Judge Michael J. Linn

• Method of Communication: All communication with the Court and Judge shall be in open court with all parties present, in writing or by email copied to opposing counsel and/or filed with the Clerk and served on all parties. All emails must include all parties and the case number in the subject line, or they will be disregarded.
• Ex parte Communications: All communications with the judicial office must comply with the Canon 3 of the Code of Judicial Conduct, which prohibits a judge from initiating, permitting, or considering ex parte communications and from considering other communications outside the presence of the parties concerning a pending or impending proceeding, unless authorized by law. All parties must be copied on any e-mail directed to the judicial office, unless an ex parte communication is authorized by law.
• Unsolicited Communications: Unsolicited communications from non-parties will not be considered by the Court. Parties may only contact the judicial office in accordance with these practices and procedures.
• E-Filing Portal Contact Information: All attorneys and self-represented litigants must provide an e-mail address to receive signed orders electronically, unless excused. Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.516. It is the responsibility of attorneys and self-represented litigants to update their contact information using Form 2.603 any time there is a change in the e-mail account registered for electronic service.
• Response to Inquiries: All inquiries will be responded to in a timely manner. Please do not send multiple e-mails on the same issue/same inquiry. E-mails will be responded to as soon as possible. The Judicial Assistant is not authorized to provide legal advice.
• Communication Procedures: No party or attorney shall otherwise communicate directly to the Court.

• Court Schedule: This Court operates on a six (6) week rotation: one (1) week of Docket Calls, Sentencings and Motions and one (1) week of Motions, Sentencings and Trial Mini Docket followed by four (4) trial weeks. Most Tuesdays and Wednesdays begin with short hearings scheduled on the Court’s online calendar at 8:45AM. Arraignments and Violation of Probation Arraignments are scheduled every Thursday at 8:45AM.

Arraignment: If a Written Plea of Not Guilty has been filed prior to Arraignment, the attorney nor the Defendant need to appear for Arraignment. If the case is called, it will be noted that the Written Plea of Not Guilty has been filed.

Waiver of Appearance: A Waiver of Appearance must be filed and specifically sets forth that the Defendant knowingly and voluntarily waives his/her appearance at any Pre-Trial Hearing(s) and elects to appear through undersigned counsel. A copy of the e-filed waiver must be available to present to the Court.

• Scheduling Hearings: Bond Hearings and Short hearings that require less than five (5) minutes can be scheduled on Court’s online calendar. Hearing date must be agreed on by all parties before the hearing can be reserved on the online calendar and the Notice of Hearing must be emailed to the Judicial Assistant.

Negotiated Change of Pleas including Violation of Probation Change of Pleas can be scheduled on Court’s online calendar. Hearing date must be agreed on by all parties before the hearing can be reserved on the online calendar. The Court’s Plea Form is available on Judge Linn’s website. If the plea is negotiated, but the sentence is not, the Court will take the plea and set it for sentencing. E-mail the Judicial Assistant for Substantial Assistance pleas.

Please e-mail requests for Motions and Special Set Hearings over five (5) minutes to be scheduled to the Judicial Assistant and include the case number, case name, copy of e-filed motion(s) and the amount of time needed. Opposing counsel must be included when e-mailing the Judicial Assistant. Your e-mail must state the parties have agreed to the amount of time necessary for the hearing. Hearing time will not be given out over the phone. Additional motions may not be “piggy-backed” by cross-notice unless counsel first confirms with opposing counsel, and the Judge’s Judicial Assistant has confirmed there is sufficient additional time that can be reserved. Please do not include this office in e-mail chains to coordinate hearing times.

• Notice of Hearing: A Notice of Hearing must be filed and served immediately after reserving hearing time. A Notice of Hearing involving any remote appearance must list the judicial Zoom credentials. All Notices of Hearing must contain the ADA notification required by Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.540. All Notice of Hearings must be e-mail to the Judicial Assistant.
• Submission Deadlines: Any materials the parties would like the court to review prior to a hearing must be submitted no later than three (3) business days before the hearing.
• Order of Proceedings: If multiple cases are scheduled at the same time, the Court will exercise its discretion in calling the order of cases during a the time the case is scheduled.
• Continuance Procedure: General Rules– Attorneys can have other attorneys stand in for their cases at Docket Call; however, the attorney must have satisfactory information in order to be granted another continuance. Cases that are under a year old will be granted a continuance as long as the State and Defense are in agreement. The Court does not need any explanation regarding the status of the case that is younger than a year.

Any case that is older than a year, the attorney must be able to give a good faith estimate regarding how much time is needed to complete discovery, how many depositions are still outstanding, and how long it will take to complete depositions.

Docket Call – For newer cases, unopposed Motions to Continue should be e-filed and a copy, along with a proposed order (Word format) e-mailed to the Judicial Assistant (SLCJudge6@circuit19.org) no later than 12:00PM the Friday before Docket Call (No Exceptions). If you are submitting an unopposed continuance, the motion must either be signed by all parties, or an e-mail by opposing counsel agreeing to the continuance is attached to the motion. You must review the Court’s online calendars and fill in the next Docket Call date on the proposed order. The proposed order must reflect the date the matter is being continued from and the date the matter is being continued to (all dates are set forth on the Court’s online calendars). If you do not have a copy of a signed Order of Continuance before Docket Call, you and your client must appear in person for Docket Call, if a Waiver of Appearance has not been filed.

Third Degree felonies over a year old – When the most serious felony on the information is a Third-Degree Felony, all parties, excluding defendants who waived their appearance, must appear in person once the case is older than one (1) year from the filing of the information.

Inmates will not need to be present unless there will be a Change of Plea or the parties will not agree on the continuance. Defendants who are inmates will not appear at Docket Call, unless requested in advance by e-mail to SLCJudge6@circuit19.org, at least two (2) full business days in advance of the Docket Call. Unopposed Motions to Continue will not be accepted prior to Docket Call. The attorney must request the continuance at the Docket Call.

Second Degree felonies or higher over two years old – When the most serious felony on the information is a Second-Degree Felony or higher, all parties, excluding defendants who waived their appearance, must appear in person once the case is older than two (2) years from the filing of the information. Inmates will not need to be present unless there will be a Change of Plea or the parties will not agree on the continuance.

Defendants who are inmates will not appear at Docket Call, unless requested in advance by email to SLCJudge6@circuit19.org, at least two (2) full business days in advance of the Docket Call. Unopposed Motions to Continue will not be accepted prior to Docket Call. The attorney must request a continuance at the Docket Call.

VOP Docket Call – Continuances must be emailed to the Judicial Assistant (SLCJudge6@circuit19.org) no later than 12:00PM the Wednesday before VOP Docket Call, (No Exceptions). Please review the Court’s online calendar for the next date and fill in the agreed date on the proposed order. Last minute continuances on all matters will not be granted except for extraordinary circumstances. All other continuances must be submitted to the Court at least three (3) full business days in advance of the day the matter is currently set before the Court. For VOP cases older than a year old, No Unopposed Motions for Continuances will be accepted for VOP cases prior to Docket Call. All attorneys must appear in person to request a continuance.

• Cancelling Hearings: You must cancel hearings by notifying the Judicial Assistant immediately. You must also immediately file and serve a notice of cancellation on opposing counsel and any self-represented litigant along with e-mailing a copy to the Judicial Assistant. If you scheduled hearing time on the online calendar you must cancel the hearing there as well.
• All Hearings must be cleared with opposing counsel. Good faith cooperation is expected from counsel and their support staff. Should counsel or their staff fail to respond within three (3) business days, or refuse to cooperate in obtaining or in setting a hearing, the difficulty should be specifically set forth either in a Motion or in the Notice of Hearing. Forward a copy of the Motion and/or Notice of Hearing via e-mail to the Judicial Assistant. Should a Notice of Hearing not immediately be forwarded to the Judicial Assistant via e-mail, after a Special Set Hearing is obtained, such hearing will not be placed on the Court’s docket.

• Remote Appearance Procedure: The Rules for Remote Appearances:

1. The Court does not allow any remote appearances for evidentiary hearings.
2. The Court does not allow any remote appearances for Mini-Docket.
3. The Court does not allow remote appearances for hearings greater than 30 minutes.
4. The Court does not allow any remote appearances that the attorney has not filed a motion 10 days prior to the hearing requesting to appear by zoom.
5. All remote appearances, other than the JAC hearings, must be approved by Court order.
6. The Court will allow JAC hearings to occur remotely.
7. In cases of exceptional circumstances, the Court may allow exceptions. Time, distance or inconvenience is not an exceptional circumstance.
8. The court maintains a limited virtual courtroom, allowing parties to appear either in person or remotely, as provided by Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.530. Requests to use communication technology for a virtual appearance must be made by filing a motion.

• Platform Used: The court uses Zoom for remote appearances.
• Platform Meeting ID#: If your Zoom appearance has been approved and the order granting filed the Judicial Assistant will e-mail you the Zoom link and Meeting ID.
• Requirements: Remote Appearances may be permitted for non-evidentiary hearings less than 30 minutes. Requesting party must file a Motion to Appear Remotely 10 days before the hearing with the consent of the client. A copy of the motion and order must be forwarded to the Judicial Assistant and opposing counsel for the Court to review. Failure to file the motion within 10 days of the hearing will result in a denial of the motion.
• Technology Needs: Please visit the 19th Circuit’s website for information regarding technology in the courtroom, and for Audio/Visual requests: www.circuit19.org/programs-services/court-programs/court-technology/courtroom-technology

• Format: All proposed orders must be submitted in WORD format, along with a copy of the motion which may be submitted in WORD or PDF format. The document should be named in a searchable format, which contains a short style of the case, short case number and short name of order.
• Submission Method: All proposed orders are to be e-mailed to the Judicial Assistant, SLCJudge6@circuit19.org, in Word format.
• Deadline for Submissions: Do Not submit proposed orders prior to hearings, unless requested to do so by the Court. The proposed order must reflect the date of the hearing, that it is ex-parte or coming before the Court in chambers. All motions must be filed through the e-portal prior to submission of the proposed order.

Orders entered in open court are not e-filed or e-served by this office.

The original order will be filed by the Clerk of Court. You must bring sufficient copies for conforming by the Clerk. You are responsible for providing copies to all parties, whether by conformed copy in open court or by U.S. Mail or E-Service.

• Certificates of Service: Your order must contain a complete service list, setting forth E-Service address, as well as any postal addresses if there is no E-Service address. Orders that do not contain E-Service addresses will be e-filed, but no copies will be provided by this office. Signed orders will be e-filed and e-served via the e-portal. The party submitting the order will be responsible for providing any copies that are to be sent via U.S. Mail.

E. Courtesy Copies of Case Law and Other Documents

• When Required: Never provide the Court with paper copies of caselaw. Litigants must have the correct citation of any caselaw they use. The Court utilizes Westlaw. Any memorandum of law can be submitted electronically.
• Format: N/A
• Submission Method: Do not submit copies of caselaw to the Court. The Court utilizes Westlaw in order to remain organized and preserve trees.

F. Emergency and Other Urgent Matters

• Requirements: If an emergency situation arises, counsel may request that a hearing be set on short notice. The body of the Motion must contain a detailed explanation of the circumstances constituting the emergency as well as the substance of the Motion. The Motion must be e-mailed to the Judicial Assistant, SLCJudge6@circuit19.org, for review by the Court prior to a hearing being set.
• Scheduling: . If the Court determines that an emergency exists, the Judicial Assistant will contact counsel to set the hearing.

• Submission Method: In person.
• Format: Exhibits must be submitted to the Clerk of Court in paper format – counsel should contact Clerk for proper form. All attorneys and self-represented litigants must bring sufficient copies of each exhibit for the Clerk, the Court, and each party to review during the hearing or trial. Exhibits must be labeled in the format required by the Clerk of Court.
• Deadline for Submissions: Evidence may be submitted during the hearing or trial. If the parties agree that he Court may view evidence prior to a hearing (such as a video or transcript), such evidence may be e-mailed to the Court in advance of the hearing and copied to opposing counsel at SLCJudge6@circuit19.org. The Court will make its best efforts to review any agreed evidence submitted in advance as to make efficient use of time during the hearing.

• Docket Call: Public Defender (9:00AM) and Private (9:00AM) will be once every six weeks on separate dates. Docket Call dates are posted on the Court’s online calendars. Defendants who are inmates will not appear at Docket Call, unless requested in advance by e-mail to SLCJudge6@circuit19.org, at least two (2) full business days in advance of the Docket Call. All Defendants not in custody must appear unless excused prior to Docket Call. Defendant’s appearance at Docket Call may be waived by e-filing a Waiver of Appearance with the Clerk at least three (3) business days prior to Docket Call. A copy of the e-filed waiver must be available to present to the Court at Docket Call. Failure to appear when the case is called or failure to appear with a copy of the Waiver of Defendant’s Appearance at Docket Call will result in the issuance of a Bench Warrant without bond; unless counsel requests, and the Court agrees, to recall the case at the end of the Docket, with counsel present. Defense counsel is responsible to have their clients in the courtroom when their case is called, if a Waiver of Appearance has not been e-filed.
• All Pre-Trial Motions, Motions to Suppress, Requests for Redactions and Pre-Trial Objections shall be made or e-filed at least 30 days prior to trial.
• Competency Hearing: Upon receipt/filing of a Competency Evaluation finding Defendant competent to proceed, defense counsel must set a Competency Hearing, in order for the Court to make a competency determination/finding.

• Procedure: When counsel announces ready for trial, or a request for continuance is denied by the Court, the case will be set for a Mini-Docket. Mini-Docket will occur the week after Docket Call. At Mini-Docket, the case will be set for trial on one of the four trial weeks, or continued if there is no trial time. The following are the rules of the road for Mini-Docket:

1. Mini-Docket will be the last day the court accepts negotiated pleas.
2. Attorneys must make a good faith effort to conclude discovery prior to the Mini-Docket.
3. Pre-Trial evidentiary motions must have been filed 30 days prior to the attorneys announcing ready for trial.
4. Routine non-evidentiary motions in limine that do not require longer than 10 minutes can be heard prior to trial with court approval.
5. All requests for redactions must have been made 30 days prior to the attorneys announcing ready for trial.
6. All parties including the defendant must appear in person for Mini-Docket.
7. When a case is set on the Mini-Docket, the attorneys must know the availability of their witnesses for the entire four week trial cycle.
8. Once a case is set for jury selection, no further continuances will be granted unless there has been an act of God or there is not enough court time. Cases set for jury selection that do not go to trial that week will be reset to the following week.

• Priority for trial: The first day of a trial week will be Jury Selection. The Court will send out a memo setting the priority for trial. The Court will set the priority for the cases as follows:

1. Speedy trial demands.
2. Cases set for a trial date certain.
3. Oldest PBL, 1st, and 2nd degree felonies with defendants in custody.
4. Oldest PBL, 1st, and 2nd degree felonies with defendants out of custody.
5. Oldest 3rd degree felonies with defendants in custody.
6. Oldest 3rd degree felonies with defendants out of custody.

Ultimately, in order to maximize court time, the Court may fill in the trial week with shorter trials after the higher priority cases have been set.

• Priority for Trial Memo: After Docket Call, the Court will publish a Priority Memo for Mini-Docket. The Priority Memo will be updated after each Mini-Docket and Trial Week. The Court will set 10 strike cases on the second, third, and fourth week of trial.
• All Defendants must appear in person for Mini-Docket and Trial.

• Access: Division forms are available in the courtroom and on the judge’s website: www.circuit19.org/judges/judge-michael-j-linn/

• ADA Accommodations: If you need an ADA accommodation, please visit: www.circuit19.org/americans-with-disabilities-act-ada/
• Interpreter Requests: If an interpreter is needed for a hearing or trial, please visit: www.circuit19.org/court-interpreters/
• In-Court Surrenders: Not permitted.
• Sentencing: You must be prepared to provide the Court with an accurate credit for time served.
• Post-Conviction Motions: A courtesy copy of all Post-Conviction

Motions shall be e-mailed to the Court at SLCJudge6@circuit19.org A Post-Conviction Motion will not be heard in a timely manner if the Court is never made aware of its existence.

• Inmates/Defendants (transport/attendance): It is the attorney’s responsibility to advise the Judicial Assistant, by -email at SLCJudge6@circuit19.org, if any inmate needs to be transported from the local jail for a hearing or Docket Call at least two (2) business days prior to the hearing. It will be the responsibility of the Defendant and attorney to ensure the Defendant’s presence. If a Defendant needs to be transported from Department of Corrections (DOC), it is the responsibility of defense counsel to submit an Order to Transport to the Judicial Assistant by e-mail at least 15 business days in advance of the hearing/Docket Call date. The order should indicate service to the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office-Transport, via certified copies provided by the Clerk’s Office.