Requirements & Information

Requirements & Information

Standards of Professionalism

Judge Doyle expects all attorneys who appear to know and adhere to the Twelfth Judicial Circuit’s Standards of Professionalism, also available on the websites of the Manatee County Bar Association and the Sarasota County Bar Association.

Generally

Many types of hearings can take place remotely by Zoom. Zoom is a platform by which people can appear by telephone or by video. More information about the platform is available on Zoom's website and at Judge Doyle's Zoom Hearings page. If, after reviewing the guidelines below, you are unsure about whether a hearing can occur by Zoom or whether you are supposed to appear in person, please contact the Judicial Assistant. If a hearing is noticed as an in-person hearing, litigants and attorneys must appear in person absent an order authorizing him/her to appear by Zoom.

Trials, Evictions, Civil Traffic Hearings, and Infraction (Ordinance) Hearings

Absent an order from the Court permitting a trial or eviction to occur by Zoom, trials, evictions, civil traffic hearings, and infraction (ordinance) hearings shall take place live in the courtroom and the notice shall include language that the hearing is taking place live in the courtroom and not by remote means. Requests to appear by Zoom for these types of proceedings will be granted upon the Court’s finding of good cause and if such request is received in Judge Doyle’s office no less than two business days prior to the scheduled hearing and if otherwise in compliance with Rule 2.530 of the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration.

Evidentiary hearings less than thirty minutes in length, including hearings on claims of exemptions may be noticed as a Zoom hearing without prior authorization from the Court as long as the Notice of Hearing includes the Meeting ID, Password, and information about how to access and utilize Zoom.

Visit Judge Doyle’s Zoom page for Meeting ID and Password

If using Zoom, please adhere to the following rules. Failure to follow these rules may result in the termination of your court appearance and/or revocation of the privilege to appear remotely at future hearings:

• All participants must have their audio and video (if applicable) working and know how to mute/unmute and turn their camera on and off before the appearance begins.
• If Zooming in with audio and video capability, the participant should name themselves using their true legal first and last name. Failure to be properly named will result in the Court not allowing you into the courtroom.
• When in the Zoom courtroom, the participant should remain muted with their video camera off until their case is called.
• Participants must be present in a building, with minimal background noise. Participants must not be moving from room to room.
• Participants cannot be outdoors, or in a vehicle, even if the vehicle is stopped. Participants cannot be in motion in any way.
• When a case is called, the participant shall then enable their microphone and unmute themselves in a timely fashion.
• Any documents that would normally be filed with the clerk shall be filed with the clerk 3 business days in advance of the hearing. Please do not send any documents to the judicial assistant by email or hardcopy that you would normally file with the clerk had your appearance been in person. Please contact the clerk’s office for further instruction on the number of days in advance documents must be filed with the clerk for them to be “seen” by the judge electronically.
• Appearing remotely on Zoom carries with it the same requirements for professionalism, decorum, and civility to all participants and the court as if physically present. All participants shall be wearing attire as if they were physically in the courtroom. As in any courtroom, there is to be no eating, drinking, gum chewing, smoking, or engaging in any activity other than participation in the court appearance.
• Failure to comply with these requirements may result in the revocation of zoom appearance privileges.
• Please Note: If a lawyer has a client who violates these rules, it will be treated as if the lawyer violated the rules, and the lawyer can have their privileges revoked.
• These rules will be strictly enforced.

Professionalism

All attorneys and pro se litigants must follow the Standards of Professionalism, which are also available on the Manatee Bar Association's website. All parties are required to coordinate hearing time with the opposing parties. If a party is encountering difficulty in procuring cooperation that party may unilaterally schedule a 10-minute status hearing providing at least two-weeks’ notice to the opposing party or parties.

Interpreters

If an interpreter is needed, you must arrange for the interpreter. The Twelfth Judicial Circuit provides interpreters for all court events, if requested properly in advance. Please see the Court Interpreter page for further guidance.

Hearing Time

All motions must be filed prior to or simultaneously with reserving hearing time. Hearings may be scheduled using the Court’s JACS. If you are requesting more than 60 minutes, please contact the Judicial Assistant to specially set it. If you find there is insufficient hearing time available or you have to wait more than two weeks to obtain hearing time, please contact the Judicial Assistant. Hearings are limited to the time reserved. The parties opposing the motion are entitled to equal time. Accordingly, the party reserving and scheduling the hearing should either determine how much hearing time is necessary and then at least double it to account for response time, or preferably, confer with opposing counsel and agree to the time required. Please email courtesy copies of hearings to the Judicial Assistant. Hard copies are not necessary. Cross-noticing is not permitted unless agreed upon by all parties.

Cancelling Hearings

Hearings scheduled through JACS may be cancelled using JACS up to three days prior to the hearing date. If the JACS deadline for cancelling a hearing has passed, the scheduling party must contact the Judicial Assistant to cancel the hearing, notify all parties of the cancellation, and file a Notice of Cancellation with the Clerk. Please email courtesy copies of Notices of Cancellation to the JA. Hard copies are not necessary.

Rehearing, New Trial, Reconsideration

All motions for Rehearing, Reconsideration or for New Trial must be filed with the Clerk and a copy submitted directly to the Judge. After review, the Judge will determine whether a hearing is necessary.

Case Law

Provide copies of case law at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled hearing. If you do not provide the case law in advance, your hearing time may be decreased by the time it takes for the Judge to read whatever is provided.

PIP Cases

Please refer to the Administrative Order 2022-07.1.

Please read if you do not have an attorney The Judge must apply the same rules to all parties, regardless of whether you have an attorney. The Judge may not talk to you about your case outside of the courtroom, so please do not call to speak with the Judge. The Judicial Assistant may not help you with your case or send information to the other party or attorney for you. The Judicial Assistant may not “give the Judge a message.” Please do not ask the Judicial Assistant for the outcome of a hearing or verify that an order has been signed; you may review the Manatee County Clerk website for details about your case. Please remember that whenever you file something with the Clerk or provide the Judge a copy, you must send a copy to all the attorneys or parties at the same time.

Judicial Assistant

Lila Mercurio

Telephone

(941) 749–3607

Please email Lila Mercurio at:

codivision2@jud12.flcourts.org
Emails must include the case number and style in subject line

Mailing Address

P.O. Box 3000, Bradenton, FL 34206

Fax

941-749-3677; The fax is to be used for emergencies only.

Proposed Orders

All Proposed Orders shall be submitted to the statewide Portal as is described in Administrative Order 2022-1.2.

Evictions

Once the Clerk has entered the Default, the Final Judgment of Possession may be sent through the portal to the Judicial Assistant. Hard copies are not necessary. Once signed, the Judicial Assistant will scan and email them back. If a response is filed, the Court will review the response and determine whether a hearing is warranted. If a hearing is required, the Judicial Assistant will schedule the hearing and notify all parties.

Case Law

Provide copies of case law at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled hearing. If you do not provide the case law in advance, your hearing time may be decreased by the time it takes for the Judge to read whatever is provided.

All requests for emergency hearing time must be made by first filing an emergency motion with the Clerk and then providing a copy of the motion for the Judge’s review. The motion shall contain certification that the attorney has personally spoken with opposing counsel, or has made diligent attempts to contact opposing counsel, in an effort to resolve the disputed issue(s) and recite opposing counsel’s position prior to requesting an emergency hearing. The motion shall be accompanied by a cover letter that must include an estimate of the amount of hearing time required. The Judge will review the motion to determine whether an expedited hearing is necessary.

The vast percentage of evidentiary hearings will be held in person, and as such, exhibits will be pre-marked and entered in evidence in open court.

In the rare circumstance where a party is appearing remotely and has an exhibit to enter in evidence, due to the unknown nature of the exhibit, the party is encouraged to contact the Court’s Judicial Assistant.