Benjamin M. Boylston

For hearing times that exceed one hour, please send your request to tvinson@circuit5.org

Please be sure to include your case number, the total amount of time being requested by all parties as well as the motion that is to be heard. The Judicial Assistant will respond with your hearing time. It is YOUR responsibility to do a Notice of Hearing.

When preparing your notice of hearing, please include the docket number for the motion(s) that will be heard.

For hearing request for up to one hour via ZOOM, please use the schedule hearing tabs below.

1. You must contact the Judicial Assistant at tvinson@circuit5.org to notify the Court of the cancellation and state the reason for cancellation. As a general rule, hearings may only be cancelled if the case has settled, a Notice of Withdrawal of the Motion has been filed, or an Agreed Order has been submitted to the Court.

2. If a Notice of Hearing has been filed, you must prepare a Notice of Cancellation and file it with the Clerk’s office and notify the other parties.

3. You must also send a copy of the Notice of Cancellation to the Judge’s office to Tvinson@circuit5.org

1. You must contact the Judicial Assistant at tvinson@circuit5.org to notify the Court of the request to continue.

2. The proper motion must be filed with the Clerk’s office.

3. You must schedule a hearing on your motion or have consent from all parties to continue. There is no guarantee the Court will continue the hearing or trial.

4. The Judicial Assistant will provide you with alternative dates and times to coordinate with the other party or parties, if appropriate.

5. Once the date is coordinated, you must contact the Judicial Assistant to actually put it on the calendar.

6. You must prepare an Amended Notice of Hearing or Trial.

ALL PROPOSED ORDERS shall be submitted for entry by email ONLY. Please do not send paper orders, as we endeavor to be a paperless office. The case style, including case number, shall be indicated in the subject line. PLEASE SUBMIT ORDERS IN WORD FORMAT (.docx) ONLY (NO PDF DOCUMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED).

PLEASE DO NOT FORMAT THE PROPOSED ORDERS WITH THE CODES FOR SUBMISSION THROUGH THE E-PORTAL.

Proposed orders must include a copy of the motion, a cover letter that identifies the hearing it relates to and whether the order is agreed-upon by all parties. This will allow for more expeditious consideration of the matter.

It is STRONGLY suggested that you do not send a proposed order until the matter has been heard.

Proposed orders may only be submitted in advance of scheduled hearings if the hearing date and time is specifically referenced.

Failure to follow these instructions shall result in your e-mail/proposed order being rejected.

ALL PROPOSED ORDERS shall include a certificate of service in compliance with Florida Rule of General Practice and Procedure 2.516.  The certificate of service shall contain language substantially similar to the following:

“I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing has been provided through electronic service and/or regular U.S. mail to the following parties.” The parties shall then be listed. Please do not split the certificate of service on 2 pages.

Failure to provide the required certificate of service shall result in the Court’s rejection of the proposed order.

Please double-check your orders to ensure the caption includes the correct circuit (Fifth Judicial Circuit) and county (Lake County).

In cases involving a self-represented litigant who is not participating in electronic service through the e-filing portal, the proposed order must include language that the represented party will serve the order through regular U.S. mail on the self-represented party and certify said service through a filed notice of service within five (5) days of the entry of the order.  This provision is an effort to eliminate the costs of providing copies and self-addressed stamped envelopes to the Court with proposed orders.  Failure to include this language shall result in the Court’s rejection of the proposed order and request for a new order.

For Order submission, please email: JudgeBoylstonProposedOrders@circuit5.org

Please note that failure to comply with the above procedures shall result in the Proposed Orders being Rejected and a delay in processing your case(s).

Written communications:

All written communication with Judge Boylston’ office should be submitted via email. The subject line of your email should include the names of parties and case number (e.g., State v. John Doe, 2025-CP-9876).

All other parties to the case (or their attorneys, if they are represented) must be copied on all correspondence to the Court. These guidelines apply to all communications with the Court, including scheduling hearings and submitting proposed orders.

To schedule hearings, please send an e-mail to Tammie Vinson at tvinson@circuit5.org

Ex parte communications:

The Code of Judicial Conduct governing behavior by judges forbids judges from discussing pending cases with the public. Please do not call or email the Court expecting to speak with a Judge about any case. The Court is only allowed to consider arguments made in the courtroom and in documents properly filed by actual parties in the case as authorized by law and the Rules of Court. The Court cannot ethically read or consider any other opinions or arguments about the case. Communications that do not meet these legal requirements cannot be forwarded to the Judge.

Response to inquiries:

The Judicial Assistant is not authorized to provide legal advice.

The Judicial Assistant strives to respond to all inquiries within one (1) business day. When the judicial assistant is out of the office, your message will be acknowledged as received with an indication of when to expect a substantive response.

E-filing portal:

All attorneys and self-represented litigants must provide an e-mail address to receive signed orders electronically, unless excused. Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.516. It is the responsibility of attorneys and self-represented litigants to update their contact information using Form 2.603 any time there is a change in the e-mail account registered for electronic service.

Any party desiring to submit case law and/or a memorandum of law for an upcoming hearing may submit these materials electronically to Tammie Vinson at tvinson@circuit5.org . The Court desires that these materials be submitted at least 5 days prior to the scheduled hearing.

Judge Boylston does not accept remote evidence. All evidentiary hearings require an in-person court hearing. It is NOT necessary to provide courtesy copies of evidence in advance of any hearing. The Court cannot and will not review exhibits submitted prior to its admission as evidence.

The parties and counsel of record are encouraged to confer and stipulate to the admissibility of evidence, if possible, and to determine whether documents already filed within the record may be judicially noticed. Any communication to /with the Judicial Assistant shall include all parties or counsel.