Chief Judge Bonnie Helms | Holly Elomina, Trial Court Administrator

Judge Albert L. Kelley

Albert L. Kelley

Freeman Justice Center
Key West
302 Fleming Street
Key West, FL 33040

Judicial Assistant: Ali Stern

County Court Judge Albert L. Kelley was elected to the bench in 2022.  He graduated with honors from Florida State University College of Law in 1989 after interning at the State Attorney’s Office in Lee County. After moving to Monroe County in 1989 he handled a variety of cases including small claims, evictions, business/contracts law, probate and foreclosure.

Judicial Career Highlights:

  • Vice Chairman Judicial Assistants Committee, Florida Conference of County Court Judges
  • Chairman for the 16th Judicial Circuit’s Pro Bono Committee
  • Chairman of the 16th Judicial Circuit’s Professionalism Committee.
  • Member of the 16th Judicial Circuit Diversity Committee
  • 2015-2022 Magistrate for the 16th Judicial Circuit

 

Remote Hearings:
Meeting ID: 925 3063 0177

Links to Helpful Forms and Instructions

COMMUNICATING WITH THE COURT

The Code of Judicial Conduct forbids judges from permitting or considering ex-parte communications outside the presence of the parties on matters concerning pending or impending judicial proceedings. See Fla. Code Jud. Conduct, Canon 3B(7). Accordingly, do not contact the Court expecting to speak to the judge about any case. Moreover, neither the Court nor the judicial assistant can give legal advice on any subject. You may, however, contact the judicial assistant concerning purely procedural or scheduling matters. If you are an unrepresented criminal defendant, any communication with the Court must be in writing with a copy furnished to the State Attorney. (Contact information for the State Attorney’s Office is 530 Whitehead Street, Suite 301, Key West, Florida 33040 or filings@keyssao.org.) If you want the Court to take any action in your case, you must file the appropriate motion with the clerk and follow the procedure set forth below to have the motion heard.

PROCEDURE FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSED ORDERS

In furtherance of the 16th Circuit’s Administrative Order 2.083 Electronic Filing of Documents, pursuant to Florida Rules of Judicial Administration 2.520 and 2.525, beginning June 15, attorneys will submit proposed orders for the Court’s review and signature through the State of Florida E-Filing Portal. Please be advised that the E-Filing Portal requires a separate cover letter, in PDF format, with each proposed order. Any exhibits referenced in the body of the proposed order must be attached, otherwise, the order will be rejected. Proposed Orders are to be submitted through the Florida E-Portal. We are no longer accepting Proposed Orders through mail or email.

COVER LETTER/ PROPOSED ORDERS: Proposed orders are to be submitted through the e-portal with a corresponding cover letter indicating if opposing party/counsel agrees or objects to the entry of the order. All proposed orders will need to be submitted in Word Format and with the correct DJMCA codes. If the order is not submitted in Word Format, it will not be entered and may be rejected without notice.

If there is an objection to the proposed order, a hearing may be set. If opposing counsel has been forwarded a copy of the proposed order, but has not responded within a reasonable timeframe, notify the Court in the cover letter and e-file the proposed order. If the other party is pro se, a copy of the proposed order is to be sent simultaneously to the pro se party and the court. In such instances, please include in the cover letter that the pro se party must voice any objection in writing to the Court within five (5) days. Please list any parties that you would like to be included on the distribution list.

The Judges of this Circuit appreciate your usage of electronic platforms to submit proposed orders. We will work with you as we make this transition.

Download the Memo below for more details and examples of proposed orders with formatting requirements.

Download Memo

If you are having trouble submitting documents, we (the 16th Circuit) cannot provide support or assistance with the E-Portal as it is not a system that we own or manage.  Please visit the links within the Memo to video tutorials that the State has published as well as a link to the E-Portal’s help desk.  There is also a Help button in the E-Portal once you are logged in.

If you still have questions regarding the Florida E-Portal, you may visit the Florida Courts website to find additional resources.

https://www.myflcourtaccess.com/authority/ à How To tab à Help Desk/FAQ/Training Videos/Materials and Manuals/Helpful Links

https://www.myflcourtaccess.com/authority/training-materials  For uploading a Proposed Order à Training Materials and Manuals à Portal E-Filer User Manual à Pages 147 – 148

 

PROCEDURE FOR SETTING MOTIONS

Parties who want the Court to take any action in their case must file the appropriate motion with the clerk. Contacting the judicial assistant by telephone or e-mail is not a substitute for filing a motion and the Court will not act on informal requests of that kind. Parties wishing to have a motion heard by the Court must file it with the Clerk of Court and then schedule it for hearing. (Contact information for the Clerk of Court is 500 Whitehead Street, Key West, Florida 33040 or https://monroe-clerk.com.) Please keep in mind these are separate steps involving different parties that must be taken in that order: the moving party must (1) file the motion with the clerk and (2) ask the Court to schedule the motion for hearing. It is the responsibility of the moving party to take both of these steps.

The Court schedules its own motions. Accordingly, once a motion has been filed with the clerk, the moving party must contact the Court to arrange for the motion to be set for hearing. Parties wishing to set a motion for hearing should make the request by e-mail with the Court’s judicial assistant, Ali Stern, at Ali.Stern@KeysCourts.net. All parties to the case must be copied on the e-mail. Include the case name and case number in the subject line. Please state the kind of motion you wish to set and the approximate amount of time you anticipate the motion will require. If you seek to appear remotely by telephone or video telephony (i.e., Zoom), you must indicate whether the other parties to the case consent to your remote appearance. Advance permission from the Court is required for remote appearances.

Once the judicial assistant has provided potential dates, coordinate with the other parties to select a mutually agreeable time for the hearing. Please do not copy the judicial assistant on communications solely between counsel. After the parties agree on a date, the judicial assistant will acknowledge by e-mail that the motion has been set for hearing and copy all parties. The moving party should thereafter file a notice of hearing with the clerk.

 

REMOTE APPEARANCES AT PRETRIAL CONFERENCES

The Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.116(c) permits parties and counsel to appear at pretrial conferences using communication technology upon written requests. The Court does not accept standing requests to appear remotely—a specific request to appear using communication technology must be made before each pretrial conference. Motions to appear remotely must be filed with the clerk (with a copy e-mailed to the judicial assistant) no later than 12:00 p.m. two business days before the date of the pretrial conference. In other words, for pretrial conferences occurring on Tuesdays, such motions must be filed no later than 12:00 p.m. on the preceding Friday (provided the intervening Monday is not a holiday). For pretrial conferences occurring on Wednesdays, such motions must be filed no later than 12:00 p.m. on the preceding Monday. Rule 3.116(c) requires that motions to appear remotely must include a written waiver of the defendant’s physical attendance at the pretrial conference pursuant to Rules 3.180(a)(3) and 3.220(o)(1). The Court will issue an order granting or denying the motion to appear remotely. In the absence of a written order granting the request to appear using communication technology, no party should assume they will be permitted to appear remotely for any pretrial conference.

 

RESOURCES FOR SELF-REPRESENTED LITIGANTS

To assist self-represented litigants with participation in virtual court hearings, the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Management Council’s Workshop on Access to Justice has developed the following:

A series of four tutorial videos demonstrating how to effectively use a smartphone and computer to participate in a virtual court hearing though Zoom and Microsoft Teams. These videos may be viewed at this link:  https://help.flcourts.org/Get-Started/Helpful-Videos/Videos-for-How-to-Use-Zoom-and-Teams-for-a-Virtual-Court-Hearing.