Special Concurrence from 5th DCA Regarding 12.407

In Calloway v. Tawil, an opinion released Friday by the Fifth District Court of Appeal, the Court affirmed, per curiam, on all issues raised as to this modification of timesharing.  However, in a special concurrence, Judge Kerry I. Evander gave his consideration to the lower tribunal’s ruling that, as the minor child was not testifying, he was “a member of the public just like anybody else,” and permitting that child to remain in the Court during his mother’s testimony and that of an expert witness.  As Judge Evander pointed out, Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.407 attaches special considerations and public policy to the presence of a minor child in the courtroom, and suggested that it should be the rare situation where a minor child is permitted to listen in on testimony of this type.