Williams, M - Divisional Instructions

Zoom Link for Juvenile Division - Therapeutic Court

Meeting Link: Zoom Link

Meeting ID: 812 4001 8216

Toll free numbers: (877) 853-5257 or (888) 475-4499

Zoom Link for Family Division Uniform Motion Calendar (UMC)

Meeting Link: Zoom Link

Meeting ID: 895 2147 7978

Passcode: 691315

AUDIO ONLY: by calling:
US Toll-free 877-853-5257
US Toll-free 888-475-4499

When prompted enter, Meeting ID: 895 2147 7978 Passcode: 691315

Divisional Instructions: Family Division MJCLZ: Hearing Room 6F

Divisional Email Address- CAD-MJCL-Z@PBCGOV.ORG

No Ex-Parte Communication will be accepted by US mail or by email.

Emails will only be accepted if approved by the Magistrate's Assistant or the Magistrate, in advance.

Scope of Jurisdiction for Magistrate Maxine A. M. Williams:

General Magistrate Maxine A. M. Williams has been assigned to the Main Courthouse since February 23, 2015. She has been handling post judgment family cases, and emergency Baker Act and Marchman Act cases. Effective February 1, 2024 Magistrate Maxine A.M. Williams will continue her assignment in the Family Division, but will be handling all post judgment matters in division FC going forward. All previously scheduled matters, including those from division FC will remain set before Magistrate Maxine Williams to avoid delays in litigation.  She will also continue covering emergency Baker Acts and Marchman Acts and will also continue to cover the Juvenile Division Therapeutic Court Judicial Reviews.

Order of Referral:

For post judgment non-child support matters an Order of Referral pursuant to Florida Family Law of Procedure 12.490 must be prepared for the Magistrate and shall list the assigned magistrate by name. Please see administrative order 5.104 for updated procedures for the Order of Referral.

No Order of Referral Needed for Child Support Only Motions/Pleadings:

For matters in which only child support or child related expenses are being requested, no Order of Referral is necessary since the matter will be heard pursuant to Rule 12.491, Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure.

Suspension Dates:

Division MJCLZ (Magistrate Maxine Williams) will no longer post suspension dates. All UMCs are to be scheduled on line on available dates.

Submission of Proposed Reports/Orders/Judgments:

Do not submit orders to the divisional CAD - follow instructions below

• ALL proposed reports and recommendations/orders/dismissals/judgments, orders of referral etc. should be submitted through the on-line services system [OLS] without a signature line, as the orders will be signed electronically and will be E-Filed and E-Served. If the order being submitted is regarding a hearing held in open court, the date of that hearing and the parties in attendance must be included in the first sentence of the order. All reports/orders/judgments are to be reviewed by all counsel of record prior to submission. Do not submit any orders in anticipation of an upcoming hearing unless it is a UMC hearing.
• The online scheduling system does not allow you to hold dates, so you must be sure the date is coordinated with all parties prior to setting the hearing. All motions must be filed and docketed with the clerk prior to scheduling a UMC hearing. All proposed orders must include the motion filing date.
• The proposed reports/Orders/dismissals/judgments, etc. must be in WORD FORMAT that's being submitted via Online Services [OLS].
• To submit your order/judgment: Log on to the NEW 15th Judicial Circuit website and click View All Web Applications under Circuit Web Applications then click online services and sign in with user name and password, then case number and follow the prompts. Pick the 3rd option: Upload a Proposed Order.
• If you need any help submitting proposed orders via OLS please visit the courts YouTube page, CourtHelp4U, for additional help.

Uniform Motion Calendar- UMC hearings (Scheduled online):

The Uniform Motion Calendar shall be set on each Wednesday (unless suspended) at 8:30am.

The Uniform Motion Calendar is for non-evidentiary matters that require less than five minutes per side.

All Uniform Motion Calendar hearings shall be scheduled via Zoom or other video conferencing at the request of any party per Rule 2.530, Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. The Zoom information (below) must be included in your Notice of Hearing and a courtesy copy sent to the Magistrate via the Cad-email CAD-MJCL-Z@PBCGOV.ORG.

As of  March 30, 2021, ZOOM instructions for all UMC are as follows:

UMC Zoom Meeting Information

Meeting Link: Zoom Link

Schedule your UMC hearings on line. Be sure to attach a copy of motion at the time of scheduling. You do not need to forward copies of the notice & motion for UMC hearings, they are to be uploaded at the time you schedule the hearing.

Note: If you resolve or re-set your UMC hearing, please be sure to cancel your hearing on line, so the date is available for other cases.

LIMITS ON THE NUMBER OF MATTERS TO BE HEARD AT UMC: Each case is only permitted to have a maximum of two (2) UMC hearings on the on-line calendar, unless specifically authorized by the court. For cases that have more than one pending motion, the parties need to work together and have all the motions heard at one time on the court's REGULAR docket.  

Request for Evidentiary Hearings and/or Request for Trial:

Effective July 1, 2019

Special Set hearing, Non-Jury Trials, and evidentiary Motion hearings are set with the Court through the Magistrate Assistant only.

Before requesting a special set hearing or request for trial (1) the motion(s) must be filed and docketed with the Clerk of Court; (2) If needed, the Order of Referral shall be prepared and the objection period expired; and (3) The parties shall comply with AO 5.209, except for the section regarding envelopes, prior to requesting a hearing date and time. In keeping with professional courtesy, any party scheduling a hearing shall make a good faith attempt to resolve the matter, undertake reasonable efforts to contact the opposing party/counsel for availability or scheduling conflicts.

For matters that require a hearing before Magistrate Maxine Williams, the party requesting said hearing should submit an email to CAD-MJCL-Z@PBCGOV.ORG {with a copy to the opposing party or a certification that the opposing self-represented party was copied by US mail} and the email shall include:

1. an estimate of the time needed to hear the matter;
2. a copy of the signed order of referral [if necessary]; and
3. a copy of the motion(s);
4. a copy of the notice of unavailability that has been filed with the court
5. the subject line of the email must include the words:
   SPECIAL SET, the case number and name of the parties

FOR EXAMPLE:

The Magistrate's staff will make every effort to contact the parties to schedule a hearing. Please note that the Magistrate's office may, from time to time and as the circumstances require, schedule hearings without coordinating it with the parties or their counsel.

Service of Documents on Self-Represented Parties:

Self-represented individuals will be served with documents by the court by Email unless they have been excused from eservice by Rule 2.516, Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin.  Pursuant, to recently amended Rule 2.516, service will be on the self-represented party's designated email address or email address used by the self-represented party in the E-Portal. Caution: Do not add a self-represented party's email to documents or the state e-filing portal unless an email designation has been filed by the party.

Continuances:

Any request for continuance must be in writing and co-signed by the Client and set for hearing on the Magistrate's Calendar (after receiving a hearing date from the Magistrate's Assistant). Alternatively, if the continuance is agreed to by opposing counsel, and it is the first time the parties are requesting to continue the matter, a stipulation signed by both counsel and their clients, stating the reason for the continuance, should be submitted together with a proposed order either: (a) assigning a new hearing or non-jury trial date; or, (b) setting a status conference to obtain a reset date. All subsequent requests for continuances, shall be by proper motion and hearing before the Magistrate.

Cancellations:

Cancellations may occur by (1) Agreed Order confirming that the matter has been resolved and the pending matter resolved or withdrawn; or (2) Notice of cancellation confirming that the matter has been resolved and the pending motion or petition resolved or withdrawn. (3) All cancellations must be approved by the General Magistrate. The proposed Agreed Order shall include the Agreement, and if applicable, the Parenting Plan and child Support Guidelines Worksheet.

Telephonic Appearances:

TELEPHONE APPEARANCES, IF APPROVED, WILL BE HANDLED OVER ZOOM.

Interpreters:

An interpreter will not be provided by the Court for hearings before the Magistrate, except for in a Department of Revenue (DOR) proceeding. If an interpreter is needed for a party or a witness, it shall be the responsibility of the party needing same to provide a disinterested, qualified interpreter. For further information or for assistance locating an interpreter, please visit Court Interpreters.

E-Courtesy Documents and Proposed Orders:

E-Courtesy has been added to Magistrate Maxine Williams's online services section and is for submission of documents that are related to hearings that are scheduled on line only {i.e., copies of Motions, case law, memoranda, etc.]. Please do not submit proposed Orders through e-courtesy. Rather, all proposed Orders must be submitted via OLS (OnLine Services) to division MJCLZ. Proposed orders will not be accepted via Email and cannot be signed while in PDF format.

Note: All documents for review must be timely filed and uploaded at least 2 business days prior to a hearing scheduled hearing date. The Court prepares for hearings at least 24 hours in advance. Select the on line hearing date and attach a copy of the document. Documents that are not timely furnished will not be able to be viewed unless they are timely uploaded through e-Courtesy, as it takes 2-3 business days for filed documents to be viewed on the docket.

Documents Filed in the State E-Portal:

DOCUMENTS TAKE APPROXIMATELY 2-3 DAYS TO BE DOCKETED AND VIEWED. It is extremely important to file your documents timely for the Magistrate to review.

Recorded Documents:

Please review Amendment to Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Administration 2.520::
Documents prepared and filed by the court or by any party to a proceeding which are to be recorded in the public records of any county, require a 3 inch by 3-inch space at the top right-hand corner on the FIRST page and a 1 inch by 3-inch space at the top-right hand corner on each subsequent page shall be left BLANK and reserved for use by the clerk of court. Any document (Judgment/Dismissal, etc.) that does NOT have the required 3x3 blank space will NOT be recorded.