IN THE CIRCUIT COURT, SIXTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

IN AND FOR PASCO AND PINELLAS COUNTIES, FLORIDA

 

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 2009-064 PI-CIR 

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RE:     PINELLAS COUNTY EMERGENCY DUTY SCHEDULE

            JANUARY 1, 2010 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2010

 

It is necessary to the dispatch of the business of the Circuit and County Court, Sixth Judicial Circuit, Pinellas County, that judges be assigned weekday emergency duty, weekend emergency duty, and holiday duty.  In order to carry out the aforementioned duties it is necessary that circuit judges be temporarily assigned to the county court and that county judges be temporarily assigned to the circuit court.

 

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED:

 

1.         Circuit Court Judges of the Sixth Judicial Circuit listed below are assigned and designated to proceed to the Pinellas County Court, Sixth Judicial Circuit.  Judges of the County Court of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Pinellas County, listed below, are assigned and designated to proceed to the Circuit Court, Sixth Judicial Circuit.  The judges, under and by virtue of the authority hereof, are vested with all and singular the powers and prerogatives conferred by the Constitution and laws of the State of Florida upon the judges of the courts to which they are hereby assigned to hear and thereafter to dispose of such matters considered by them during that period of time.

 

2.         WEEKDAY EMERGENCY DUTY

 

      A. All judges assigned to the Circuit Civil, Family, Probate, and Circuit Criminal Divisions shall serve as weekday Emergency Duty Judge in accordance with a schedule determined and published by the Facility Coordinator at the Criminal Justice Center, the Clearwater Courthouse, and the St. Petersburg Judicial Building.

 

      B. Weekday Emergency Duty Judges shall serve for one-week periods.  The duty week unaffected by a holiday shall commence at 8:01 a.m. on Monday and conclude at 5:00 p.m. on Friday.

 

      C. The weekday Emergency Duty Judge is expected to remain at the courthouse until 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday to handle emergencies and other duty assignments occurring at the courthouse.  The judge may be required to remain past 5:00 p.m. in order to consider and rule on any matter pending at 5:00 p.m. that is within the scope of responsibilities of the Emergency Duty Judge.

 

      D. The weekday Emergency Duty Judge shall also be on call 24 hours per day to hear all emergency matters occurring after 5:00 p.m. including dating, domestic, repeat, and sexual violence.

 

      E.  For purposes of handling petitions for a temporary injunction against dating, domestic, repeat, and sexual violence filed at the Clearwater Courthouse, the St. Petersburg Judicial Building, and the Criminal Justice Center, the Clerk of the Circuit Court shall first assign the petition in accordance with the standard procedure for assignment for family law cases or as specified in other administrative orders governing assignment of such injunctions.  If the petition is not assigned to a section in that courthouse, the assigned judge is deemed to be unavailable.

 

      F.  The duties of the Emergency Duty Judge are to hear any civil, family, probate, or criminal matter of an emergency nature where the assigned judge is unavailable.  For purposes of this order, unavailability may include, but is not limited to situations where the assigned judge is absent from the courthouse, or where the assigned judge is present at the courthouse but is presiding over a trial/hearing, which cannot readily be adjourned to accommodate the emergency hearing.  The assigned judge shall also be considered unavailable, unless the judge designates otherwise, between the hours of 5:01 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.  Said duties shall include, but not necessarily be limited to the following:

 

1.        CRIMINAL

 

a.         Search warrants.

b.         Arrest warrants of an emergency nature.

c.         Pre-trial release decisions not otherwise heard by the Criminal Administrative Judge or the Section Judge.

d.         Dating, domestic, repeat, and sexual violence injunction filed at the Criminal Justice Center or forwarded by facsimile in accordance with a separate administrative order governing such petitions where the assigned judge is unavailable.

e.         Proceedings to waive parental notification of termination of pregnancy where the assigned judge is unavailable.

f.         All other emergency matters where the assigned judge is unavailable.

 

2.        CIVIL, FAMILY, AND PROBATE

 

a.         All dating, domestic, repeat, and sexual violence ex parte injunctions filed at the duty judge’s courthouse, regardless of whether the injunction is assigned a section number at the duty judge’s courthouse, or is assigned a section number at another courthouse.  All dating, domestic, repeat, and sexual violence injunctions forwarded by facsimile in accordance with the separate administrative order on petitions for such injunctions. 

b.         Baker Act or Marchman Act petitions for involuntary commitment.

c.         Petitions for Emergency Temporary Guardianship.

d.         Emergency requests for medical treatment or removal of life support.

                        e.         Emergency custody or visitation (time sharing) matters.

                        f.          Emergency Rule of Civil Procedure 1.610 injunctions.

g.         Review of Clerk’s decision to issue or deny a Certificate of Indigence.

                        h.         Orders of Arrest and Commitment, Orders to Show Cause, Orders of

Arrest, Writs of Bodily Attachment for Failure to Pay Child Support,

Writs of Bodily Attachment for Failure to Appear, and Orders Holding

Respondent in Custody or Releasing Respondent from Custody.

i.          Any other civil, family, or probate matter of an emergency nature where the assigned judge is unavailable.

 

G.   Emergency is not a term subject to easy definition.  As such, judges called upon to hear matters claimed to be emergency in nature must determine if the law or totality of the circumstances require immediate action.  In the event the emergency duty judge decides the matter is not an emergency, the judge will require the matter to be set before the assigned section judge on the regular calendar.

 

3.         WEEKEND EMERGENCY DUTY

 

The duties of the weekend Emergency Duty Judge include all of the responsibilities

specified in paragraph 2 for the weekday emergency duty judge. 

 

            4.         HOLIDAY EMERGENCY DUTY

 

            The duties of the holiday emergency duty judge include all of the responsibilities specified in paragraph 2 for the weekday emergency duty judge.  The duties also include advisories for first appearance pursuant to Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.130, shelter hearings pursuant to section 39.402 and 39.506, Florida Statutes, and delinquency detention hearings pursuant to section 985.255, Florida Statutes. 

 

5.       OTHER MATTERS

 

A.  For purposes of this Order, assignments shall operate as follows:

 

1.         For a weekend unaffected by a holiday, responsibility of the weekend duty judge shall commence at 5:01 p.m. on Friday preceding the weekend on which the judge is scheduled and shall conclude at 8:00 a.m. on the following Monday.

 

2.         For a holiday occurring on Friday, responsibility of the holiday duty judge shall commence at 5:01 p.m. on Thursday and conclude at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, whereupon the weekend duty judge shall assume responsibility.  For a Thursday holiday that proceeds a Friday holiday, the responsibility of the Thursday holiday duty judge shall commence at 5:01 p.m. on Wednesday and conclude at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday.

 

3.         For a holiday occurring on Monday, responsibility of the holiday duty judge shall commence at 8:01 a.m. on Monday and conclude at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday.  For a Tuesday holiday following a Monday holiday, the responsibility of the Tuesday holiday duty judge shall commence at 8:01 a.m. on Tuesday and conclude at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday.

 

4.         For a holiday that occurs on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday that neither precedes nor follows another holiday, responsibility of the holiday duty judge shall commence at 5:01 p.m. on the day preceding the holiday and shall conclude at 8:00 a.m. the next business day.

 

B.  Emergency duty may require that the judge travel to the Clerk’s office, the Sheriff’s office, or other remote locations after 5:01 p.m. or on weekends or holiday.  To eliminate such travel, a fax machine will be made available to the Emergency Duty Judge.  Any judge choosing to use the fax machine is responsible for bringing it to work at the conclusion of duty responsibilities.

 

C.  Since the Court is mandated to be available for certain proceedings on a 24-hour basis, every judge is required to provide a telephone or beeper number by which that judge can be contacted when assigned to emergency duty.  This contact number will be made available to the appropriate agencies.  Any judge choosing to use the Court’s beeper is responsible for bringing it to work at the conclusion of duty responsibilities.

 

D.   In the event a judge wants to change duty assignment, it is the judge’s responsibility to find a judge willing to change assignments.  It is also be the judge’s responsibility to notify all persons affected by the change.

 

E. The duties of the emergency duty judge are expanded to include all matters specifically mentioned in this Order and any other emergency, which should arise during a judge’s duty.

 

6.         SCHEDULE

 

If the following assignments conflict with any other commitments, IT IS THE OBLIGATION OF THE JUDGE ASSIGNED TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS WITH ANOTHER JUDGE TO EXCHANGE THE DUTY.  IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ASSIGNED JUDGE TO PROVIDE TIMELY NOTIFICATION OF THE EXCHANGE TO ALL PERSONS AFFECTED BY THE EXCHANGE.

 

*The Chief Judge in order of seniority and preference assigned these 12 holidays as extra advisory/emergency duty days.  Except for the judges assigned to advisory duty by separate Administrative Order, all weekends are assigned on strict rotation.

 

Date

Judge

Notes

January

 

 

1

Covert

New Year’s Day*

2-3

Peters

 

9-10

Fullerton

 

16-17

Laughlin

 

18

Jagger

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day*

23-24

Horrox

 

30-31

Farnell

 

February

 

 

6-7

Jagger

 

13-14

Vaccaro

 

15

Jirotka

Presidents’ Day*

20-21

Shames

 

27-28

Pierce

 

March

 

 

6-7

Ulmer

 

13-14

Federico

 

20-21

Jirotka

 

27-28

Williams

 

April

 

 

2

Kelly

Good Friday*

3-4

St. Arnold

 

10-11

Allan

 

17-18

Greer

 

24-25

Ley

 

May

 

 

1-2

Quesada

 

8-9

Sullivan

 

15-16

Lenderman

 

22-23

Boyer

 

29-30

Ramsberger

 

31

Campbell

Memorial Day*

June

 

 

5-6

Rondolino

 

12-13

Day

 

19-20

Gross

 

26-27

McGrady

 

July

 

 

3-4

Helinger, Chris

 

5

Day

Independence Day*

10-11

Schaefer, John

 

17-18

Baird

 

24-25

Demers

 

31

Logan

 

August

 

 

1

Logan

 

7-8

Helinger, Jack

 

14-15

Newton

 

21-22

Carballo

 

28-29

Carassas

 

September

 

 

4-5

Campbell

 

6

Helinger, Chris

Labor Day*

9

Pierce

Rosh Hashanah*

11-12

Bedinghaus

 

18-19

Kelly

 

25-26

Freeman

 

October

 

 

2-3

Hessinger

 

9-10

Covert

 

16-17

Andringa

 

23-24

New Judge

 

30-31

Bulone

 

November

 

 

6-7

Luce

 

11

Carassas

Veterans Day*

13-14

Overton

 

20-21

McNary

 

25

Bedinghaus

Thanksgiving*

26

Helinger, Jack

Thanksgiving*

27-28

Dittmer

 

December

 

 

4-5

Peters

 

11-12

Fullerton

 

18-19

Laughlin

 

24

New Judge

Christmas Holiday

25-26

Horrox

 

31

Dittmer

New Year’s Holiday*

* Court Holidays

 

Effective January 1, 2010, Administrative Order 2008-056 PI-CIR is hereby rescinded.

 

DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers at Clearwater, Pinellas County, Florida on this ____ day of October 2009.

 

 

 

                                                                                    ___________________________________

J. Thomas McGrady, 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, Pinellas County

            The Honorable Jim Coats, Sheriff, Pinellas County

            Jackson Flyte, Regional Counsel

            Suzanne Mucklow, Executive Director, Pinellas County Clerk’s Office

            Gay Inskeep, Trial Courts Administrator

            Spouse Abuse Shelters, Pinellas County

            Bar Associations, Pinellas and Pasco County

            Court Reporters, Pinellas County

            Law Libraries, Pinellas and Pasco County

            Court Security Division