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.
Zoom Appearance Conduct
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. Attorneys and litigants appearing via Zoom must be appropriately dressed and their conduct must adhere to proper courtroom decorum.
No minor children should be within earshot of the court proceedings.
Prohibited: Screenshots, recordings, broadcasting, or unauthorized visual/audio capture.
Expected Duration: Cases on Zoom should be brief; if more than 10 minutes is needed, please appear in person.
Attorney Responsibilities: Ensure clients can effectively use Zoom, including knowing how to use the chat feature and having a stable internet connection, microphone, and camera. If necessary, attorneys should practice using Zoom with their clients in advance of their client's Zoom appearance.
Habitual connectivity issues or inappropriate behavior may require in-person appearances.
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.
Emergency Motions
All emergency motions shall be noticed for 9:00 a.m. and will be addressed as quickly as possible. An emergency motion shall be in writing and filed stamped along with the notice and certificate of service for the motion to be heard.
The motion must include the basis for the movant's claim of an emergency.
To be heard on an emergency basis, the motion must be a true emergency, that is, it must involve some circumstance which would lead to irreparable damage to a party if relief were not obtained prior to the time that the party could be heard on the Court's regular motion call.
Matters becoming emergencies due to a party's failure to seek timely relief will not be heard as emergencies. For example, motions regarding holiday parenting time and discovery issues will not be considered emergencies except in exceptional circumstances.
Please do not email the Court courtesy copies of emergency motions.
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 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:
- 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.
- 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 within one business day from the date the matter was heard. Untimely submitted Orders may be rejected. 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.