Paul L. Militello

Criminal

To request a motion hearing please email the JA, Bryceann Twitty, at btwitty@circuit5.org with a copy of the filed motion and information about how much total time is needed for the hearing.

Motions to continue must be e-filed and emailed to the JA with a proposed order at least 3 business days in advance from the date of the hearing.

All hearings on criminal matters will be held in person. Virtual appearances are not permitted on criminal proceedings.

Pleas in Absentia on sentencing resulting in probation WILL NOT be accepted by the Court.

Civil

To request a hearing on a civil matter please email the JA, Bryceann Twitty, at btwitty@circuit5.org, with a copy of the filed motion and information about how much total time is needed for the hearing. Some motions are handled by a motion practice procedure order. If an order establishing motion practice procedure has been entered in your case, please review the order prior to requesting a hearing to determine if the motion requires a hearing. If you are unsure if your motion requires a hearing, please email the JA with any questions. Civil hearings are conducted by Zoom or in person. Please note that pro se parties shall be given the option to appear by Zoom or in person on your Notice of Hearing. Your Notice of Hearing must contain this information for pro se parties.

Standing Order Establishing Pre-Trial Procedure for Small Claims

Judge Militello is now accepting orders and judgments through the Florida Court’s E-filing Portal.

Please submit proposed orders/ judgments, etc. by the E-filing Portal or by email to the JA, Bryceann Twitty, at btwitty@circuit5.org. Proposed orders and judgments submitted by email should not contain formatting codes for e-filing. If you are submitting a proposed order/judgment by email please have a blank spot for the Judge/ JA to sign and fill in the date. The formatting codes are only required on orders/ judgments submitted through the portal. Proposed orders should only be submitted AFTER the supporting documents have been filed with the Clerk of Court AND you have received confirmation that the Clerk has docketed the supporting documents. Proposed orders submitted before the documents are in the court file will be returned to you with instructions to resubmit after the supporting documents have been properly placed on the docket for the Judge to review. If you are submitting your proposed order/judgment via email to the JA a cover letter is not required so as long as the body of the email conveys all necessary information the Judge needs to complete the order/judgment. If you are submitting your order/judgment through the E-filing Portal, it is recommended that you submit a cover letter as well to convey any necessary information to the Judge. Simple standard orders do not require a cover letter. Please be advised that if your order/judgment is rejected the reason why it was rejected will be in a return email from the JA or a rejection note on the Portal. Once an order/judgment is rejected no further action will be taken until the submitting party corrects it and resubmits it.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR SUBMITTING ORDERS THROUGH FLORIDA COURTS E-FILING PORTAL

Please note if you are filing your proposed order through the E-filing Portal it must comport with the required codes (see link below for instructions) and must be created with the latest version of WORD. A link to a sample order is also below. Please review this information prior to filing your order to ensure you have met the requirements. Please note that all cover letters must also be created in the latest version of WORD. PDFs will not be accepted. If you are unable to submit your order/judgment through the Portal please submit it by email to the JA, Bryceann Twitty, at btwitty@circuit.org.

• Instructions- Submitting Proposed Orders
• Sample Proposed Order – Sumter County Court

Service of copies of orders

It will be the submitting party or prevailing party’s responsibility to ensure orders are served upon any party not in the e-filing portal. Orders should contain the following language for service or something similar:

It is further ORDERED and ADJUDGED that within 5 days from the date of e-service of this Order/Judgment, the attorney submitting this Order/Judgment shall furnish a copy of this Order/Judgment to each self-represented party by U.S. Mail, first class, postage paid; and/or any other interested party not registered for electronic service through the Florida Courts E-filing Portal, and, file a certificate signed by that attorney that delivery of this Order/Judgment has been made as set forth herein.

If your proposed Final Judgment orders a Fact Information Sheet to be completed, you must serve that with a copy of the Final Judgment and include that it was served in your filed certificate.

Please note that orders and judgments that don’t contain the proper language for service may be rejected with instructions to correct and resubmit.