulate the reasons for the necessity of the conference. • If the Court agrees that a status conference is required, the moving party may schedule the status conference by emailing the Judicial Assistant. • Pretrial Conferences for Small Claims Cases: • Parties must submit a Notice if they are jointly waiving Pretrial Conference appearances. • Conference is waived. • If a party wishes to file a Motion for Continuance, the Motion and Order must be submitted to the Court no less than 3 days before the Pretrial Conference date. • All relief must be sought by motion or stipulation. • Professionalism: • Those who chose to represent themselves should be aware that at no time shall you unilaterally communicate with the Court or the Judicial • Do not include the Judicial Assistant or the Court on communications with the opposing party/opposing attorney regarding the case unless it is -- 7 of 8 -- 8 related to scheduling. • Please note that any interpreters or court reporters needed for civil hearings must be provided by the party.
All communications to the judicial office must be submitted by e-mail to tlevine@coj.net.
Reviewer note: Document sha256: e97e58b22074f85b3734bf1c4ff33058018f572ff5a24840722c1601dfd3e377. Extracted from the document'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.