IN THE CIRCUIT COURT, SIXTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

IN AND FOR PASCO AND PINELLAS COUNTIES, FLORIDA

 

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 2007-011 PI-CIR
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RE: TRANSFER OF CASES TO UNIFIED FAMILY COURT

 

            Rule of Judicial Administration 2.545(d), provides for a notice of related cases to be filed by the parties in a family law case so that cases can be coordinated and judicial resources can be conserved.  In Pinellas County, in order to clarify procedures for transferring cases to Unified Family Court (UFC) from a Family Law Section as well as from other divisions of the Court, it is

 

ORDERED:

 

1.  When a judge in a Family Law Section identifies a case pending before him or her that is related to a case pending before a judge in UFC because it involves any of the same parties, children, or issues, the judge may, upon his or her own motion or the party’s motion, issue a Notice of Referral to UFC.  The Family Law judge can identify which UFC section to forward the referral to based upon information in CJIS on the related cases.  If the Family Law Judge is unable to determine which section to forward the referral to, the UFC Staff Director can be contacted to obtain that information.  A sample Notice of Referral is attached as Appendix A.  The Notice shall be placed in the court file and a copy provided to the UFC Section Judge. 

 

2.  If the UFC Section Judge agrees with the referral, the UFC Section Judge shall within five (5) business days enter an Order of Acceptance reassigning the case to UFC.  If the UFC Section Judge is unavailable, then the referral should be reviewed by the UFC Administrative Judge.  A sample Order of Acceptance is attached as Appendix B.  The Order of Acceptance shall be placed in the court file and copy of the Order served upon all parties. 

 

            3.  If the UFC Section Judge does not accept the referral, a Notice of Denial shall be entered.  A sample Notice of Denial is attached as Appendix C.  The Notice shall be placed in the court file and a copy provided to the judge making the referral.

 

4.  If an Order of Acceptance is not issued within five (5) business days, or if a Notice of Denial is entered, the referring judge may forward a copy of the Notice of Referral and the Notice of Denial, if any, to the Chief Judge for a determination of whether the case should be reassigned.  It is anticipated that the Chief Judge will consult with each of the judges to determine whether the case should be reassigned to promote the efficient administration of justice.

 

5.   When a judge in a Family Law Section identifies a case pending before him or her that the judge believes should be in UFC but it is not related to a case pending in UFC, or when a judge in any other division identifies a case pending before him or her that the judge believes should be in UFC, the judge may forward the file to the Chief Judge requesting review.  It is expected that the Chief Judge will consult with the judge requesting review and the UFC Administrative Judge to determine whether the case should be reassigned.  The Chief Judge will determine whether the case should be reassigned to promote the efficient administration of justice.

 

 

            DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers, at St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, Florida, this ______ day of February 2007.

 

                                                                                                _____________________________

                                                                                                David A. Demers, Chief Judge

 

cc:        All Pinellas Judges

            The Honorable Bernie McCabe, State Attorney

            The Honorable Bob Dillinger, Public Defender

            The Honorable Ken Burke, Clerk of the Circuit Court

            Carol Heath, Executive Direction, Court & Operational Division, Pinellas Clerk

            Gay Inskeep, Trial Courts Administrator

            Bar Associations, Pinellas and Pasco Counties

            Law Libraries, Pinellas and Pasco Counties      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE                                                       JUDICIAL CIRCUIT,

IN AND FOR                                                       COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

Case No.:                                                     

Division:                                                        

                                                                      ,

Petitioner,

 

and

 

                                                                       ,

Respondent.

 

Notice of Referral to the Unified Family Court

        

To:         Unified Family Court Judge, Section ______

                Criminal Justice Center

      

From:    __________________________________                                _______________________________

                Name of Judge Making Referral                             Section/Office

        

The following case(s) is being referred for review by the UFC Judge:

 

Case Name       Child(ren)’s Name(s)                   Child(ren)’s DOB         Case Number   Action Type

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Please list other case(s) pending in Juvenile/UFC:

        

_____ Dependency:       ___________________________________ SPN__________________

                                                ___________________________________ SPN__________________

        

_____ Delinquency:       ___________________________________ SPN__________________

                                                ___________________________________ SPN__________________

 

_____ Other:                      ___________________________________ SPN__________________

                                                ___________________________________ SPN__________________

        

Other information pertinent to referral:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

          Referred on (date):_______________________________                    

 

ญญญญญญญญญญญญญญ_______________________________________

                                                                                                                                Circuit Judge

 

Original to File/ Copy to UFC Section Judge

 

APPENDIX A

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE                                                       JUDICIAL CIRCUIT,

IN AND FOR                                                       COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

Case No.:                                                     

Division:                                                        

                                                                      ,

Petitioner,

 

and

 

                                                                       ,

Respondent.

 

 

Order of Acceptance reassigning referred case to the

 Unified Family Court

 

 

The above captioned case has been referred to the Unified Family Court.

    

The related pending cases in Juvenile/UFC are:

        

_____ Dependency:       ___________________________________ SPN__________________

                                                ___________________________________ SPN__________________

        

_____ Delinquency:       ___________________________________ SPN__________________

                                                ___________________________________ SPN__________________

 

_____ Other:                      ___________________________________ SPN__________________

                                                ___________________________________ SPN__________________

 

This referral is hereby accepted.

 

It is hereby ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Clerk of the Circuit Court shall reassign the above caption case to UFC section ______.

 

 

 

 

Done and ordered this_____day of _______________200__in Pinellas County, Florida.             

 

ญญญญญญญญญ____________________________________

                                                                                                                                Unified Family Court Circuit Judge

 

Original to File

Copy to UFC case manager

Copies served on all parties

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX B

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE                                                       JUDICIAL CIRCUIT,

IN AND FOR                                                       COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

Case No.:                                                     

Division:                                                        

                                                                      ,

Petitioner,

 

and

 

                                                                       ,

Respondent.

 

 

 

Notice of Denial

 

 

The above captioned case has been referred to the Unified Family Court.

    

The related pending cases in Juvenile/UFC are:

        

_____ Dependency:       ___________________________________ SPN__________________

                                                ___________________________________ SPN__________________

        

_____ Delinquency:       ___________________________________ SPN__________________

                                                ___________________________________ SPN__________________

 

_____ Other:                      ___________________________________ SPN__________________

                                                ___________________________________ SPN__________________

 

 

This referral is hereby not accepted for the following reasons__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

 

 

               

 

ญญญญญญญญญญญ____________________________________

                                                                                                                                Circuit Judge

Original to File

Copy to referring Judge

Copy to UFC case manager

 

APPENDIX C