Florida Supreme Court AOSC 20-23 Amendment 12 and
AOSC 21-17 previously established active case management protocols for
managing judicial caseloads including the requirement that all chief judges enter local
administrative orders that specify civil cases be governed by a case management order
that includes enforceable deadlines and a projected trial date. Following this directive,
local Administrative Order AO 21-09 was signed on April 30, 2021, outlining case management
protocols and requiring a case management order to be entered il all eligible civil cases.
On May 23, 2024, the Florida Supreme Court entered In re Amendments to Florida Rules of
Civil Procedure, 386 So. 3d 497 (Fla. 2024), which amended certain Rules of Civil Procedure
to further enhance active case management of civil cases, including amending Florida Rule
of Civil Procedure 1.200 to require the Chief Judge of each judicial circuit to enter an
administrative order addressing certain case management requirements; to set a plan for
consistent progress towards the timely resolution of each case and to set reasonable
expectations for the client, the attorneys, and the Court in every case.
Further, on December 5, 2024, the Florida Supreme Court entered In re Amendments to Florida
Rules of Civil Procedure, No. SC2023-0962, 2024 WL 4983566 (Fla. Dec. 5, 2024), which adopted
additional amendments to the Rules of Civil Procedure; and the amendments to Rule 1.200
adopted by the Florida Supreme Court to become effective on January 1, 2025.
In the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Local
Administrative Order 24-20
was issued on December 30, 2024, in accordance with Rule 1.200; This AO rescinds AO 21-09
to become effective January 1, 2025.
This circuit has always championed addressing civil cases based on case need. In 2016,
the Eleventh Judicial Circuit was one of five jurisdictions nationwide selected to
participate in a Pilot Case Management project under a State Justice Initiative Grant,
following recommendations by the Conference of Chief Justices, the National Center for
State Courts, and the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System.
As a result, in November 2016, the circuit implemented a Civil Justice Initiative
Project (CJIPP). These innovations were designed to meet the challenges of contemporary
civil caseloads by taking advantage of modern technologies and highly trained court
staff to provide effective oversight and timely intervention to move civil cases to
resolution by supporting the work of the judge. A summary evaluation report on the
project was issued by the National Center for State Courts is available
here.