Section 69.253. Decisions; Concurrences and Dissents

If a judge on the court en banc or the panel before which a case was argued, or to which it was submitted, responds by stating an intention to write a concurring opinion or a dissenting opinion, the opinion-writing judge shall hold the opinion for an additional twenty days, during which period the concurring or dissenting judge shall submit an opinion to the opinion-writing judge, to be filed on the same date as the opinion of the court. A dissenting or concurring judge shall also inform all other judges of such intention and shall circulate the opinion to them when written. The opinion-writing judge shall consider concurrences and dissents and the reasons for them, and may revise the draft opinion and recirculate it. If a concurring opinion or dissenting opinion is not received by the opinion-writing judge within the twenty-day period, he or she shall consider the previous intent to be waived and shall proceed to file the opinion of the court and any concurring opinions or dissenting opinions actually submitted to the opinion-writing judge. A judge on the court en banc or panel may join in a concurring or dissenting opinion and shall so notify the opinion-writing judge, who shall be responsible for noting the joinder of that judge in such concurring opinion or dissenting opinion. When a judge circulates a concurring or dissenting opinion, the opinion of the court and any concurring or dissenting opinion may be filed no earlier than ten days after the circulation of the concurring or dissenting opinion.