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6 verbatim requirements on continuances.
Eighth Judicial Circuit — DIVISION/CIRCUIT-WIDE - Traffic only. Practices change without notice; the court's own published text controls. Procedural information only; not legal advice.
Verbatim from the published source, captured 2026-07-24; whitespace normalised only. No OCR was used. • contest plea, such as th e cost of requiring witnesses to appear for the purpose of presenting evidence. The Clerk will advise defendants of the potential adverse consequences of electing to be placed on a hearing docket in the following manner: orally for defendants who make their hearing requests in person or by telephone, and by mai l for defendants who mail in their hearing requests without indicating whether they wish to plead guilty, no contest, or not guilty. The Clerk will send the latter defendants plea forms with their hearing notices. Mandatory civil traffic hearings will be conducted in accordance with the procedures described in Section 5. Hearings which are not mandatory will be conducted in accordance wit h the procedures described in Sections 3 and 4. 3. GENERAL SENTENCING DOCKET The general sentencing docket provides the defendant an opportunity to speak with a judge about an appropriate sentence. A defendant who receives a plea form with his or her hearing notice will have ten (10) days from the date of the notice to return the form and indicate whether he or she wishes to plead guilty, no contest, or not guil ty. Defendants will be placed on the general sentencing docket if they a) enter a plea of guilty or no contest, or b) elect a hearing but fail to enter a specific plea. Defendants who have not entered a plea prior to appearing for the ge neral sentencing docket may plead not guilty in court and have the cases transferred to the contested hearing docket. The Clerk will be responsible for maintaining the docket, pursuant to guidelines set by the judges of the traffic division. At this hearing, the defendant will be given the opportunity to present an y mitigation or argument to the court prior to sentencing. These sentencing hearings will scheduled according to the Alachua County Civil Court Master Calendar. Law enforcement officers and other prosecution witnesses will not be required to attend these hearings. AO 8.02 (v2) Page 3 Alachua County Court Civil Division: Traffic Court Organization and Procedure Effective: May 21, 2013 • AO 8.02 (v2) Page 4 Alachua County Court Civil Division: Traffic Court Organization and Procedure Effective: May 21, 2013 4. CONTESTED HEARING DOCKET The contested hearing docket requires an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the defendant committed the traffic infraction. A defendant who has a genuine desire to contest the issue of commission of the infraction may request an evidentiary hearing by entering a not guilty plea. These cases shall be divided equally and scheduled accordin g to the Alachua County Civil Court Master Calendar. Law enforcement officers and any other witness required to give testimony pertaining to this civil infraction will be notified that their attendance is required at the hearing. 5. MANDATORY TRAFFIC HEARINGS When a defendant is charged with committing a civil traffic infraction which requires a mandatory court appearance, the Clerk will schedule the case on the first available general sentencing docket, and will provide written notice to the defendant of this court event. If the defendant elects to contest the commission of the infraction(s) at the general sentencing hearing, the case will be scheduled for an evidentiary hearing on the next availabl e contested hearing docket. The written notice from the Clerk will advise that the defendant’s appearance at the general sentencing docket may be waived by notifying the Clerk no later than five (5) days before that hearing date of the intent to enter a not gui lty plea and proceed directly to an evidentiary hearing. The Clerk shall then schedule the case for the next available contested hearing docket. 6. FIRST CONTINUANCE The Clerk of Court is authorized to grant one continuance each for the defendant and the law enforcement officer(s). The request must be made to the Clerk in writing at least five (5) days before the hearing date. The Clerk shall then reschedule and notice the case for the next available docket. • 7. ADDITIONAL CONTINUANCES Additional requests for continuances shall be made in writing and filed with the Clerk at least five (5) days before the hearing date. The request must state with particularity the reasons for the requested continuance. The Clerk shall refer the request to the assigned judge who shall make a ruling, whereupon the Clerk’s Office shall notice the parties or their attorneys, citing officers or their attorneys. Th e parties shall be responsible for notifying any subpoenaed witnesses of the continuance. 8. MOTIONS FOR CONTINUANCES NOT FILED WITHIN FIVE (5) DAYS OF THE HEARING DATE, OR EMERGENCY MOTIONS FOR CONTINUANCE Requests for continuances not filed with the Clerk within five (5) days of the hearing date pursuant to Sections 6 and 7, are considered untimely, and the Clerk of Court shall refer the written motion to the assigned judge who will consider the motion. If a stated emergency precludes any party from filing a w ritten motion within five (5) days of the hearing date, in accordance with Sections 6 and 7, a written request for continuance with an explanation of the emergency shall be made by e‐mail to the Alachua County Traffic Bureau, at traffic@alachuaclerk.org and jgp@alachuaclerk.org. The Clerk shall refer the request to the assigned judge who will consider the motion. 9. FAILURE TO APPEAR If a defendant, or his or her attorney, fails to appear at either the general sentencing docket or the contested hearing docket scheduled pursuant to this Administrative Order, the Court shall enter a D6 suspension of the defendant’s driver’s license, pursuant to Section 318.15(1), Florida Statutes. 10. NOTICE OF APPEARANCE Prior to representing a defendant in a traffic infraction case, the responsible attorney shall file a notice of appearance with the Clerk of Court. AO 8.02 (v2) Page 5 Alachua County Court Civil Division: Traffic Court Organization and Procedure Effective: May 21, 2013 • AO 8.03 (v2) Page 4 Civil Traffic Infraction Hearing Officer Effective: May 21, 2013 the Florida Statutes. Contempt matters and cases falling under the exception set forth in 5(A) or 5(B) shall be heard by a County Court judge and assigned by division. 6. APPEALS Decisions of the hearing officer are appealable under the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure to the Circuit Court and will be assigned to the Appellate Division. Appellants are responsible for producing the record of any hearings beyond those which normally result from the civil traffic infraction hearing process. 7. ALTERNATE HEARING OFFICER In the absence of a hearing officer due to illness, unavailability, or vacation, the Alachua County Court judges shall make every reasonable effort to preside over scheduled hearings or designate an alternate hearing office in an effort to avoid the necessity of rescheduling. Any change in designating a Civil Traffic Infraction Hearing Officer shall be reported to the Clerk of the Court. 8. FIRST CONTINUANCE The Clerk of Court is authorized to grant one continuance each for the defendant and the law enforcement officer(s). The request must be made in writing to the Clerk at least five (5) days before the hearing date. The Clerk shall then reschedule and notice the case for the next available docket. 9. ADDITIONAL CONTINUANCE Additional requests for continuances shall be made in writing and filed with the Clerk at least five (5) days before the hearing date. The request must state with particularity the reasons for the requested continuance. The Clerk shall refer the request to the hearing officer who shall make a ruling, whereupon the Clerk’s office shall notice the parties or • AO 8.03 (v2) Page 5 Civil Traffic Infraction Hearing Officer Effective: May 21, 2013 their attorneys, the citing officers, or their attorneys. The parties shall be responsible for notifying any witnesses they have subpoenaed of the continuance. 10. MOTIONS FOR CONTINUANCE NOT FILED WITHIN FIVE (5) DAYS OF THE HEARING DATE, OR EMERGENCY MOTION FOR CONTINUANCE Requests for continuances not filed with the Clerk within five (5) days of the hearing date pursuant to Sections 8 and 9 are considered untimely, and the Clerk of Court shall refer the written motion to the assigned hearing officer who will consider the motion. If a stated emergency precludes any party from filing a written motion within five (5) days of the hearing date, in accordance with Sections 8 and 9 , a written request for continuance with an explanation of the emergency shall made by e‐mail to the Alachua County Traffic Bureau, traffic@alachuaclerk.org and jgp@alachuaclerk.org. The Clerk shall refer the verbal request to the assigned hearing officer who will consider the motion. 11. BUDGET The Program’s budget shall be established by the Office of the State Court Administrator (OSCA) and the Florida State Legislature. 12. COMPENSATION The hearing officer shall be paid an hourly rate for work and all services performed under this Administrative Order. Payment shall be rendered at the conclusion of each documented period that services are provided, as requested by the hearing officer. Payment of services rendered shall be made in accordance with the Florida Prompt Payment Act on a case‐by‐case basis and only after appropriate invoice and documentation of each service period is delivered to the financial division of the Court Administrator, c/o Mary Lou Gardner, 201 Eas t University Avenue, Gainesville, Florida 32601. Hearing officers shall submit invoices to Court Administration bi‐weekly for submission to OSCA. Payment shall then be remitted by the State to the specified hearing officer bi‐weekly for billable hours submitted. • AO 8.03 (v2) Page 6 Civil Traffic Infraction Hearing Officer Effective: May 21, 2013 13. CONTRACT EVALUATION When reasonably convenient for all parties and during the month of May each year, the Administrative Judge of the County Court, in consultation with the Court Administrator or his designee, shall meet with the civil traffic infraction hearing officer and evaluate the year‐end performance of the hearing officer. This annual meeting and evaluation shall determine whether the p rofessional contractual relationship shall be recommended to the Chief Judge for renewal for the upcoming year. 14. CODE OF JUDICIAL CONDUCT All traffic hearing officers are subject to the Code of Judicial Conduct. 15. OUT‐OF‐COURT COMMUNICATION Requests for civil traffic hearings may be made in writing, by telephone, or in person at the Traffic Bureau. A first request for continuance made to the Clerk of the Court and all requests to a hearing officer, including requests to set aside, modify, or extend the time for compliance with penalties, and additional requests for continuance shall be in writing and filed with the Clerk of the Court. Emergency motions shall be handled pursuant to Section 10. 16. DISMISSAL No civil traffic infraction shall be dismissed except pursuant to speedy trial expirations or as otherwise provided by law. With the exception of speedy trial expirations or where otherwise provided by law, all other adjudications shall result in a finding of guilty or not guilty. Any request from a law enforcement agency to “dismiss” a citation prior to hearing shall be made by written request to the hearing officer to find the defendant not guilty. A copy of
contest plea, such as th e cost of requiring witnesses to appear for the purpose of presenting evidence. The Clerk will advise defendants of the potential adverse consequences of electing to be placed on a hearing docket in the following manner: orally for defendants who make their hearing requests in person or by telephone, and by mai l for defendants who mail in their hearing requests without indicating whether they wish to plead guilty, no contest, or not guilty. The Clerk will send the latter defendants plea forms with their hearing notices. Mandatory civil traffic hearings will be conducted in accordance with the procedures described in Section 5. Hearings which are not mandatory will be conducted in accordance wit h the procedures described in Sections 3 and 4. 3. GENERAL SENTENCING DOCKET The general sentencing docket provides the defendant an opportunity to speak with a judge abo
Reviewer note: Source sha256: 92b4f7a45ce4380ba0feaa3228b6d0ad5c715e96ee46d1878739d18c8fb02d24, 910b3fe2e6f205cae2ea8d9fc8d5c591a8fb2fbc199e5a3f826594dcc04d6a35. Corpus categories: SCHEDULING_OR_CANCELLATION, CONTINUANCES | SCHEDULING_OR_CANCELLATION, CONTINUANCES. Operative status as recorded: CURRENT_DIRECTORY_CURRENT_VERSION. Published during the 2026-07-24 completeness pass.
Florida follows the federal summary-judgment standard. The motion must be served at least 40 days before the hearing; the nonmovant's response is due no later than 20 days before the hearing.
How Florida procedural deadlines are computed: exclude the trigger day; count every day for periods of 7 days or more; for periods under 7 days, skip intermediate weekends and legal holidays; roll forward when the last day is a weekend or holiday.
Judge Siperstein requires every motion to be set within 5 days of filing and heard within 60 days, or it may be deemed abandoned.