Rule 9.320. Oral Argument

Oral argument may be permitted in any proceeding. A request for oral argument shall be in a separate document served by a party:

(a) in appeals, not later than 15 days after the last brief is due to be served;

(b) in proceedings commenced by the filing of a petition, not later than 15 days after the reply is due to be served; and

(c) in proceedings governed by rule 9.146, in accordance with rule 9.146(g)(5).

Each side will be allowed 20 minutes for oral argument, except in capital cases in which each side will be allowed 30 minutes. On its own motion or that of a party, the court may require, limit, expand, or dispense with oral argument.

Committee Notes

1977 Amendment. This rule replaces former rule 3.10. As under the former rules, there is no right to oral argument. It is contemplated that oral argument will be granted only if the court believes its consideration of the issues raised will be enhanced. The time ordinarily allowable to each party has been reduced from 30 minutes to 20 minutes to conform with the prevailing practice in the courts. If oral argument is permitted, the order of the court will state the time and place.

Rules Blog Notes

Updated with rule changes effective January 1, 2019. See In re Amendments to Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, 257 So. 3d 66, 69 (Fla. 2018), reh’g denied,, SC17-882, 2018 WL 6074437 (Fla. Nov. 20, 2018) [.pdf]. For more information about these changes, check out the Florida Appellate Procedure Blog.