For Hillsborough County Cases, Do You Have to Go to Court or Appear by Zoom?

Over the weekend, we received a message generated by an automated notification system from Pat Frank, Clerk of the Circuit Court, 13th Judicial Circuit of Hillsborough County.

According to the message, when each defendant receives their court notice, they will also receive a copy of the following document for the COVID-19 court information and process to be utilized prior to coming to the courthouse.

The attached document provides:

Prior to coming to the courthouse for your scheduled court date, visit the link below to determine if your case will be rescheduled or heard remotely via Zoom™ (or a similar system).

https://www.fljud13.org/Home.aspx

• Click on View Latest News for COVID-19 Information and Updates

• Click on Judicial Directory

• Click on Individual Judge’s Name/Division

• Click on Procedures/Preferences (Includes Instructions for appearing and participating electronically including meeting ID’s)

In order to view the latest case information, visit www.hover.hillsclerk.com

If the defendant’s address on file with the Clerk of Court has changed, a “Designation of Current Mailing and Email Address” form (available at www.hillsclerk.com under the “Forms”) must be completed and mailed to Clerk of the Circuit Court, PO Box 3360, Tampa, FL 33601.

In order to further protect the health and safety of others who may interact with you, please review the below questions and if you answer yes to any of them, contact your attorney for further guidance prior to coming to the courthouse:

1. Have you or anyone in your household come in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID19 in the last 30 days? Yes___ No___ 
2. Have you experienced any of the CDC signs or symptoms of COVID-19 such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell within the last 14 days? Yes___ No___
3. Have you traveled internationally or on a cruise within the last 30 days? Yes__ No___

COVID-19 Emergency Order from DHSMV Regarding Driver's License and DUI Suspensions

On March 9, 2020, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Executive Order 20-52 which provides:

“[e]ach state agency may suspend the provision of any regulatory statute prescribing the procedures for conduct of state business or the orders or rules of that agency, if strict compliance with the provision of any such statute, order, or rule would in any way prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action in coping with the emergency.”

As a result, the Executive Director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) authorized the following COVID-19 Emergency Order 043020 which:

• Extended the effective period of driver licenses and identification cards with expiration dates on or after May 1, 2020, through May 31, 2020, for thirty (30) days.
• Waived the delinquent renewal fees during the extension periods for these driver licenses/permits.
• Waived the “in-person” Driving Under the Influence (DUI) program client interviews, evaluations, case monitoring, supervision, meetings, and educational courses pursuant to section 322.292(4), Florida Statutes, and rule 15A-10.027, Florida Administrative Code, until May 31, 2020. In lieu of “in-person” interactions, DUI programs may use distance learning methodologies. 

The COVID-19 emergency order was authorized pursuant to Executive Order 20-52. The order expires, except to the extent specific dates are provided herein, on the expiration or rescission of Executive Order 20-52. 

The order was executed on the 30th day of April of 2020, by TERRY L. RHODES, the Executive Director

Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Additionally, due to COVID-19, FLHSMV is providing modified in-office services by appointment only. 

Are the Courts in Florida Open During the COVID-19 (Coronavirus)?

According to an amended version of an administrative order issued previously by Chief Justice Charles T. Canady, the Florida Supreme Court just extended the suspension of all criminal and civil jury trials, among other proceedings, from May 29 through July 2, 2020.

Although the courts remain open, the goal is too dramatically reduce the number of people reporting to the courthouses each day. Persons who do not have business in the court facilities are requested to refrain from coming into these buildings.

The administrative order, issued on May 4, extended the suspension of all time periods involving the speedy trial procedure from June 1 through July 6 for all criminal and juvenile court proceedings.

Read the amended order in its entirety here - https://www.floridasupremecourt.org/content/download/633282/7195631/AOSC20-23.pdf

The amended order reiterates many of the past actions including the suspension of jury trials. The amended order also explains the types of proceedings that must continue despite the pandemic, such as bond hearings.

The amended order introduces a list of hearing types the chief justice says can be conducted remotely including:

• Arraignments and pleas in absentia in county court misdemeanor cases;
• Status, case management, and pretrial conferences in all case types;
• Non-evidentiary and evidentiary motion hearings in all case types;
• Hearings in noncriminal traffic infraction cases;
• Hearings in juvenile delinquency cases;
• Problem-solving court staffings, hearings, and wellness checks;
• Non-jury trials in all case types, except for criminal, juvenile delinquency and termination of parental rights petitions in dependency cases unless the parties in an excepted case agree to the remote conduct of a non-jury trial; and
• Alternative dispute resolution proceedings, also known as mediation.

When conducting these mission-critical proceedings, the courts are using attempting to minimize the spread of COVID-19 by using social distancing. The mission-critical hearings that must be heard in person include:

• Proceedings related to a violation of quarantine or isolation, a violation of an order to limit travel, a violation of public or private building closures, and a violation of a curfew;
• First appearance hearings, where a defendant appears before a judge within 24 hours of their arrest; 
• Bond motions for individuals in custody; 
• Criminal arraignments, where a defendant not in custody enters a plea, but only as necessary; 
• Hearings on petitions for temporary injunctions relating to the safety of an individual;
• Petitions by law enforcement agencies for risk-protection orders, where someone allegedly posing a threat to someone else or themselves risks losing temporary custody of their firearms;
• Hearings on petitions for extraordinary writs as necessary to protect constitutional rights;
• Hearings to determine whether an individual should be involuntary committed under the state’s Baker or Marchman acts;
• Hearings on petitions for the appointment of an emergency temporary guardian;
• Shelter hearings, when a judge has to decide whether to remove a child from the home; and
• Detention hearings, where a judge has to decide whether a child should be held.