Gina Mendez-Locke — Circuit Family Magistrates 06

Gina Mendez-Locke

• Division: Circuit Family Magistrates
• Section: 06
• Court Location: Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse
• Phone: (305) 349-5710
• Room: CHC 1718
• Judicial Assistant: Charlene Morin

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Courthouses are now open for in-person hearings and trials, based on public health advisories at the direction of the Florida Supreme Court. 

TO SCHEDULE A HEARING

This Division uses courtMAP.  Hearings must be scheduled through courtMAP. The date and time of the hearing must be agreed upon by the parties prior to scheduling the hearing.  https://www.jud11.flcourts.org/Programs-and-Services/Online-Services/courtmap

Any non-evidentiary, special set which can be resolved in 30 minutes or less (such as a CMC, Status Conference, Motion for Continuance...) may be held on Zoom, Monday through Friday, from 8:30AM to 9:00AM.

Evidentiary, special set hearings shall be held in-person on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. These hearings shall not be converted to Zoom absent exigent circumstances, request of a party, and Court approval. 

Any evidentiary, special set hearing that can be concluded and resolved in one hour or less may be held on Zoom on Wednesdays and Fridays. Any hearing scheduled and noticed as a Zoom hearing shall remain a Zoom hearing and will be conducted on Zoom.

If you do not schedule your hearing within 15 days of the entry of the Order of Referral, the hearing will be scheduled unilaterally, without coordination with you, by the division, for the earliest available date and time.

PROPOSED RECOMMENDED ORDERS

If you have been instructed to prepare and submit the proposed Recommended Order, the proposed Recommended Order must be submitted via CourtMAP, no later than ten (10) days after the date of the hearing. The form of all proposed Recommended Orders should be agreed to by both parties. If the parties simply cannot agree on the proposed Recommended Order, then each party may submit their own.

CONTINUANCES

Motions for Continuance of a hearing scheduled before the Magistrate must be heard by the Magistrate. All MOTIONS FOR CONTINUANCE must be filed with the Court and emailed to 11THFCGM06@JUD11.FLCOURTS.ORG.  No hearing will be continued or re-set without the appropriate Motion for Continuance filed first. If one side objects to the continuance, a hearing will be held on the Motion for Continuance. No hearing will be canceled without Magistrate approval. Your filing of a Notice of Cancellation is insufficient.

REQUEST FOR TRANSCRIPTS

All hearings before a General Magistrate are recorded electronically. All requests for copies of audio recordings of judicial proceedings by attorneys of record, parties to a case, and self-represented litigants shall be submitted electronically by following the instructions found online under the Court Services and Court Reporting Services tabs  on the 11th Judicial Circuit website (https://www.jud11.flcourts.org.)  Upon full review of the request and in accordance with Rule 2.420, a final invoice shall be sent to the requester, which must be paid prior to release of the audio recording. 

INTERPRETERS

It is your responsibility to bring an interpreter to the hearing if you or your witness need one.  One will not be provided for you. Your interpreter must be a professional interpreter, not a friend or relative.

EXHIBITS

Prior to the hearing, you must provide a copy of each of your proposed exhibits to the opposing party. You must also contact your opposing party and attempt to stipulate to exhibits. An exhibit list must be prepared and filed in advance (7 days) of the hearing date. For a Zoom hearing, all proposed exhibits must be e-filed with the Clerk's Office, to be easily found on the docket, at least 7 days prior to the hearing.  All parties shall have the Docket Entry Number available.  Failure to do any of these things may result in your exhibit getting excluded from evidence. If necessary, a status conference may be held to determine the admissibility of your proposed exhibits in advance. You must schedule this status conference via CourtMAP. 

EMAIL ADDRESS

You must register your email address and physical mailing address with the Clerk of the Court in order to receive notices, Recommended Orders, and Orders. 

RESOLVED MATTER:

If your matter gets resolved, settled or dismissed, please notify the Magistrate immediately at 11THFCGM06@JUD11.FLCOURTS.ORG.  No matter that has been resolved will be taken off calendar without a copy of the appropriate ORDER OR SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT being provided via e-mail to the Magistrate.

No hearing will be canceled without Magistrate approval. Your filing of a Notice of Cancellation is insufficient.

OTHER INSTRUCTIONS:

ZOOM HEARINGS: Each person must Zoom from their individual device. There will be no sharing of a computer or phone to Zoom. No one shall Zoom while driving, and everyone must Zoom from an appropriate location while appropriately dressed.  

Children may not be brought to the courthouse or to the hearing without first obtaining a court order. 

In order to file a pleading or a motion, all attorneys and self-represented litigants must register at https://www.myflcourtaccess.com.

Self represented litigants can also find help at https://www.jud11.flcourts.org/Family-Court-Self-Help-Program. 

ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Notice:
If you are a person with a disability who needs any accommodation in order to participate in a proceeding, you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision of certain assistance. Please contact the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court’s ADA Coordinator, Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center, 175 NW 1st Ave., Suite 2400, Miami, FL 33128, Telephone (305) 349-7175; TDD (305) 349-7174, Fax (305) 349-7355, Email: ADA@jud11.flcourts.org at least seven (7) days before your scheduled court appearance, or immediately upon receiving this notification if the time before the scheduled appearance is less than seven (7) days; if you are hearing or voice impaired, call 711.

You can contact the General Magistrate's office at 11thfcgm06@jud11.flcourts.org.

Thank you for your patience. Stay safe.