Whereas, it may be necessary on occasion to react to emergency situations as they arise in the course of administrating the Eighth Judicial Circuit of Florida; and the court should develop a plan to deal with emergencies to protect the public and maintain court operations, because Fla.R.Jud.Admin 2.050(b)(2) authorizes the Chief Judge to exercise administrative supervision over all courts within the judicial circuit, it is therefore

ORDERED as follows:

1. The Chief Judge has overall authority and responsibility for all emergency situations and/or evacuation of the courthouses in the Eighth Judicial Circuit.

2. In the event that the Chief Judge is not immediately available to evaluate a presented emergency, the next most senior Circuit Judge will have overall authority and responsibility for emergency situations involving courthouses in the Eighth Judicial Circuit.

3. In the Chief Judge's absence, the resident circuit judge, or acting chief judge, in the absence of the resident circuit judge, the resident county judge for each county in the circuit shall exercise the overall authority and responsibility for all emergency situations and/or evacuation of the respective county courthouses of the Eighth Judicial Circuit.

4. An Emergency Evaluation Committee is hereby appointed for each county of the Eighth Judicial Circuit, comprised of the Chief Judge or his/her designee, the law enforcement officer in charge of courthouse security, the Clerk of Court, and the employee in charge of the courthouse facility.

5. The emergency evaluation committee shall create and promulgate an emergency reaction plan, to include at a minimum the following elements: a communications system for communicating an emergency to the Chief Judge, security personnel and all those members of staff or public who might be impacted by the emergency, incorporating the assistance of the Court Administrator of the Eighth Judicial Circuit and evacuation procedures including evacuation sites for courthouse personnel.

6. All personnel assigned to a courthouse within the Eighth Judicial Circuit will be provided training regarding the elements of each county's emergency evacuation plan.

ORDERED on January 5, 1999.

/s/
ROBERT P. CATES, CHIEF JUDGE