Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Courts
Serving the Citizens of Brevard and Seminole Counties
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BREVARD COUNTY JUDGE
The Honorable David E. Silverman
Division: 4 - Civil
Judicial Assistant: Alain Harper
Office: (321) 617-7284 | Email
Located at the Moore Justice Center Viera, Brevard
DAVID E. SILVERMAN'S
SCHEDULING GUIDELINES
Appearance Procedures
Counsel and parties appearing in person should comply with any applicable public health requirements and any operative Administrative Order promulgated by the Florida Supreme Court or the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit.
Counsel and pro se litigants may appear before Judge David E. Silverman by videoconference, as indicated herein. Please view the Instructions for Appearance by Video Conference, which applies to both the Criminal and Civil divisions.
Defendants in county criminal cases may appear by video conference upon receiving prior approval by email from Judicial Assistant Alexis Leclerc, whose email address is Alexis.Leclerc@flcourts18.org.
Whether appearing in person or by videoconference, counsel and pro se litigants should abide by the standards of courtroom decorum outlined in Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Administrative Order 09-06.
Scheduling Guidelines
Counsel or any pro se litigant may request that a Criminal, County Civil, Probate, or Small Claims hearing be set by contacting the Judicial Assistant. Before requesting hearing time, please consult the Calendar page, confer with any opposing counsel or party (except in extraordinary circumstances), and read the following guidelines for scheduling hearings.
Counsel should confer as to an available hearing date with the opposing party (including Pro Se litigants), in accordance with Section B.2. of the Guidelines for Professional Conduct published by The Florida Bar.
A request for hearing time may be made and confirmed by email. The request for hearing time should include your name, the client's name, the case number, your telephone number, and your scheduling request. Please include the opposing party whenever an email address is available. The Court is only willing to set a hearing unilaterally so long as diligent efforts have been made to confer with the opposing party.
Scheduling a hearing may involve filing and service of documents. Access to the Florida E-Filing Portal and the procedure for e-filing is set forth at Florida E-Filing Portal Procedure.
Pro Se litigants can find a template Notice of Hearing from the Clerk of Courts website.
Parties are permitted to appear by videoconference in civil proceedings, and the following information should be included on all Notices of Hearing to allow for such appearance: Judge Silverman’s Virtual Courtroom can be accessed at:
https://fl18.org/judgesilvermanvc
Microsoft Teams Meeting ID: 222 747 638 657
Passcode: 48eFuv
or call in (audio only) +1 (386) 310-1754 Conference ID: 424 841 303#
Criminal Proceedings
As indicated on the Calendar page, criminal hearings may be scheduled during periods designated on the Calendar. Hearing time may be reserved, and the hearing scheduled in accordance with these Scheduling Guidelines.
In order to ensure that the Court has received a Notice of Appearance and Waiver of Arraignment from counsel waiving their client's appearance at arraignment, counsel may email a copy to the Judicial Assistant.
Counsel may appear at Docket Sounding in person, by videoconference in accordance with the Instructions for Appearance by Videoconference, or, if assigned Assistant State Attorney agrees to the proposed setting, by completing and filing the Notice of Docket Sounding Appearance prior to the Docket Sounding. Service shall be made upon the Office of the State Attorney with a copy to the Judicial Assistant.
Small Claims
Counsel may appear by videoconference for proceedings in Small Claims cases, including non-jury trials, pretrial conferences, and non-evidentiary motion hearings.
Pro se litigants in Small Claims litigants are required to complete and file a Non-Attorney Designation of Email Address and, unless given contrary instructions by the Court, may be required to participate in mediation and/or Online Dispute Resolution.
Mediation
Parties attending a Small Claims Pretrial Conference may utilize the mediation services provided by the Brevard County Mediation Program. Parties to a County Civil case who qualify for participation in the Mediation Program may request the services of a program mediator by filing a motion with the Clerk, scheduling the motion for hearing with the Judicial Assistant, and providing due notice to the opposing party. Inquiries regarding the Mediation Program may be directed to BrevardCourtsMediation@flcourts18.org.
Mediation Instructions
- The mediation shall be conducted by a Mediator assigned by the Brevard Mediation Program (hereafter the “Program”).
- Within 10 days from the date of the Order, counsel for both parties shall contact the Mediation Program to schedule the telephonic mediation. The Mediation Program can be reached by telephone at (321) 635-5065, and by email at brevardcourtsmediation@flcourts18.org.
- The mediation shall be conducted in person during Small Claims Pre-trial Conference based upon the availability of mediators, or by telephone as directed by the Mediation office.
- Corporate representatives attending the mediation shall be persons having knowledge of the case.
- All attorneys and corporate representatives attending the mediation shall ascertain the extent of their authority to settle prior to the mediation.
- The parties shall equally divide and pay the mediation fee as directed by the Program prior to the mediation.
- The parties and their counsel, if any, shall participate in the mediation fully and in good faith.
- If the case is settled prior to mediation, the parties shall promptly notify the Program and cancel the mediation.
- If the case is settled at mediation, the Brevard County Mediation office will file the settlement documentation after mediation has concluded.
Probate Hearings
Upon filing the motion, a hearing may be requested by emailing the Judicial Assistant with a completed Probate Hearing Request Form. Absent an emergency, these hearings must be scheduled at least 15 days in advance.
The number of expedited hearings that may be scheduled weekly is limited, and probate hearing time may be found on the Calendar. Counsel should contact the Judicial Assistant to confirm the reservation of expedited hearing time. A party or counsel requesting to appear by video conference should complete and submit a notice of video conference appearance providing the information in the Notice of Telephone or Videoconference Appearance.
Additional information may be found on the Probate and Guardianship page of the Clerk of Court’s website.
Policies and Procedures
The Eighteenth Judicial Circuit provides procedural instructions for attorneys along with policies that may differ within the guidelines of the law between judges and county or circuit courts.
Attorneys in both Brevard and Seminole have the resources offering many new facets of modern technology, including but not limited to online scheduling, instructions, provider listings, policies and procedures, and much more.
There are courtroom rules governing all divisions of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court. All parties are expected to follow these rules.
Requests for Recordings
Most proceedings held before Judge Silverman are recorded by an audiovisual recording system using a digital camera with a wide-angle lens designed to view both the podium and the witness stand. Sound is recorded through microphones in the courtroom that pick up the speaker’s voice and filter out other noise. The location of the speaker is identified on the screen.
Please go to the Brevard Digital Court Recording page and follow the instructions there to request a digital transcript.
2825 Judge Fran Jamieson Way
Viera, FL 32940-8006
(321) 617-7284