FL H0013

Chief judge of a judicial circuit may establish a program allowing retired justices or judges to preside over civil cases and trials upon written request by one or more parties, subject to Chief Justice approval.

Parties requesting a retired justice or judge must prepay the per diem rate (calculated as daily rate plus federal taxes and reimbursable costs) before the hearing or trial, with a minimum charge of one day and additional days charged in one-day increments.

Single parties may request retired judges for non-dispositive motions without all parties consenting, but joint requests from all parties are required for dispositive motions or trials.

Chief judge must grant or deny requests in writing within 5 days, and cannot appoint a retired judge if the assigned trial judge can accommodate the hearing within 2 weeks or if sufficient court resources are unavailable.

Voluntary trial resolution procedures are expanded to include jury trials if there is a right to jury trial and at least one party requests it, with chief judge approval and payment of per diem rates by parties.