D and DR Divisional Instructions

Zoom Meeting Information

Zoom Meeting Link

Meeting ID: 947 7097 8903

OR
Dial in only: 888 475 4499 US Toll-free
Meeting ID: 947 7097 8903

*PLEASE NOTE: County Criminal Hearings on Mon., Tues., Thurs. - Zoom hearings begin at 9:30 AM OR 1:30 PM  as the Court will be handling in-person hearings prior to that time

Civil Traffic Court on Wednesday Begins promptly at 9:00 AM

County Criminal Cases to be held in-person:

Prose arraignments, violation of probation hearings, motions to recall capias (not agreed to by the State), negotiated pleas in county criminal, "in custody” bond hearings and Petition for Injunction hearings will be held in-person.  

County Criminal Cases that may be held via Zoom:

As a courtesy to attorneys,  all other hearings other than those required in-person listed above who wish to appear via Zoom may.  Prose defendants who are out of state or due to illness may request to appear via Zoom in writing for hearings other than the required in-person hearings listed aboveOur static Zoom link is listed on this page below.

Petitions to Expunge/Seal hearings may be held via Zoom, please be sure to file all required documents for Petitions to Expunge and/or Seal and pay the required fee and send a copy of the Order for the Judge via email PRIOR to the hearing. 

*Note: Petitions to Expunge/Seal may be done without a hearing IF the State agrees to expungement in writing.  You must email a copy of the filed Petition, all related paperwork and proposed order to Judge and the State, if the State agrees by reply to the email, no hearing is necessary.  If the State does not agree, a hearing must be set.

Note: The Clerk will begin setting Wednesday Traffic Infraction Trials as follows:

In-Person Hearings NOT ZOOM:

  • Any traffic infraction trial (not involving fatality or serious bodily injury) set in open court arising from a pretrial hearing will be set in-person for a future court date at 9:30 am and all parties will be required to be present in-person.
  • Traffic Infraction Trials involving serious bodily injury or fatality will be heard at 10:30 am, and set by Court Order, which will indicate that all parties are required to appear in-person, and then will be noticed and subpoenas sent by the Clerk for in-person hearing.
  • Animal infraction trials set by the Clerk will be heard at 10:30 am, and will also be in-person hearings.  Please continue to check your notice and/or subpoena for the location for the hearing.

Zoom Hearings

Traffic Infraction trials (not involving fatality or serious bodily injury) are set by the Clerk (due to the pleadings) at 9:00 a.m.  and pretrials set by the Clerk at 10:00 am will still be heard via Zoom, please continue to check your notice/subpoena for the location of the hearing.

All Petition for Injunction hearings are to be held in-person

County Criminal Hearings

(Monday, Tuesday, Thursday) Zoom hearings will start at 9:30 AM

As the Court continues to hold hearings via Zoom, it will be the responsibility of the parties to obtain the recurring zoom information provided on the Court's website. Unless Defendant's presence is waived, the attorney shall have their client present with them in their office for the hearing.

Civil Infraction Trials

(Wednesday) Hearings begin promptly at 9:00 AM

As the court continues to hold hearings via Zoom, parties may view the recurring Zoom Meeting information on the Court's website to appear at Traffic/Animal Infraction Trials on Wednesdays. A recurring Zoom Meeting link is being provided on the Court's website. In addition, the Clerk, when scheduling the hearing, will provide the necessary Zoom Meeting information on the subpoena and notice of hearing issued.  It will be the responsibility of the parties to appear via Zoom with the Zoom Meeting information provided on the Clerk issued subpoena and available on the Court's website. Please continue to check your notice of hearings and/or subpoena to see instructions on how your appearance is required, either in-person or via Zoom.

If you have a request regarding your case, please file in writing with the Clerk. You may access the Clerk’s website for online e-filing or for information about your case at: www.mypalmbeachclerk.com

  • For attorneys, some motions may be settled by agreed order in lieu of setting hearings.
  • If you need a court date for a petition to expunge hearing, please contact this office and one will be scheduled for you.
  • Our divisional email address: cad-divisiond@pbcgov.org
  • Judge Damico will resume hearing Petition for Injunction hearings in Division D and these hearings will be conducted in-person.

THIS INFORMATION SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND WILL BE UPDATED AS NEEDED.

All motions must be filed and docketed with the Clerk before a hearing can be set and may be settled by "Agreed Order" OR by setting the motion for hearing. Please contact opposing counsel before contacting the Judge's office.

E-service of Orders

Division D/DR is currently e-serving orders to attorneys/parties that have registered their primary and secondary e-mail addresses with the 15th Circuit. Please make sure you are registered for judicial e-service.

Please note: the filing of a "Notice of E-Mail Designation" does not register you for Judicial E-Service. You must register through Online Services.

Compliance With Local Rule 4

Local Rule 4 has been amended effective July 18, 2017, and now requires attorneys to “make reasonable efforts to actually speak to one another” in a genuine effort to narrow disputes before seeking court intervention.

Scheduling of Hearings

5-10 minute motion hearings, including motions to withdraw capias and petitions to seal and expunge, are heard Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 9:30 a.m.  and may be set without the permission of the JA.  Please be sure to check our periodically updated Suspension Calendar when setting short motion hearings and file your notice of hearing with the Clerk of Court, with proper notice to all parties.  Any motion needing more than 10 minutes of hearing time may be set by contacting the JA at the divisional email address cad-divisiond@pbcgov.org to request hearing time. Petitions to Seal/Expunge must have the order filed along with the petition so the Clerk will have it at the hearing. 

Note: Please be sure to check our Suspension Calendar frequently as it is subject to change.

Motion to Recall Capias

May be set on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 9:30 a.m. The motion must outline reasons for the failure to appear. Defendant must be present unless stipulated by counsel. If motion to recall capias is agreed to by the parties, the moving  party may submit an "Agreed Order" with a new court date within the order, to the Judge for review at the divisional email address cad-divisiond@pbcgov.org in WORD format.

Motion for Continuance

Defendant/Defense Motion for Continuance must be accompanied by a waiver of speedy trial, UNLESS the case is reset for 1-2 weeks AND prior to expiration of speedy trial. Please check for agreement of the state on all motions to continue before contacting the Judge's office. If motion to continue is agreed to by the parties, the moving  party may submit an "Agreed Order" with a new court date within the order, to the Judge for review at the divisional email address cad-division@pbcgov in WORD format.

Please note: Motions to Continue that are filed untimely and do not leave time for processing, may be addressed at the time of the scheduled hearing.

Agreed Orders

Agreed Orders to Continue OR Recall Capias MUST reference the parties' agreement and MUST have a new agreed court date within the court order putting the case back on the Court's docket.  Please do not leave the court date blank, the orders MUST have a new court date within the order or it will be returned. The language of all Agreed Orders must be approved by all parties before submitting the order to the Judge. Agreed Orders may be e-mailed to the divisional e-mail address cad-divisiond@pbcgov.org and MUST be in WORD format

Please note: Agreed Orders to Recall Capias and to Continue MUST have a new court date within the order. Do not leave the court date blank or the order will be returned.

Notice of Appearance

A Notice of Appearance without a Waiver of Speedy Trial will not be set in the normal course. The case will likely be set within a week.

Telephonic Appearance for Hearings

Telephonic appearance is allowed for hearings based on the reason for the request.  All motions for telephonic appearance should be filed timely with the Clerk with a copy sent to opposing counsel and the Judge's office, along with a proposed order.

Proposed Orders

  • ALL ORDERS MUST BE RECEIVED IN "WORD FORMAT" ONLY**
  • Orders sent to the Court by email will be served to the parties by e-mail ONLY.
  • All orders must state a mailing and email address for each party for service.

Attorneys should draft proposed orders and the orders should fairly and adequately represent the ruling of the Court. Attorneys should promptly provide proposed orders to opposing counsel for approval. In response, opposing counsel should communicate promptly any objections to the drafting attorney. The drafting attorney should promptly submit a copy of the proposed order to the court (IN WORD FORMAT) and state whether opposing counsel agrees or objects to the form of the order. (See Standard IV(5), The Palm Beach County Bar Association's Standards of Professional Courtesy and Civility.)

Pursuant to Administrative Order 2.306 all parties' names and addresses must be included on all orders and/or judgments.

In addition, pursuant to Administrative Order 3.204the title of every order or judgment submitted shall contain the subject matter. No order or judgment shall contain a signature page that does not include a portion of the text of the order or judgment.

NOTE: Pursuant to Rule of Judicial Administration 2.520, court documents must have at least a 1 inch margin, be in 12 point ADA accessible font, and the pages must be consecutively numbered.

For documents recorded in the Official Records, there must be a 3x3 inch margin in the upper right hand corner of the first page of the document.

Requests for Emergency Hearing

Motions for Emergency Hearing should be filed with the clerk. A courtesy copy of the motion along with a proposed Order (in WORD FORMAT) should be sent to the Divisional email address  CAD-DIVISIOND@pbcgov.org. Judge Damico will determine whether an emergency exists and, if so, shall schedule a hearing, enter any ex parte order deemed necessary, or take any other appropriate action.

Divisional email address cad-divisiond@pbcgov.org