Court Rules

Last updated April 17, 2015

1.  Court Decorum:

     1.1.  No one may wear hats or sunglasses in the courtroom.
      1.2   No purses, bags or backpacks are allowed in the courtroom.
      1.3   No one may wear clothing that is offensive, obscene, vulgar, racist, or sexist, or contains                                                          
              gang related language or graphics.
      1.4    All cell phones must be turned off or set on "silent" while in the courtroom.
      1.5    No food or drink is allowed in the courtroom.
      1.6    Children should not be brought to court hearings.  If children are brought to court at the
               first appearance docket, they must be supervised and quiet.  Children are not allowed to
               be present for any docket hearings that occur on Thursdays.

2.  Appearances:

Defendants must personally appear at all hearings after arraignment, including pretrials, sentencings, trials and revocation hearings, unless a journal entry or order of continuance is approved by the court prior to the scheduled hearing.

3.  Continuances:

      3.1  The court clerk may grant one (1) continuance of two (2) weeks from the Notice to
             Appear date on the citation or complaint to appear and/or respond to certain traffic
             infractions.  The clerk may only grant the continuance if the citation is for an offense
             that may be paid without attending court.  If the citation indicates "court required"  or
             "must appear", the court clerk may not grant the continuance.  In those cases, the
              defendant must appear in front of the judge to request a continuance.
 
       3.2   The judge will generally grant one (1) continuance per case to each party if no
               substantial prejudice occurs to the other party.  This is for the case and not for each
               type.of hearing.  Thus, if one party receives a continuance of a pretrial hearing,  that
               party will not necessarily be granted a continuance of a trial hearing.  Additional
               continuances are not generally granted and will be denied absent special circumstances.

4.  No Cases Set for Review: 

Cases will not be set for a "review" within a certain amount of time.   If a party is granted a continuance, the case will be set on a specific docket at a specified time.

5.  Signatures on Journal Entries:

 All journal entries, except those involving only traffic infractions, must be signed by the defendant.  Those documents cannot be signed by the attorney on behalf of the client.

6.  Attorney Fee Bills: 

    6.1.  All court-appointed attorney fee bills must be submitted within 120 days of the last date
             of representation of the client.  If appointed for trial purposes, this will be on the date of
             withdrawal, date of dismissal, the date of sentencing or the date of filing a diversion
             agreement.  Attorney fees submitted after 120 days will not be considered or paid.

     6.2.   All court-appointed attorney fee bills must be itemized.  Each entry must show at least
              generally what was done and the amount of time billed for that entry.

7.  Discovery:

     7.1.  The court has prepared a form discovery order that will be automatically generated by
             the court clerk when an attorney enters an appearance or is appointed.  It is not
             necessary for attorneys to file a motion for discovery.  Attorneys what do not wish to
             have discovery should let the clerk know at the time that they enter an appearance.

     7.2.  The discovery order will not automatically be generated for defendants that are
             representing themselves.  Defendants that wish to obtain discovery documents should
             inform the court during the proceedings or file a written request with the court.

     7.3.   Attorneys or pro se defendants that believe that the discovery order does not address a
              specific need should file as motion that addresses the specific discovery that is not
              covered by the order or that has not been provided.

     7.4.   The court will not approve court-appointed attorney fees for motions for discovery or
              orders for discovery unless those motions and orders are to address specific discovery
              issues.

8.  Juveniles:  

Juveniles must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian for all hearings unless the charge or charges are only traffic infractions.  Any cases which carry the possibility of detention or license suspension are not considered infractions.