Unified Family Court

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):_______________________________

_______________________________________

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.

____________________________________

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__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

____________________________________

Circuit Judge

Original to File

Copy to referring Judge

Copy to UFC case manager

APPENDIX C