Appearance in Court/ZOOM
Contested evidentiary
hearings, admission/adjudicatory hearings (including V.A.P. Authentication
hearings), prove-ups and pre-trials shall be in-person. With advance permission
from the Court upon written Notice of Motion and Motion for good cause shown,
attorneys, litigants, or witnesses may appear via Zoom for these hearings.
ZOOM appearances will be
permitted Monday through Friday of each week.
Advance permission from the Court to appear via Zoom is not required for
appearances before the Court on a status or case management date or presentment
of an Agreed Order.
When appearing via Zoom,
attorneys and litigants must display their entire name, remain muted until
addressed by the Court, and turn on their camera with their face displayed when
addressed by the Court.
Motions/Statuses
Motions shall be set for
presentment, not hearing instanter. At the Court’s discretion and on a
case-by-case basis, Motions may be heard instanter. Presentment of
motions and statuses shall be at 9:00 a.m., Monday through Friday.
Hearings/Trials
Subject to the Court’s
schedule, hearings will be held at 9:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m., or 10:30 a.m., Monday
through Thursday only; no hearings will be held on Fridays. Trials will
be held at 1:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday; no trials will be held on
Fridays unless the trial commenced on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.
Pre-Trials/Pre-Trial Memorandums
Subject to the Court’s
schedule, Pre-Trials will be at 10:30 a.m., Monday through Friday.
Scheduled Pre-Trials will not commence without the Court receiving the
following by the end of the day, a week prior the Pre-Trial:
1.
Electronic copies of the
Pre-Trial Memorandum, which shall be no more than ten (10) pages in length,
double-spaced, size 12-font, and identify the date/time of the pre-trial, the
filing date of all pending petitions/motions, and contact information for counsels
of record.
2.
If support is an issue to
be addressed at the pre-trial, a Financial Affidavit dated not later than six
(6) months prior to the pre-trial, and the most recent support calculations.
Opposing counsel shall be copied
on all Pre-Trial Memorandums.
Pre-Trial Memorandums and
other required documents can be electronically sent.
Orders
Orders shall be submitted
in Court or uploaded to Odyssey e-File by end of the day on the date the matter
was heard. Orders submitted via Odyssey e-File will not be approved and
signed prior to presentment in Court.
Courtesy Copies
The Court does not require
courtesy copies of pleadings but will accept courtesy copies of contested
matters that are substantive in nature. No courtesy copies of caselaw are
needed. All cases cited must have full
citations in pleadings.
Regarding petitions for
attorney’s fees, courtesy copies must be provided to the Court at least three
(3) business days prior to hearing and shall include an itemized billing
statement and other supporting documentation, as required by statute.
Out of Court Communication with the Court
Unless so expressly
permitted by the Court with agreement by the parties, communication with the
Court on a pending matter before the Court must be in writing, with each
counsel of record or self-represented litigant copied on the communication.