Court Requests Word Documents

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The Second District Court of Appeal last week issued a — notice? request? gentle nudge? — asking that attorneys submitting briefs via the eFiling Portal submit Microsoft Word documents instead of .pdfs. According to the notice [.pdf here] while the court cannot mandate filing Word documents, “the court strongly encourages use of MS Word for submission of briefs” because “Installing hyperlinks to citations by court staff is greatly facilitated if the document in
question is filed in MS Word.”

And if the Court staff is happy, the judges are happy. And if the judges are happy, they are focusing on your substance instead of administrative matters. So take note, 2DCA appellants. Take note.

Bonus tip for WordPerfect users: You can most likely adhere to the Court’s request by filing your document in the more universal .rtf format. The portal accepts WordPerfect documents as well as Word documents, but the .rtf file format will more closely preserve your formatting when the Court opens your document in Word.

Fourth DCA Allows Pro Se Parties to File Electronically

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The Fourth District Court of Appeal will now allow pro se parties — that is, parties representing themselves on appeal — to file documents electronically using the Court’s eDCA system. The Court made the announcement in its revised Notice to Attorneys and Parties Representing Themselves (Rev. June 25, 2014) [.pdf]. Pro se litigants can sign up for eDCA filing at the Court’s website.

Parties should note that filing using the eDCA system does not effectuate service as required by Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.516. Pro se parties can participate in service by e-mail, if they follow the rules. You can find my description of those rules in my prior post on pro se service.

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The Fourth District has implemented a new procedure for requesting emergency consideration before the court. In re: Requests for Emergency Treatment, AO No. 2014-1 (Fla. 4 DCA June 11, 2014) [.pdf]. The Administrative order requires that any party seeking emergency treatment of a treatment file a separate “Request for Emergency Treatment,” not exceeding two pages in length, and certifying that the request is made in good faith. The order defines an emergency:

an “emergency” is a matter of extreme urgency that requires immediate action by this Court in order to avoid imminent, irreparable, and material harm. An exigency that is caused by the lack of diligence of the moving party shall not constitute an “emergency.”

The order also warns that parties or attorneys requesting emergency treatment without an objectively reasonable basis may be sanctioned.