Legal Basics: What to Expect at Court Dates

When a court date for a family law case is coming up, people often do not know what to expect. They may go to court without an attorney and feel like they are not allowed to really speak to the judge about their legal problem. Many people have described an experience where they felt like the judge kept “shutting them down” before quickly moving on to another person’s case.

When it comes to court dates, there is a certain order to things. There are specific procedures to go through and topics which judges expect to talk about depending on the type of court date or what is happening in the case. This article will help explain the basic types of court dates in family law cases, and some common examples of what judges may want talk about or do in different scenarios.

There are two main types of court dates in family law: status dates and hearing dates. Status dates are more simple court dates, used to check in on the case and move it in a certain direction. Hearings are court dates where a formal argument take place in front of the judge.

Status Court Dates / Case Management Dates

Status dates are usually simple court dates where the judge wants an update on what is happening with the case, and will determine what to do next. For example, the judge could simply decide to continue the case to another status date. This is sometimes referred to as a “continuance.” Or, if a motion has been filed, the motion can be scheduled for hearing to a future date. In a lot of scenarios, status dates are used for administrative or “house-keeping” purposes to move the case along in a certain direction. The majority of court dates in a family law case will be status dates. In an ongoing divorce, you may hear a judge or attorney refer to them as “case management dates.” Most of the time they are very simple and the judge will not expect there to be a lot of arguing. If someone starts arguing the main points of their case at a status date, the judge might angrily interrupt and say “this is not set for hearing today” or “we are not having a hearing about this right now.” If there is no motion on file for that particular problem, the judge might even say “you need to file a motion” in order to have that addressed. The judge may want a particular type of answer which is needed to move the case forward properly and can interrupt a party who is talking about information that is unrelated or not needed at that specific time. On less common occasions, arguments can occur at status dates, but judges prefer to keep them simple and quick when possible.

When a case is called, the judge will want to first identify the case and who is present. He or she will want to know the case number that was assigned to the case, the names of the people who are on each side of the case, and whether both people or their attorneys are in court. At most court dates, when each party has a lawyer, the judge will want the attorneys to identify the case, then recite their names and who they represent, before talking about anything else.

On the very first court date in a case, or on the first court date to appear when a new motion or petition is filed, the judge will usually want to confirm whether the other party has received “notice” of the motion or petition. In most situations, the person who files a motion or petition must give official “notice” of the filing to the other side. That is, the judge will want to know whether they had properly sent a copy of the motion or petition to the other party before the court date, or had them served with the initial divorce or child custody papers at the very beginning of a new case. Proper notice of a new motion or petition is typically required so that the other side has a fair warning that a particular dispute will be heard in court and ruled upon by a judge. If on the first court date, it is determined that the other person was not given proper notice, or they have not been served with the initial paperwork, then the court may continue the case out to another status date to give more time to properly send the documents to the other party.

Here are some other common examples of why cases are continued to another “status” date:

The judge gives the parties time or sets a deadline to exchange basic financial documents like pay stubs and W-2’s, so they can later perform a calculation of child support or spousal support.
The judge gives the parties time to work out an agreement regarding the division of property, parenting time, decision-making, or other aspects of their case.
The judge gives the parties more time to work on a marital settlement agreement or parenting plan.
The judge gives the parties more time to issue discovery or gather and exchange discovery documents.
The judge sends the parties to mediation and sets a future court date for them to come back and update the judge on what happened at mediation.
The judge gives one of the parties time to find a new job so they can start paying child support or spousal support again.

Here are some common examples of what judges usually expect to talk about at status court dates for various types of cases:

Have the parties exchanged financial documents yet?
Have the parties reached an agreement regarding a parenting time schedule or any other major issues in their case?
Have the parties been working on a marital settlement agreement or parenting plan, do they need more time to work on it, or does a trial date need to be set because the case has been going on for too long?
Have the parties finished exchanging discovery documents or do they need more time?
Have the parties completed mediation, and if so, did they reach an agreement?
Did the party find a new job yet? If so, where does he or she work now, and how much does the new job pay?

Please note that these are only examples, and what a judge may want to talk about at any particular court date can vary depending on the particular facts of each case.

Hearing Dates

Hearing dates or trials are the court dates which are scheduled for a formal argument to take place in front of the judge. These are more like the court dates that you see on TV or in movies, where evidence is submitted, witnesses testify, objections could be raised, arguments are made to the judge, and the judge makes a final ruling or decision at the end. Often the judge’s ruling or decision is put into a court order or judgment which the parties are required to follow afterwards.

If the parties are represented by attorneys, then quite often at hearing dates the lawyers will have a private discussion with the judge, called a pretrial. In a pretrial conference, the attorneys go over the disputed issues and basic arguments with the judge. The judge then informs the attorneys how he or she is inclined to rule if the parties actually go to a formal hearing. These are often referred to as the judge’s pretrial “recommendations.” The attorneys then go back to the parties and explain the judge’s recommendations in an attempt to resolve the matter. Perhaps about 90% of disputed matters are resolved by a pretrial conference, because the judge is inclined to rule the way they recommended. Depending on the case, pretrials can also save the parties hundreds or thousands of dollars on legal fees by avoiding a full hearing or trial.

The judge could also take procedural actions on hearing dates, similar to status dates, such as continuing the case for certain reasons, depending on the circumstances or what is needed to move the case forward.

Various things could happen at court dates in a family law case. Every case is unique and will require different actions or different things to be said to the judge. In terms of basic courtroom procedure, an experienced attorney will understand where the conversation with the judge is headed, what information the judge would likely be asking for at a particular time, and the types of things to say and when, depending on the specifics of the case.

If you feel completely lost about the legal system or legal procedure and need help, call divorce and child custody attorney Michael Navarro of Navarro Family Law at (815) 207-9570 to schedule a consultation. Attorney Navarro has over 10 years of experience representing clients in the courtroom in divorce and child custody matters in the Will County, Kendall County and DuPage County areas.