IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE TENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

IN AND FOR HARDEE, HIGHLANDS AND POLK COUNTIES

Administrative Order No. 2-33.0

Providing System For Random Assignment of First Degree Murder Cases

The provisions of Administrative Order 2-5.0, not withstanding, the following procedure shall be used in the assignment of first degree murder cases among the divisions of the Felony Division of the Circuit Court in Polk County, commencing April 18, 1994:

1. The Clerk of this Court shall, as each case charging a defendant or defendants with First Degree Murder is filed in this office, assign each such case to one of the divisions on a blind random selection system as described below. This assignment system shall be separate and apart from the systems used for the random assignment of all other felony cases.

2. The Clerk of this Court shall procure a box so constructed that one marble at a time may be released from it randomly and a supply of marbles of different colors, one for each division. The Clerk shall place an equal number of marbles for each division in one box. Enough marbles shall be used to allow efficient operation of the system, the numbers to be determined by the Clerk. The Clerk shall be responsible for the secure and impartial operation of the marble machine to the end that the assignments will be random and so that it will be impossible to determine which marble will next drop from the box.

3. Upon the filing of each case controlled by this order, the Clerk shall drop one marble from the box and the case shall be assigned to that division. This assignment shall be noted upon the file folder and entered into the Clerk's computer docket system.

Dated this day of April, 1994.

Randall G. McDonald, Chief Judge