Court Rules

Court-wide rules

Applies court-wide

These 99 rules apply across Seventeenth Judicial Circuit of Florida, Broward County. Where this judge's own standing orders above address the same topic, the judge's requirement controls.

Filing Requirements

All 31
  • Applies to
    Motion
    Must include
    case number

    Motions must state the facts with specificity, list all of the defendant's cases, the charges for each case, and the legal reason for custody; boilerplate motions are not allowed.

  • Applies to
    Motion
    Must include
    case number

    A separate motion must be filed for each individual case number, including the new law charge and VOP case numbers.

  • Applies to
    Motion
    Must include
    certificate of conference

    Counsel must certify a good-faith attempt to resolve the issue with opposing counsel; if contact was unsuccessful, counsel must certify at least three contact attempts plus a follow-up email.

Communication

All 13
  • Contact
    Phone to chambers

    Counsel must contact the Division Judge's judicial assistant to be placed on an in-custody docket and must provide a working phone number and email address.

  • Contact
    Phone to chambers

    When setting a hearing, counsel must give the Division Judge's judicial assistant a good-faith estimate of the anticipated hearing length.

  • Contact
    Email to chambers

    Out-of-jurisdiction bond and change-of-plea matters are heard by Judge Andrew Siegel and must be set through Sabrina Albert at Salbert@17th.flcourts.org.

E-Filing

All 11
  • Applies to
    Motion

    A copy of the motion must be e-filed with the Clerk's office.

  • Applies to
    Notice of change of plea

    The notice of change of plea must be e-filed with the Clerk's office.

  • Applies to
    Motion

    For motions seeking to exceed page limits, proposed orders may be uploaded to CMS, the motion must be uploaded as a supporting document, and no hearing is required.

Formatting

All 9
  • Margins
    top 1 in, bottom 1 in, left 1 in, right 1 in

    All motions and responses must be double-spaced with at least one-inch margins and a font size of at least 12 points.

  • Format
    PDF

    PDF submissions containing more than one item must be bookmarked.

  • Uploaded orders must not duplicate header and footer content because CMS inserts that content automatically.

About Judge Kal Evans

Judge Evans Kal is a judge in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit of Florida, which serves Broward County through its circuit and county court divisions. Court Rules tracks its local rules, administrative orders, divisional procedures, and judicial assignments.

Practitioners will find procedures specific to the MJ division in the published document, division-mj.

Common questions about Judge Kal Evans's rules

Are courtesy copies required for Judge Kal Evans?

Courtesy-copy rule applies for motions. Details: 1 copy, delivery upon filing, by email. For any motion the Judge needs to see or act upon, a copy with an Order must be emailed to the division email and provided to the opposing party.

View ruleSource: page 1, section HEARING PROCEDURES

Does Judge Kal Evans require a pre-motion conference or letter before filing a motion?

Judge Kal Evans's rules set a pre-motion procedure for covered motions. Parties must meet and confer five days before any status hearing and ten days before any trial.

View ruleSource: page 1, section Meet and Confer

What formatting rules apply to filings before Judge Kal Evans?

Judge Kal Evans' formatting rule includes file format docx. All orders (including proposed orders accompanying deposition, substitution of counsel, and continuance motions) must be submitted in Word format.

View ruleSource: page 1, section Motions To Continue Calendar Call Hearings

What must be included with zoom hearing request filings before Judge Kal Evans?

The rule identifies required filing content or certificates. Zoom hearing requests must be accompanied by a Motion for Zoom and the underlying motion, both of which must be sent in advance to opposing counsel.

View ruleSource: page 1, section Remote Appearance

What must be included with motion to continue filings before Judge Kal Evans?

The rule requires certificate of conference. Counsel must confer with opposing counsel before filing a Motion to Continue and state the results of the conferral on the Motion.

View ruleSource: page 1, section Motion for Continuance

How may parties contact Judge Kal Evans' chambers?

The rule addresses email communications with Judge Kal Evans' chambers. The rule lists email divmj@17th.flcourts.org. The Court cannot accept ex-parte communications or give legal advice, and all communications with the Court must include all parties.

View ruleSource: page 1, section COMMUNICATING

How do I request an adjournment or extension before Judge Kal Evans?

Advance notice is not fully stated in the structured details. Motions for continuance must be submitted with an attached Order by 12:00 noon on the Wednesday before Calendar Call.

View ruleSource: page 1, section Motion for Continuance

Is electronic filing required before Judge Kal Evans?

Yes. Electronic filing is required for the covered filings. All motions must be e-filed through the Clerk of Court's E-Filing Portal; the Court will not entertain motions that have not been e-filed.

View ruleSource: page 1, section HEARING PROCEDURES

When is a filing treated as filed before Judge Kal Evans?

The rule addresses filing timing, filing status, or cure windows. A Motion to appear by Zoom must be filed at least 48 hours before the scheduled in-person appearance (non-evidentiary matters under 30 minutes) and must be re-filed each time the case is set for a hearing.

View ruleSource: page 1, section DIVISION MJ PROCEDURES FOR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

What rule applies to service for notice of hearing before Judge Kal Evans?

The rule addresses service method, recipient, or timing requirements. Details: recipient: the opposing party. The moving party must prepare and serve the Notice of Hearing on the non-moving party and email a copy to the Division/Judicial Assistant; the Judicial Assistant is not responsible for confirming notice.

View ruleSource: page 1, section Special Set Hearings (15 minutes or longer)
Complete rules summary for Judge Kal Evans

Motions for continuance must be submitted with an attached Order by 12:00 noon on the Wednesday before Calendar Call.

A Motion to appear by Zoom must be filed at least 48 hours before the scheduled in-person appearance (non-evidentiary matters under 30 minutes) and must be re-filed each time the case is set for a hearing.

Zoom hearing requests must be accompanied by a Motion for Zoom and the underlying motion, both of which must be sent in advance to opposing counsel.

The Court cannot accept ex-parte communications or give legal advice, and all communications with the Court must include all parties.

Unrepresented parties must submit a Defendants Request Form at the Clerk of Court's Office for any request they want the Judge to consider.

Parties must meet and confer five days before any status hearing and ten days before any trial.

Counsel must confer with opposing counsel before filing a Motion to Continue and state the results of the conferral on the Motion.

All motions must be e-filed through the Clerk of Court's E-Filing Portal; the Court will not entertain motions that have not been e-filed.

Courtesy copies, Agreed Orders, and other materials may only be provided to the Court after the e-filed motion appears on the Clerk's system.

For any motion the Judge needs to see or act upon, a copy with an Order must be emailed to the division email and provided to the opposing party.

Hearing dates are obtained by emailing the Judicial Assistant, and once both parties confirm the date the moving party must complete a notice of hearing.

For evidentiary hearings, hard copies of the motion, memoranda, and authorities must be mailed or hand delivered to the Judge at least 4 business days before the hearing, and the Judicial Assistant must be informed of any drop off.

All pretrial motions must be filed and heard no later than 7 days before trial, and the moving attorney must promptly file, serve, and obtain a hearing time.

Motions must be e-filed with copies to all necessary parties before a hearing time may be requested.

Parties must communicate (confer) with opposing counsel before requesting a hearing time.

A hearing will not be docketed until the e-filed Notice of Hearing has been emailed to the Assistant State Attorney and the Judicial Assistant.

Next-day add-on hearing requests must be submitted by a 3:00 PM cutoff.

If a written continuance is granted, the filing attorney must notice opposing counsel; if denied, the parties must appear at calendar call.

Continuance motions are highly discouraged after trial is set and must be supported by good cause and documentation.

For special set hearings, parties must email the Judicial Assistant a copy of the written motion with proper service on all parties, and notify the Judicial Assistant of the estimated hearing time and number of witnesses for each side.

Notices of hearing must state the hearing date, time, and length of time set aside; hearings will not be set without a Notice of Hearing from the parties.

The moving party must prepare and serve the Notice of Hearing on the non-moving party and email a copy to the Division/Judicial Assistant; the Judicial Assistant is not responsible for confirming notice.

Hearings cannot be cancelled without contacting the Judicial Assistant at divmj@17th.flcourts.org.

For ROR or pretrial release modification motions, the written motion must first be filed with the Clerk of Court and a copy emailed to the Judicial Assistant with proper service on all parties.

Deposition motions must identify each witness to be deposed and the good cause for each deposition.

A courtesy copy of the e-filed deposition motion and a Proposed Order must be emailed to the Assistant State Attorney and the Judicial Assistant.

Counsel must confer with opposing counsel before filing a Motion for Depositions and state the conferral results on the Motion.

An executed Stipulation of Substitution of Counsel must be e-filed, and a copy with a Proposed Order emailed to the Judicial Assistant.

Motions to withdraw and notices of hearing must include a certificate of service to the defendant showing the defendant's full address and manner of delivery; the Court will not hear the motion without proper notice.

Continuances at calendar call should be requested by written motion stating whether the client is in a program (with completion date), working on a plea, or ready for trial.

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