Non-evidentiary criminal and civil proceedings before United States magistrate judges in the Fort Myers Division are digitally recorded unless the court, in its discretion, arranges for a court reporter to transcribe a particular proceeding. For this reason, counsel and pro se litigants appearing for non-evidentiary proceedings must take care to speak clearly into the microphones provided at counsel table or at the lectern when addressing the court during any such proceedings.

Before filing, counsel are encouraged to utilize the bookmarking function in Adobe Acrobat or comparable software to bookmark every section, point heading, and subheading contained within any electronically filed document.

The court requires that the original, fully executed plea agreement be provided to the court at the time of any change-of-plea hearing. Moreover, every page of the original plea agreement must be initialed by the defendant.

Judge McCoy prefers that, whenever possible, counsel use Westlaw database citations when citing to unreported cases or other electronically accessible legal authorities. If counsel chooses to include non-Westlaw citations, Judge McCoy requires that counsel also include parallel Westlaw database citations or otherwise explain in a parenthetical or footnote that a parallel Westlaw database citation is not available.

Parties are directed to read and comply with the Case Management and Scheduling Order entered by the court in each case and the standard provisions therein governing confidentiality agreements, stipulated protective orders, and motions to file under seal. Parties may reach an agreement governing the use and disclosure of discovery materials designated as confidential. The court need not endorse, adopt, or enter such an agreement. The court will generally enforce stipulated and signed confidentiality agreements. See M.D. Fla. R. 4.15. Absent compelling justification, however, the court generally disfavors two-tiered confidentiality agreements or stipulated protective orders containing attorney-eyes-only provisions. Moreover, absent compelling justification, the court generally disfavors stipulated protective orders that purport to require the court to retain jurisdiction to enforce the order for an indefinite period of time after the conclusion of the litigation. Consistent with Local Rule 1.09 and the court's Discovery Handbook, section VII.C., each confidentiality agreement or stipulated protective order shall provide, or shall be deemed to provide, that:

Parties are advised, however, that the question of whether a document may be filed under seal is a separate and distinct issue from whether the parties may agree that produced documents shall be treated as confidential.

Counsel may call the assigned law clerk or the courtroom deputy, as appropriate, to inquire generally about the status of a pending matter or for other general procedural information.

However, chambers staff will not provide legal advice, interpret the Federal or Local Rules, provide time estimates for the court's written rulings, or discuss the merits of any case ex parte. When contacting chambers, counsel and pro se litigants must notify the opposing party to avoid any appearance of ex parte communications.

When filing motions and related materials electronically, it is not necessary to submit a courtesy copy to chambers unless the motion, including exhibits and attachments, exceeds 25 pages in length. Unless ordered to do so by the court, counsel and unrepresented parties are strictly prohibited from hand-delivering (either in person or by third-party courier) courtesy copies to Judge McCoy's chambers. Instead, courtesy copies should be mailed to Judge McCoy's chambers or hand-delivered to the clerk's office for further routing. To avoid confusion, any courtesy copy of a document provided to the court should be clearly and conspicuously labeled as a copy on the first page of the document.

Generally, counsel may remain at counsel table when addressing or presenting oral argument to the court. Alternatively, counsel may choose to stand at the lectern when presenting oral argument. However, the court requires all counsel to stand when addressing the court unless counsel affirmatively requests and obtains leave to remain seated for a medical or other compelling reason. The court also requires all counsel to speak clearly into the microphones provided at counsel table or at the lectern when addressing the court or when examining testifying witnesses.

Counsel are encouraged to make use of the technology presently available in Judge McCoy’s courtroom in connection with hearings or trials. However, counsel are advised that technological facilities vary significantly from courtroom to courtroom and certain technology may not be available to counsel for administrative reasons on the date of the hearing or trial. Therefore, counsel should contact chambers at least one full week in advance of any scheduled hearing or one full month in advance of any trial date to confirm what technology will be available for use during the hearing. Counsel should also contact the courtroom deputy clerk to schedule sufficient time in advance of any hearing or trial to visit the courtroom, to consult with the court’s technology support staff, to observe the layout of the courtroom, and to perform a test run of the available courtroom technology and connections before the date of the hearing or trial. The court will not grant continuances of hearings or trials to accommodate technological difficulties experienced by counsel who failed to plan in advance for technology needs.

Before filing or responding to any motion in a civil case, the parties should review and comply with the standards set forth in the Middle District of Florida Handbook on Civil Discovery Practice. Additionally, the court requires strict compliance with the Local Rules. Before filing any discovery-related motion in a civil case, the moving party shall confer with counsel for the opposing party in a good-faith effort to resolve the issues raised by the motion. M.D. Fla. R. 3.01(g). The moving party shall also file with the motion a statement certifying that the moving party has conferred with opposing counsel and that counsel have been unable to reach an agreement on the resolution of the motion. The term “confer” in Local Rule 3.01(g) requires a substantive conversation in person or by telephone in a good-faith effort to resolve the motion without court action. Exchanges of ultimatums by email or by letter—especially those that do not allow adequate time for a response—do not satisfy the good-faith conference requirement. Similarly, mere attempts to confer that do not result in a meaningful and productive exchange between counsel do not satisfy the good-faith conference requirement. The court may deny motions that fail to include an appropriate and complete Local Rule 3.01(g) certificate. Additionally, failure to comply fully with Local Rule 3.04 will cause a discovery motion to be denied. Requests for leave to exceed page limits imposed by Local Rule 3.01 and requests for leave to file reply memoranda on routine discovery motions are strongly disfavored absent a showing of good cause.

If a dispute arises during a deposition in a case for which Judge McCoy is the assigned magistrate judge, counsel and any unrepresented parties may contact chambers to ascertain whether the judge is available to consider the disputed issue by telephone. Counsel for the parties, however, should conduct a good-faith conference pursuant to Local Rule 3.01(g) on the record before involving the court. If Judge McCoy is available, he will hear the dispute in a telephone conference call in which all counsel and any unrepresented parties participate, recorded by the parties’ private court reporter. If Judge McCoy is not available, the parties may state the nature of their objection(s) on the record and file an appropriate written motion with the court.

Emergency motions should be clearly and conspicuously designated as such in the caption of the motion. See M.D. Fla. R. 3.01(e). Counsel for the moving party must contact chambers by telephone when filing an emergency motion and inform the assigned law clerk that the motion seeks emergency relief. If a motion is not a true emergency but is otherwise time-sensitive, counsel must indicate that the matter is time-sensitive in the caption of the motion and explain in the first paragraph of the body of the motion why the matter is time-sensitive.

When appropriate, the court appreciates receiving tabbed and indexed notebooks containing copies of relevant legal authorities (with the pertinent portions highlighted). For evidentiary hearings, parties should provide the court with copies of witness and exhibit lists prior to the hearing and a set of exhibits at the hearing.

Before filing motions and legal memoranda, counsel are encouraged to utilize available third-party applications to insert viable hyperlinks to cited court decisions and other legal authority available electronically on WestlawNext. In doing so, counsel should confirm before filing that each inserted hyperlink is valid and that it links to the cited material as intended. Counsel should also confirm prior to filing that the conversion of the wordprocessing file to a PDF file format does not inadvertently remove the inserted hyperlinks or render them unusable in the PDF version of the document.

Many answers to frequently asked questions are found in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Federal Rules of Evidence, the Local Rules for the Middle District of Florida, the Middle District of Florida's Case Management/Electronic Case Filing (CM/ECF) Administrative Procedures for Electronic Filing, and the Middle District of Florida Handbook on Civil Discovery Practice.  The Court expects counsel and pro se litigants to know and follow these authorities. Frequent review of the rules is recommended as they are often amended.

Local Rule 3.01(a) requires that:

Failure to comply fully and meaningfully with Local Rule 3.01(a) may cause a discovery motion to be denied.

The court may schedule oral argument on motions upon the written request of the parties or by order of the court without the request of the parties. When a discovery motion is filed, the parties should expect that the court could schedule—and frequently does schedule—a hearing on the motion on short notice. If the court schedules a hearing on any discovery motion, counsel for the parties and any unrepresented parties involved in the discovery dispute are required to convene a telephone conference call at least three business days before the date of the hearing for the purposes of:

If the court schedules a hearing on a discovery motion, counsel must be prepared to address all issues raised or implicated by any motion pending at the time of the hearing, including case management deadlines and other scheduling matters. In-person appearances are preferred, but telephonic appearances at hearings will be permitted in non-evidentiary civil hearings upon a showing of necessity. Telephonic participation in a hearing using a cellular telephone is strictly prohibited. If telephonic appearance is requested and permitted, then all parties participating in the hearing will be required to appear telephonically. In other words, if any party appears by telephone, then all other parties must also appear by telephone. Witnesses and other evidence are generally not permitted at oral argument unless permission to present evidence is obtained from the court before the hearing.

If a pending motion is rendered moot (i.e., no longer requires court intervention) due to a subsequent agreement between the affected parties or some other occurrence, the court requires the movant to file immediately an appropriate notice that either:

If the movant fails to timely notify the court in writing, the party against whom the motion is directed must advise the court that the issues raised by the motion have been rendered moot (in whole or in part) when responding to the motion as required by Local Rule 3.01(b).

Parties are advised that the mooting of a motion by subsequent events does not excuse the party against whom the motion is directed from responding to the motion as required by Local Rule 3.01(b) unless the movant has notified the court in writing that the motion no longer requires court intervention.

Although counsel may also choose to call the assigned law clerk or the courtroom deputy, as appropriate, to advise that a motion no longer requires court intervention, such contact does not excuse the parties' obligations to make an appropriate written filing advising of same.

Motions requesting leave to file any materials under seal must comply with the requirements of Local Rule 1.09, any Case Management and Scheduling Order entered by the court in the subject case, the court's administrative procedures for electronic filing, and prevailing law.

A party seeking to file a document under seal must first file a motion to seal with an incorporated memorandum of law in support. If the only basis for seeking to file a document under seal is an opposing-party's or a third-party's confidentiality designation pursuant to the terms of a confidentiality agreement between the parties or a stipulated protective order entered by the court, then the party seeking to file the document under seal should indicate as much in the motion to seal.

The court may then require the designating-party or third-party to file a memorandum explaining why the document should be placed under seal and making the requisite legal and factual showing pursuant to Local Rule 1.09, any case management and scheduling order entered by the court in the subject case, the court's administrative procedures for electronic filing, and prevailing law.

In addition to complying with Local Rule 2.03(b), an attorney who files a motion for leave to withdraw as counsel of record must include in the motion the current mailing address and telephone number of the party from whose representation the lawyer seeks to withdraw unless: 

The purpose of this requirement is to ensure that the clerk's office has accurate contact and service information for the affected party during any period in which that party is not represented by counsel.

The rules of this court do not provide for filing a notice of unavailability as a method to avoid abiding by deadlines and schedules established by the court or to extend the time for responding to motions. Counsel may notify opposing counsel of his or her unavailability and request that his or her schedule be accommodated. With respect to deadlines for filing documents with the court, attending hearings, or otherwise, counsel must file a motion for an enlargement of time or a continuance of a hearing or deposition date, as appropriate. It is impractical for the court to be required to search the docket of each case for notices of unavailability before setting hearings and response deadlines. Accordingly, counsel may not rely upon the filing of the notice as a basis to excuse his or her appearance before the court as required or to comply with a deadline established by the court or governing rules of procedures.

When possible, all documents filed through Case Management/Electronic Case Filing (CM/ECF) should be scanned with optical character recognition (OCR) and rendered text-searchable. OCR is available in most document-scanning and PDF-creation software packages. OCR is most effective on primarily text-based documents and is generally not beneficial for maps, photographs, charts, graphs, and other non-text documents.

With the exceptions of stipulated protective orders, qualified HIPAA protective orders, letters rogatory, and letters of request, parties in civil cases should not submit any other form of proposed orders unless requested by the court or leave to submit a proposed order is granted by the court. Whenever a party submits a proposed order to the court, the proposed order should be filed via Case Management/Electronic Case Filing (CM/ECF) and also emailed to Judge McCoy's chambers in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx), using Times New Roman 12-point font.

The court holds preliminary pretrial conferences in civil cases at the request of the presiding district judge. At the conference, the court and counsel will discuss the pretrial needs of a case and construct a tailored case management and scheduling order addressing the following with counsel:

The court usually holds preliminary pretrial conferences on Tuesday mornings. The length of the conference depends on the complexity of the case and the scope of matters to be discussed. In most cases, 20 to 30 minutes is adequate to explore the matters. Counsel and pro se litigants must appear in person at the preliminary pretrial conference. However, the court will entertain motions requesting telephonic appearances, but only in cases that do not involve pro se litigants. If telephonic appearance is requested and permitted, then all counsel participating in the preliminary pretrial conference will be required to appear telephonically. In other words, if any counsel appears by telephone, then all other counsel for all parties must also appear by telephone.

Judge McCoy will conduct settlement conferences only in cases for which he is not the assigned magistrate judge and only at the request of the presiding trial judge.

If the court schedules an evidentiary hearing on a motion to suppress evidence in a criminal case, the court requires—without exception—the moving defendant(s) to be present during the entire hearing.

For discovery disputes in civil matters, counsel may call chambers after exhausting the good-faith conference required by Local Rule 3.01(g) to request a telephone conference with the court before filing any written motions. Counsel should not call chambers before confirming the availability of all other counsel of record to participate in the telephone conference. Subject to the court's availability and other considerations, the court may convene a telephone conference to hear oral argument from the parties and, to the extent possible, to issue an oral order on the matter(s) presented. Depending upon the complexity of the issue(s) presented, the court may order the parties to submit expedited or truncated briefing on the issue(s) before ruling. If the court declines to convene a telephone conference for any reason, the parties must promptly submit the matter to the court for consideration in the manner prescribed by Local Rule 3.01.

Upon consent of the parties, Judge McCoy will schedule trials to begin on a date certain. Trial briefs, proposed voir dire questions, proposed jury instructions, and any special verdict forms should be filed in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx), using Times New Roman 12-point font, and filed at the same time as the joint final pretrial statement. On the date of trial, each party shall provide the courtroom deputy clerk with the original and two copies each of their exhibit list, exhibits, and witness list.