The Case Schedule And What Are Those Dates? Part 3 This blog article is a continuation of the dates addressed in the King County Superior Court Case Schedule for a divorce/legal separation case. Deadline To Engage In Alternative Dispute Resolution. It is a well known fact that most divorce/legal separation cases will settle, if the parties can discuss the issues before a impartial third party, such as a mediator. Since the court has a very strong interest in seeing as many cases as possible settle (they are still overloaded with the cases that do not settle) in many counties, including King County, there is a requirement to undertake some form of procedure to settle the case. In most cases that I have been involved in the parties engage in a mediation process, also known as a settlement conference. The deadline date is designed to try and accomplish the settlement well prior to the date of the trial. Deadline For Exchanging Witness And Exhibit Lists. In anticipation of going to trial, each side is required to give the other side information of what they plan to use at the trial. This would include a list of witnesses and exhibits as well as copies of the actual exhibits. With this “open” exchange, at least in theory, there should be no surprises during the actual trial, regarding who testifies and what documents will be presented to the court. Obviously, the intent of this requirement is to allow both sides to review, and prepare for what will be happening at the trial. Deadline For Filing Joint Confirmation Of Trial Readiness. In cases that do not involve children, the court has a requirement that the parties, jointly, file a document addressing certain issues. This would include: (A) type of trial and estimated trial length, (B) trial week attorney conflicts, (C) interpreter needs, (D) to what extent alternative dispute resolution has been used in the case and (E) any other factors to assist the court to bring about a just, speedy, and economical resolution of the matter. Joint Statement Of Evidence. Just prior to the trial date, the parties are required to go over the witnesses/exhibit lists and prepare a final version of who/what each side plans to use at the trial. This is also the time when each side is allowed to “object” to either the authenticity or admissibility of each exhibit. This gives each side, and the court, a “heads up” as to whether any exhibits will have to be addressed, by the court, prior to actual consideration in resolving the case. Trial Date. Normally, the trial date will be a Monday, but there is always the possibility that the case could be heard later in the week. For most trial days each judge has several cases, initially, assigned to them, with the expectation that many will settle before the trial date. Each week the court, via their staff, have to shuffle around cases, depending on what cases have settle, or are going longer/shorter than expected. There is always the possibility that your case will be assigned to a different judge at the last moment (who has more available time) and the case may be moved to fit his/her schedule better. __________________________________________________ This blog article is not intended to convey legal advice, but only address some of the general rules. Most legal issues, in family law cases, depend on the specific facts. Should you wish to discuss your particular situation with the Law Office of Thomas A. Chillquist, please call or email my office. I am a family law lawyer (divorce attorney) and I represent parties in family law, and divorce, matters in King and Pierce County, Washington, including Kent, Federal Way, Covington, Renton, SeaTac, Des Moines, Fife, Auburn, Seattle, Bellevue, Puyallup, Orting, Tacoma and Mercer Island. Copyright Thomas A. Chillquist
Posted on: Fri, 02 May 2014 21:28:38 +0000
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