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Professionalism
/ Civility
I understand that sometimes you will be running late. I understand that emergencies occur. I do not understand the lack of courtesy in notifying the Court and opposing party/counsel when these things occur. Please keep all necessary parties, including the Court, informed if you will be late. If you fail to appear and/or communicate with the Court, your case may be dismissed or continued. Professionalism, preparedness and civility are expected of all parties and counsel that enter my courtroom. I expect courtesy to all counsel, parties and court personnel.
Checking In and Timeliness On the day of your schedule hearing, you must check in with my Court Officer, whose office is located inside the courtroom, upon your arrival at Court. It is your responsibility to appear in a timely manner for your scheduled hearing time. If you are running late, you must call my court officer to notify her of your lateness.
Please note that, unless otherwise indicated, all cases are being heard in half-hour increments so it is CRITICAL that you arrive timely. If you are scheduled “in person,” there may be a back log waiting for elevators in the lobby area. Plan ahead. If you are more than 15 minutes late, your case may be continued or dismissed.
Case Management Orders I will issue Case Management Orders for all trials. Failure to abide by Case Management Orders may result in limitation of evidence, dismissal of motions or any other remedy the Court deems appropriate. .
Rule 75 Hearings
All Rule 75 hearings are conducted on affidavits with an optional 20-minute oral argument.
Scheduling
My writing day is Monday. Wednesdays and Thursdays are my in-person docket days. Tuesdays and Fridays are utilized for Zoom meetings, settlement conferences, and trials. Delinquent Cases Be mindful of whether your case/motion is delinquent. The public deserves and I expect timeliness in the disposition of cases. Children Children are not permitted in the courtroom. Do not bring children with you to Court unless specifically instructed by the Court to do so. It is a violation of the law for anyone to obtain from a child a recorded statement (for example a letter, affidavit, recording, etc.) of the child’s wishes and concerns regarding the allocation of parental rights. Other I have an open-door policy and will meet with all parties/counsel on their cases anytime that I am able to assist in resolving an issue; however, all parties and/or counsel must be present for any such meeting. NOTE TO ALL COUNSEL AND LITIGANTS:
Starting July 1, 2020, I am only scheduling “in person” cases on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Friday afternoons. I am available via zoom for status conferences, pre-trials, and uncontested hearings and via telephone for status conferences all day on Tuesdays as well as on Friday mornings. This is an evolving process that may be adjusted in the future.
For the remainder of May and June 2020, I am available Monday-Friday via zoom for status conferences, pre-trials, and uncontested hearings or via telephone for status conferences and pre-trials. I also have very limited “in person” availability in June on a case by case basis and depending on courtroom availability.
Each case, unless it is specifically indicated otherwise or is set for trial, is being given 30 minutes so it is important to be timely.
I know this new method of operations can be confusing and each courtroom may have different scheduling policies. Please feel free to contact me or my court officer, Andrea_Ackerman@fccourts.org with any questions.
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