When you see something that is not right, not fair, find a way to get in the way and cause trouble. Congressman John Lewis
Monday, January 08, 2018
ONLINE SCHEDULING SYSTEM ... COUNTER POINT TO RUMPOLE
THE CAPTAIN RETORTS:
POINT ... COUNTER POINT ...
ON THE ONLINE SCHEDULING SYSTEM ......
My my Horace, a new year may have arrived, but your curmudgeonly (and humerous) style of writing has not changed a bit.
El Capitan, on the other hand, being the intrepid reporter that I have come to be known, took the time to contact a close friend who spends most of his time downtown at the courthouse where the black birds fly overhead.
According to my friend, we’ll call him Seve Nty Three (Nty is his middle name), the Online Scheduling System works wonders in the General Jurisdiction (Civil) Division.
Last week he filed a Motion To Compel Answers to Interrogatories. He asked his paralegal to Efile the Motion and check the Online Calendaring system. She looked online at the Judge’s calendar. The Judge has her five minute calendar every Tuesday and Thursday beginning at 8:45 AM. The Online system lets you choose the next open date, that is at least seven days from the day you are online (so as to give the other side sufficient notice). Once you choose your date, you are sent a confirmation from the Efiling system. At that point, the paralegal generates a Notice of Hearing and files that online so that all parties are aware of the date and time.
If there is an emergency that needs to be heard, then you contact the JA. If it is something more than a routine motion, one that takes 15 minutes or longer, then some of the judges have that information and choices also posted in the Online Calendaring system. With other Judges, you do need to contact the JA.
According to Seve, the system works well.
Maybe the FACDL President can ask the FACDL Liaison to the Circuit Court to set up a meeting with the Administrative Judge and the AOC and the Clerk of Court to see whether that same system can be implemented at the GJB.
CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com
There's no reason e filing can't work in theory. The devil, of course, is in the details. For example...............Who determines how many cases can get set on a given day? Would the caps be reasonable? Argument typically is limited to five total minutes on motions set on the uniform motion calendar in civil. Would there be limits like that in criminal? Would the judges set aside enough time to address motions that take longer as special sets?
ReplyDeleteI think e filing would work well in criminal...........it's not like there's a whole lot going on in the building (cases aren't going to trial like they used to, as we all know) so there should be plenty of time to address the special sets.
BTDT
PS---e filling also eliminates issues of notice, who set the case on calendar (no more stealthy settings because you have a connection with the Clerk's Office), etc.
Things like continuances, pleas, and routine motions should be e-scheduled. Substantive motions, like motions to dismiss, suppress, etc..., should be coordinated through the JA.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteTHE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
DEADLINE EXTENDED: THE FLORIDA BAR SEEKS APPLICANTS FOR APPOINTMENT TO 26 JUDICIAL NOMINATING COMMISSIONS
The Florida Bar has the opportunity to nominate six lawyers for each of the 26 Judicial Nominating Commissions to the governor for his appointment. Each appointee will serve a four-year term, commencing July 1, 2018. Applicants must be members of The Florida Bar engaged in the practice of law and residents of the territorial jurisdiction served by the commission to which the member is applying.
Commissioners are not eligible for state judicial office for vacancies filled by the JNC on which they sit for two years following completion of their term.
Applications must be submitted no later than Monday, Jan. 22, 2018, in the Executive Director’s office of The Florida Bar. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of an application. Screening committees of the Board of Governors will review all JNC applications. The Executive Committee will then make recommendations to the Board of Governors.
Persons interested in applying for any of these vacancies may Download the new application form from the Bar's website, www.floridabar.org, or should contact Kristen Wilson at Bar headquarters at (850) 561-5757, to obtain the application. Completed applications must be received by the Executive Director, The Florida Bar, 651 East Jefferson Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2300 by the January 22nd extended deadline date.
CAP OUT .....
Call to JA
ReplyDeleteHi, I need a hearing on a motion.
JA: We only do motions on every 15th Wednesday.
But, I have surgery planed on that day.
JA: Get someone to cover.
But, client paid me big bucks to handle myself.
JA: File a motion asking for an exception.
But, this is urgent.
JA: Please hold.....
(Please tell the judge he has opposition... and it is ME.
I’ve never had a problem with a ja
ReplyDeleteIf one more JA says, "please hold"....
ReplyDeleteWell that's better than the JA's who simply don't take calls.
Look, Rumpy, most JA's are OK but, I am tired of being told that Judge X "only does..."
To BTDT, the person who sets the caps on number of motions and how much time things are heard are the judges. Already, judges limit the cases a JA can put on calendar, so that doesn't change anything. In terms of 5 min motion calendar in civil (I do both civil and criminal), some judges are strict on the time limit and some could care less. I've seen a motion argued for 40 minutes in a 5 min motion calendar. Online scheduling would work perfectly in criminal, and it is time criminal catches up.
ReplyDeletePlease, MM, anyone, let my cat walk across the keyboard- anything is better than reading the hyper, bad prose, poor attempts at comedy posts by the captain of swill. I'm begging rumpole.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteCap & Rump:
FACDL Board Member here. Thanks for the enlightened conversation about this issue. I plan on bringing this up at the next Board Meeting and seeing what FACDL can do to move this idea along so that what they have in civil can work in criminal.
Well, that solves it. FACDL (Your dues statement is ready)is on top of it.
ReplyDelete1:28..........understood. I think, however, that the chief judges should take an active role in criminal and set basic guidelines (of course, judges are independent officials and can ignore them, but we can hope they'll at least consider them). I've also seen judges allow attorneys to go much longer than 5 minutes in civil. Some judges roll their cases to the end of calendar in such situations. That seems to work well.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, I agree that online scheduling can work in criminal. I just think it should be discussed and thought through before implemented by the judges, clerk's office, defense bar, and prosecutors so everyone can provide input.
The criminal judges hopefully can improve on the system adopted in civil (if we're really lucky, the judges in civil will consider the changes the criminal judges make and can then learn from their successes and failures).
BTDT