Is Martin Luther King Day a Holiday in Florida Courts?

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In a word, yes. As I’ve mentioned before, Florida Rule of Judicial Procedure 2.514 took the confusion out of legal holidays for the Florida court system. The Rule now defines Legal Holidays as:

(A) the day set aside by section 110.117, Florida Statutes, for observing New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving Day, or Christmas Day, and

(B) any day observed as a holiday by the clerk’s office or as designated by the chief judge.

So if you had a deadline that should have fallen today, enjoy your extra day!

Is Good Friday a Court Holiday? It Depends

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Today an attorney asked me to confirm whether his deadline was really today under the rules, or if the deadline rolled to Monday. And I told him what I am telling you: it depends! What court are you in? As I’ve explained before, Florida Rule of Judicial Administration Rule 2.514 clarifies what constitutes a legal holiday, and defines holidays as:

(A) the day set aside by section 110.117, Florida Statutes, for observing New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving Day, or Christmas Day; and
(B) any day observed as a holiday by the clerk’s office or as designated by the chief judge.

Good Friday is not on the enumerated list. But it happens to be observed as a holiday by many, if not most, of the courts in this state, including the First DCA (First DCA [.pdf]), Second DCA, Third DCA, Fourth DCA, Fifth DCA, and Florida Supreme Court [.pdf]. So if you have an appellate deadline calculated for Good Friday, Happy Easter! It’s due Monday instead. And if your deadline is in the trial court, I recommend checking the clerk’s website and putting a copy of the order in your records in case timeliness becomes an issue down the road on appeal.

Second District Implements Agreed Enlargements of Time

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The Second District Court of Appeal has joined the Third, Fourth, and Fifth district courts of appeal in allowing parties to file stipulated enlargements of time. Administrative Order 2013-1 [.pdf] allows parties to agree without court order to up to 90 days’ worth of extra time to submit initial or answer briefs, and up to 60 days of extra time for reply briefs. The Second’s timing is thus in line with that of the Fifth District, while the Third and Fourth allow parties to agree to up to 120 days extra time without leave of court.

That leaves only the First DCA without an standing order allowing stipulated enlargements. For the time being, you still need to file a motion in the First.