STANDING PRETRIAL ORDER FOR CASES IN COUNTY CRIMINAL DIVISION A
The Court enters this Pretrial Order, which, consistent with all relevant rules of procedure and administrative orders, governs practice in this Division.
MOTIONS
No motion, other than a legitimate emergency motion, will be set for a hearing unless the motion is electronically filed with the clerk prior to contacting the Judicial Assistant for a hearing date and time. The Judicial Assistant will check the court file when a request is made to set a hearing to determine whether the motion is in the file. If the motion is not in the court file, the motion will not be calendared absent a representation by counsel that the motion has in fact been filed, but has not yet appeared for viewing. This process is facilitated if the attorney filing the motion includes the JA’s email address (crimdiva@fljud13.org ) on the e filing. Counsel will still need to call the JA to get a hearing date.
All motions and notices of hearing requiring witness testimony must be filed a sufficient length of time in advance of the hearing date for the opposing party to comply with Section 48.031 (4)(a) Florida Statutes. It is the responsibility of the party affected by late filing to raise this issue.
All cases, statutes, rules or other citations of authority a party wishes the Court to consider should be provided to the Court at least two business days prior to the hearing on the motion. Cases and other citations will be cited in the motion. The Court will not consider cases provided for the first time at the hearing absent a showing of good cause.
All motions shall contain the facts and law which form the basis for the relief sought.
Courtesy copies of motions are neither required nor desired. The Court will consider only the electronic file.
As a courtesy to the Court and your colleagues, a party should notify the Judicial Assistant as soon as possible, by fax or email that hearing is to be cancelled.
ALL MOTIONS MUST BE HEARD PRIOR TO THE PRE TRIAL CONFERENCE. Any motion not timely filed and set for hearing is waived absent a showing of good cause as to why the motion was not timely filed and heard prior to pre trial conference.
A motion for continuance shall state whether any prior motion for continuance has been filed and shall, as with any other motion, be in writing and be set and heard prior to the trial date.
Proposed orders are to be submitted thru the e-portal for consideration. If it is a stipulated order, please submit the stipulation along with the order as one. If the stipulation is for a continuance of a pre-trial and jury trial, a new pre-trial date and jury trial must be in the order. These dates can be obtained from the Judicial Assistant.
DISCOVERY MOTIONS AND MOTIONS IN LIMINE: All motions in limine and all motions pertaining to discovery disputes shall contain a statement by the moving party that good faith attempt to resolve the matter without Court involvement has been made and shall describe the manner in which the attempt was made.
Motions to compel discovery should be filed within 10 days after the date the discovery is due. Motions to compel more adequate responses to discovery should be filed within 10 days of receipt of the alleged incomplete discovery. Lack of diligence in pursuing remedies for discovery will be considered in determining whether to grant a continuance or to which party a continuance should be charged.
DISPOSITION HEARINGS: Attorneys and their client(s) are expected to attend disposition hearings. If an attorney has a conflict, the attorney should arrange coverage by another attorney or may submit a request for a trial date or another disposition date. The request forms are available outside Courtroom 22 or by email to the Judicial Assistant. Attorneys wishing to be placed on the email list should contact the Judicial Assistant. A failure to appear or to request a new court date will result in the case being set for trial and may result in a warrant being issued for the arrest of the defendant.
Absent good cause shown, no more than 3 disposition hearings are allowed. This number includes any hearings missed due to a conflict and as to any dispositions which took place prior to counsel’s Notice of Appearance.
INFORMATION FOR ARRAIGNMENTS
If a written plea of not guilty is filed with a request for a disposition date, a Waiver of Speedy Trial must be filed otherwise the case will be set for pretrial and trial.
Pleas of Guilty or No Contest in Absentia: If a defendant wishes to enter a plea of guilty or no contest and wishes to be excused from court attendance at the time of the entry of the plea, then a written plea in absentia must be presented to the court that comports with the requirements of Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.172. If the plea being entered is for an enhance able offense, the written colloquy must include an acknowledgement that the defendant has been advised of the enhancement ramifications for said offense should the defendant reoffend in the future for that offense. Pleas in absentia for enhance able offenses as well as DUI and Reckless Driving must include fingerprints. A plea of guilty or no contest to a criminal offense will not be accepted based strictly on counsel stating that they have their client’s authority to enter the plea when the defendant is not present and counsel does not have a written plea in absentia to present to the court.