All hearings for thirty (30) minutes or less (except for Pre-Trial Conferences) shall be conducted remotely via Zoom™. Please see below regarding the necessary Zoom™ information.
All evidentiary hearings for more than thirty (30) minutes will be held in-person in Courtroom 407 at the Edgecomb Courthouse unless otherwise approved by the Court.
ALL HEARINGS WILL BE DIGITALLY RECORDED; however, if an attorney or party wishes to utilize the services of their own court reporter, they will be required to provide all information necessary for the court reporter to attend the hearing.
Scheduling: Hearing times for the General Magistrate are not available in JAWS. You must contact the office by emailing gmfam5@fljud13.org to obtain hearing dates and times from the Administrative Assistant. The following information should be included in all emails: case number, case name, what you are asking to be set, and how long you will need for the hearing. Please request sufficient time for both parties to present their case, the time requested will be equally divided between the parties.
Please note any hearing greater than two hours requires an Order Setting Pre-trial Final Hearing and Pre- Trial Conference (see pre-trial conference hearings below).
Contact the General Magistrate’s Administrative Assistant for details (see pre-trial conference hearings below).
Order of Referral: All matters must have an Order of Referral to the General Magistrate with the exception of cases that are limited to child support issues only. If you do not have an Order of Referral, the form can be obtained by clicking on the following link and following the instructions included on the form:
Mediation Requirements: All issues with the exception of Motion(s) for Contempt MUST be mediated prior to the hearing. However, you may schedule a hearing with the General Magistrate (for a date and time after mediation) before the mediation is held.
Notice of Hearing: The original of the Notice of Hearing before General Magistrate should be filed with the Clerk of Circuit Court by either party at least 5 business days prior to the hearing at https://www.flcourts.gov/content/download/685861/file_pdf/920abc.pdf. A copy of the Notice of Hearing must be served upon opposing counsel/unrepresented party and a courtesy copy emailed to gmfam5@fljud13.org, or delivered to the Magistrate’s mailbox, located on the fourth floor. All notices of hearing must be consistent with the current administrative order for Domestic Relations/Family Law Cases. All pleadings or motions seeking relief must be served on the party or counsel not less than five (5) business days prior to the hearing. If motions or pleadings are not timely served, the Court may continue the hearing to a later date. The Notice of Hearing form can be accessed by clicking on the following link: Notice of Hearing before General Magistrate.
Documents/Exhibits:If you would like to have the Court consider any documents/exhibits at your hearing, at least five (5) days before your scheduled hearing, you must drop off a hard copy of your exhibits to Suite 407 at the Edgecomb Courthouse and provide copies to the opposing party. Please DO NOT file these documents. Your documents must contain your case number and be pre-marked using numerals only.
PLEASE NOTE: Your documents must be received at least five (5) days prior to yourhearing date in order for the documents to be considered at the hearing. This will be strictly enforced.
PLEASE NOTE: Any document entered into evidence becomes a public record, so it is yourresponsibility to redact any confidential or sensitive information prior to filing (e.g. social securitynumber(s), bank account number(s), etc.).
SPECIAL RULES FOR EVIDENTIARY HEARINGS:
- No later than five (5) days prior to the hearing, each party must provide to the Court, and the opposing side, copies of any exhibits, summaries, or case law to be used or referred to during the hearing or offered into evidence. No additional documents or exhibits may be emailed to the General Magistrate.
- All exhibits shall be pre-marked using numerals only.
- All documents submitted must include the style of the case and the case number.
- All confidential information shall be redacted by the individual submitting the proposed exhibit (including, but not limited to, information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth).
- All parties are responsible for securing the attendance of any witnesses they wish to call via Zoom, by providing those witnesses with any and all procedural requirements for attending a Zoom hearing listed herein, as well as the Zoom Meeting ID and password.
- All parties SHALL reserve and schedule sufficient time for the hearing to be concluded, while affording BOTH sides equal hearing time. This means that if you believe you need 30 minutes to present your case, you must reserve 60 minutes for your hearing so that each party has an equal amount of time to present their respective cases.