Rule 3.130 Disclosure of Related Matters When Seeking Court Order

When you ask a judge to sign an order, you have to tell that judge about any other hearings, rulings, or requests involving the same issue that another judge has already handled or is currently handling. This means you can't ask one judge for something without mentioning that another judge is already looking at the same matter, or has already made a decision about it.

This rule exists to stop people from "judge shopping." That means trying to get a better outcome by going to a different judge and hoping they don't find out that another judge already dealt with the issue. By requiring you to disclose this information upfront, the court makes sure judges have the full picture before they make a decision.

If you're asking for a court order, be honest and upfront about any related activity happening elsewhere in the case. Leaving this information out could cause problems for your request, and it could look like you were trying to hide something from the court.