COVID-19 ADVISORY #14
MIAMI-DADE JUDGES, STAFF BEGIN TRAINING ON
ZOOM PLATFORM FOR FUTURE VIRTUAL COURTROOMS
[With attachments: Administrative Orders 20-04, 20-04A1 and 20-05]
The judges and staff of the Miami-Dade Courts this week began training on the Zoom video conferencing platform in preparation for a future rollout of Virtual Courtrooms. A testing phase is also underway. Judges participating in testing have begun holding virtual hearings, and judges who have completed training are beginning to schedule Virtual Courtroom hearings on Zoom. Additional updates will be provided once testing and training have been completed.
The Zoom platform was provided by the Office of the State Courts Administrator for all courts in the Florida State Courts System as they begin to move toward remote court appearances in response to the coronavirus disease COVID-19 pandemic.
Pursuant to prior Administrative Orders (AOs) of the Florida Supreme Court and the Eleventh Judicial Circuit and in order to reduce the transmission of coronavirus disease COVID-19, all court locations have been closed to the public except for those individuals participating in emergency or mission-critical court proceedings. A list of mission-critical court proceedings is included in AO 20-04, and was amended in AO 20-04A1*.
Pursuant to Administrative Order 20-05, non-essential hearings that were previously suspended, but can be effectively conducted using remote appearance technology, are no longer suspended. Only those non mission-critical hearings that can be conducted through the use of technology are no longer suspended.
Emergency and mission critical court matters shall also be conducted remotely using technology, unless the presiding judge determines that an in-person court appearance is required. Persons required to attend in person should maintain a 6-foot social distance from one another and practice safety measures as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Florida Department of Health.
The suspension of deadlines and time limits set forth in AO 24-04 remain in place through close of business Monday, April 20, 2020.
Follow the Miami-Dade Courts for Future Updates:
Please continue to visit our website www.jud11.flcourts.org and social media @miamidadecourts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for future updates on the Miami-Dade Courts’ response to coronavirus disease COVID-19.
*AO 20-04A1 excludes Termination of Parental Rights Advisory Hearings from the mission-critical list.
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The mission of Florida’s judicial branch is to protect rights and liberties, uphold and interpret the law, and provide for the peaceful resolution of disputes.
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