New protocols for the operation of Florida’s Appellate and Trial Courts will be implemented on June 21, 2021, according to Fla. Admin. Order No. AOSC 21-17 (the “Order”), issued recently by the Florida Supreme Court.
As Floridians continue to get vaccinated, the Florida Supreme Court has responded in turn, noting in the Order that “fully vaccinated persons do not need to wear masks or physically distance in most indoor and outdoor settings”, with the exception of locations that are preempted by federal regulations.
This Order establishes new health and safety protocols and emergency operational measures consistent with the present state of the COVID-19 pandemic in the State of Florida and extends and modifies previously enacted temporary emergency operational measures for purposes of mitigating the effects of the public health emergency on the judicial branch and its participants during and after the emergency. It is important to note that, unless the Chief Justice authorizes an extension of time, courts will have until August 2, 2021, to fully comply to the new protocols in Fla. Admin. Order No. AOSC 21-17. The idea behind the new protocols, per a letter authored by the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court, is to continue to move courts away from remote trials in all jurisdictions, including remote civil trials, authorized in June 2020 in AOSC 20-23.
To that end, Fla. Admin. Order No. AOSC 21-17 established guidelines for the operational measures that Florida Appellate and Trial Courts are required to follow, including the use of technology in court Proceedings. The Order gives the Chief Justice broad discretion in determining when and how technology may be used, and under what circumstances it can be used for trial court proceedings that must be conducted in person. It also delegates discretion to individual circuits to continue to allow certain proceedings, including motion hearings, to be conducted virtually, as the efficacy of virtual litigation has been battle-tested by the rigors of the pandemic. Detailed provisions for the administration of oaths, law school practice programs, Appellate and Trial Court proceedings including time frames for case management and a list of factors based, on priority, that the Chief Justice should considered when determining how to utilize the ever-expanding list of available and in-person court resources, can be found here. The protocols and measures took effect on June 21, 2021 and shall remain in effect until amended or terminated by subsequent order.
The bottom-line impact of the new administrative order? As the state emerges from the COVID-19 epidemic, courts are increasingly return to “business as usual”, with the liberty to use technology in court proceedings from lessons learned the hard and fast way during the pandemic.