Limits & Logistics
Courtesy Copies
Proposed Order
Communication
Clerk
Phone
Chambers
Document Format Requirements8 rules
Format: PDF. DO NOT SUBMIT HARD COPIES/BINDERS
- File type
Format: Proposed orders are to be submitted to the Court in Word format.
- File type
- Word
- Proposed order
The PDF must be searchable, contain a table of contents, and bookmarks for each item.
- File type
For in person proceedings, paper exhibits must be used.
- File type
- Paper
- Exhibits
Exhibits should be marked prior to the hearing.
- Exhibits
Formatting
- •Mark exhibits prior to the hearing
Each party should only submit 1 PDF.
- File type
All documents should be combined into one (1) PDF.
- File type
Formatting
- •Combine all documents into one PDF
The PDF should be named in the following format: Case Number Party’s name Motion Name DIN of Motion, i.e. 2025CA000001 Smith Motion for Summary Judgment DIN 35.
- File type
Document Filing Requirements13 rules
The PDF must be searchable, contain a table of contents, and bookmarks for each item.
Must include
- •Table of contents
Failure to list service recipients on the Proposed Order will result in the Proposed Order being rejected.
Proposed Orders MUST include the names AND e-mail addresses of all parties who need to receive e-service of the Court’s Order.
ALL ORDERS SHALL CONTAIN THE FOLLOWING LANGUAGE ABOVE THE JUDGE’S SIGNATURE BLOCK: DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers, Okaloosa County, Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
Every order must include the specified service and Certificate of Compliance language below the Judge’s signature block.
Court's wording
ALL ORDERS SHALL CONTAIN THE FOLLOWING LANGUAGE BELOW THE JUDGE’S SIGNATURE BLOCK: Pursuant to Administrative Directive OCAD2016-04, in cases where one party is unrepresented (pro se), it is the responsibility of the attorney in the case to serve within five (5) business days, this order upon any pro se party who does not have access to nor is a registered user of the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal. The attorney shall prepare and file a Certificate of Compliance within five (5) business days as proof of the attorney's service upon the pro se litigant(s). In cases where both parties are pro se, the Clerk shall have the responsibility to serve copies of any orders on the pro se litigant(s). and shall file a Certificate of Compliance as proof of service within five (5) business days.
Service Recipients must be listed on every proposed Order.
If the hearing was set by Court Order, it will require the stipulation of both sides and something in writing for the record to document the reason for the cancellation.
The attorney shall prepare and file a Certificate of Compliance within five (5) business days as proof of the attorney's service upon the pro se litigant(s).
Requirements: A request for Zoom Appearance MUST be made by the filing of a Motion and submission of a proposed Order.
- Document
- Motion for zoom appearance
Must include
- •Proposed order
The documents in the PDF should be in the following order: Table of Contents Notice of Hearing Motion/Opposition/etc. Opposing Party’s Motion/Opposition (if the party desires) Reply (if applicable) Supporting documents Case law Other items:
All service recipients should be checked at the e-portal for service when uploading a proposed Order.
Do not use a generic title alone; the title should describe the particular purpose or relief sought or obtained.
Court's wording
Avoid using just "Order," "Notice," "Motion," etc., the title should describe with particularity the purpose or relief being sought or obtained [Notice of Hearing on Plaintiff's Request for Leave to Amend; Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to Amend; Order Granting Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to Amend; etc.].
As a best practice, identify the motion or order’s sequence and include its filing date from the clerk’s website in the title.
Court's wording
Often more than one motion, order, etc. has been filed on the same or similar issue, leading to confusion of which Motion/Notice/Order is intended. he best practice is for the title to reflect such information [Plaintiff's Second Motion for Leave to Amend ...] and include the date, according to the clerk's website, of filing [Notice of Hearing on Plaintiff's Second Motion for Leave to Amend (DIN#, filed 2/22/2222)] thus making clear the purpose or relief being sought or obtained.
Filing & Service rules
Electronic Filing Rules
For remote proceedings, file all evidence electronically with the Clerk of Court at least three business days before the hearing.
For remote proceedings, all evidence must be filed electronically with the Clerk of Court at least 3 business days prior to the hearing.
Page 1 | G. Exhibits for Evidentiary Proceedings
Submit proposed orders through the Florida e-Portal.
Submission Method: Via the Florida e-Portal.
Page 1 | D. Submission of Orders and Judgments
The judicial assistant should be immediately notified by email that a hearing is being canceled. An e-filed copy of the Notice of Cancellation should be attached.
The judicial assistant should be immediately notified by email that a hearing is being canceled. An e-filed copy of the Notice of Cancellation should be attached.
Page 1 | B. Scheduling Procedures
Notice of Hearing: Notices of Hearing should be filed immediately with an e-filed copy emailed to the judicial assistant.
Notice of Hearing: Notices of Hearing should be filed immediately with an e-filed copy emailed to the judicial assistant.
Page 1 | B. Scheduling Procedures
Email an e-filed copy of an Emergency Motion to the Judicial Assistant for the Court’s consideration.
Requirements: An e-filed copy of the Emergency Motion should be emailed to the Judicial Assistant for consideration by the Court.
Page 1 | F. Emergency and Other Urgent Matters
Filing Timing and Cure Windows
Courtesy-copy materials are due seven days before the scheduled hearing.
Deadline for Submissions: 7 days prior to the scheduled hearing.
Page 1 | E. Courtesy Copies of Case Law and Other Documents
When both parties are pro se, the Clerk must file a Certificate of Compliance as proof of service within five business days.
and shall file a Certificate of Compliance as proof of service within five (5) business days.
Page 1 | D. Submission of Orders and Judgments
For remote proceedings, evidence must be filed at least three business days before the hearing.
For remote proceedings, all evidence must be filed electronically with the Clerk of Court at least 3 business days prior to the hearing.
Page 1 | G. Exhibits for Evidentiary Proceedings
The Certificate of Compliance must be filed within five business days as proof of service.
The attorney shall prepare and file a Certificate of Compliance within five (5) business days as proof of the attorney's service upon the pro se litigant(s).
Page 1 | D. Submission of Orders and Judgments
The agreed Proposed Order or Proposed Order with objections within ten (10) days of the hearing.
The agreed Proposed Order or Proposed Order with objections within ten (10) days of the hearing.
Page 1 | D. Submission of Orders and Judgments
Unless otherwise directed during a hearing, proposed orders should be circulated within five days.
Deadline for Submissions: Unless otherwise directed during a hearing, Proposed Orders should be circulated within five (5) days.
Page 1 | D. Submission of Orders and Judgments
Notice of Hearing: Notices of Hearing should be filed immediately with an e-filed copy emailed to the judicial assistant.
Notice of Hearing: Notices of Hearing should be filed immediately with an e-filed copy emailed to the judicial assistant.
Page 1 | B. Scheduling Procedures
Objections to proposed orders should be submitted within five days thereafter.
Objections to Proposed Orders within five (5) days thereafter.
Page 1 | D. Submission of Orders and Judgments
Service and Proof of Service Rules
When one party is unrepresented, the attorney must serve the order within five business days on a pro se party who lacks access to, or is not a registered user of, the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal.
Pursuant to Administrative Directive OCAD2016-04, in cases where one party is unrepresented (pro se), it is the responsibility of the attorney in the case to serve within five (5) business days, this order upon any pro se party who does not have access to nor is a registered user of the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal.
Page 1 | D. Submission of Orders and Judgments
When both parties are pro se, the Clerk is responsible for serving copies of orders on the pro se litigants.
In cases where both parties are pro se, the Clerk shall have the responsibility to serve copies of any orders on the pro se litigant(s).
Page 1 | D. Submission of Orders and Judgments
Courtesy Copy Requirements
Do not send proposed orders to the Judge’s office before a hearing; submit them through the stated procedure instead.
Note: Do not send proposed orders to the Judge's office prior to a hearing. This office does not have the resources necessary to be responsible for receiving, holding and retrieving the proposed orders for a pending hearing. It is preferred that proposed orders be submitted as described above.
Page 1 | D. Submission of Orders and Judgments
For contested hearings, courtesy copies are unnecessary for court documents e-filed early enough for the clerk to post them on the website.
When Required: All contested hearings: E-Filing has eliminated the need for courtesy copies of court documents which are E-Filed with sufficient time for the clerk to post them on the website.
Page 1 | E. Courtesy Copies of Case Law and Other Documents
Chambers Communication Rules
Submit courtesy-copy materials by email to the Court’s Judicial Assistant.
Submission Method: Via email to the Court’s Judicial Assistant.
Page 1 | E. Courtesy Copies of Case Law and Other Documents
Communications about pending or impending cases must occur at hearings or through documents filed in the court file and served on all parties; the restriction also applies to the judicial assistant.
Method of Communication: Judge Stone is restricted by principles of judicial ethics from communicating about pending or impending cases outside of hearings or documents filed in the court file and served on all parties. This restriction also applies to Judge Stone's judicial assistant, Mrs. Natalie.
Page 1 | A. Communications with the Judicial Office
A communication to the Judge without prior notice to the opponent is improper unless extreme circumstances and applicable law permit it.
Ex parte Communications: Communication to the Judge without prior notice to the opponent is “ex parte” and improper except in extreme circumstances and as specifically provided by applicable law. If the litigant does not know of any applicable law permitting a particular ex parte communication, it is improper.
Page 1 | A. Communications with the Judicial Office
Parties may contact the judicial office only as these procedures permit, and the Court will not consider unsolicited communications from non-parties.
Unsolicited Communications: Parties may only contact the judicial office in accordance with these practices and procedures. Unsolicited communications from non-parties will not be considered by the Court.
Page 1 | A. Communications with the Judicial Office
Email an e-filed copy of an Emergency Motion to the Judicial Assistant for the Court’s consideration.
Requirements: An e-filed copy of the Emergency Motion should be emailed to the Judicial Assistant for consideration by the Court.
Page 1 | F. Emergency and Other Urgent Matters
The judicial assistant should be immediately notified by email that a hearing is being canceled. An e-filed copy of the Notice of Cancellation should be attached.
The judicial assistant should be immediately notified by email that a hearing is being canceled. An e-filed copy of the Notice of Cancellation should be attached.
Page 1 | B. Scheduling Procedures
Notice of Hearing: Notices of Hearing should be filed immediately with an e-filed copy emailed to the judicial assistant.
Notice of Hearing: Notices of Hearing should be filed immediately with an e-filed copy emailed to the judicial assistant.
Page 1 | B. Scheduling Procedures
Civil cases are scheduled through OnceHub.
Civil cases are scheduled by visiting OnceHub
Page 1 | B. Scheduling Procedures
Felony hearings are scheduled by the Court Team in the Clerk’s office, which may be contacted by email.
For Felony Cases, all hearings are set by the Court Team in the Clerk’s office (courtteam@okaloosaclerk.com).
Page 1 | B. Scheduling Procedures
Any party may set a Case Management Conference at any time if the hearing date and time are coordinated on OnceHub.
A Case Management Conference can be set by any party at any time so long as the hearing date and time are coordinated on OnceHub.
Page 1 | H. Pretrial Procedures and Conferences
For criminal cases, request an interpreter by calling the listed number or emailing the listed address.
Interpreter Requests: For Criminal Cases, an interpreter can be requested by calling (850) 226-8926 or emailing lorena.cardenas@flcourts1.gov.
Page 1 | K. Other Division Procedures
Any party may set a Status Conference at any time if the hearing date and time are coordinated on OnceHub.
A Status Conference can be set by any party at any time so long as the hearing date and time are coordinated on OnceHub
Page 1 | H. Pretrial Procedures and Conferences