The court may not instruct any party not represented by an attorney on accepted rules of law. The court shall not act as an advocate for a party.
Fl. Sm. Clm. R. 7.140
Committee Notes
1984 Amendment. (a) Changed to conform this rule with the requirement for pretrials.
(c) Allows the cases to proceed to trial with consent of the parties.
(f) This is similar to the proposed amendment to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure to allow depositions by telephone. Since the court has discretion to allow this testimony, all procedural safeguards could be maintained by the court. Since the court is also the trier of fact, the testimony could be rejected if unreliable.
1988 Amendment. Extends the taking of testimony over the telephone to include parties, deletes the agreement of the parties provision, and adds authorization for an attorney to represent a party or witness over the telephone without being physically present before the court.
1996 Amendment. The revised version of subdivision (e) addresses the need to expressly provide that the judge, while able to assist an unrepresented party, should not act as an advocate for that party.
2011 Amendment. Subdivision (e)(3) was added so that a judge can assist an unrepresented party in the handling of private information that might otherwise inadvertently become public by placement in the court file.