A few weeks ago, I was with a client on an ex parte application in Department 2 at the Hill Street/Stanley Mosk Courthouse. For those of you unfamiliar with the way that things work, the Presiding Judge in Department 2, Judge Gordon, supervises all of the judges in Los Angeles County. He has this tremendous auditorium of a court room. Everyone knows that court resources in Los Angeles have been cut thin.
It used to be that you were assigned to a Judge and that Judge would select dates when your case would be tried. You would just submit a request to set the matter for trial, appear at a hearing, and if you were able to attest to discovery being complete, the case would be set for trial.
Well, while I was waiting for my ex parte application to be heard, my client and I watched in fascination as the Court tore apart these two lawyers who were trying to get their case set for trial. In order to get before the Court, you have to “declare” (so to speak) that the case is ready for trial. And with Judge Gordon, you have to convince him of that fact. Hence the berating. His test is whether both sides know each and every thing at issue in the divorce as well as the other side’s position with regard to that issue. So, for example, you may have a dispute over who gets the house. But you would need to know each side’s position on the fair market value of the house. And if you don’t, and you fail your “oral quiz,” then quite simply, you don’t get a trial date.
So what Judge Gordon did was impress upon these two lawyers, who did not seem to get it at first, that if they indicated their case was ready for trial, they had better be ready to tell the court each and every issue in the case and the other side’s position with regard to every single issue. Which, by the way, is a great way to actually prepare for trial. Needless to say, those two attorneys will know what is expected of them the next time they venture into Department 2. So some real good advice is to make sure your case is ready to go to trial before you get in front of Judge Gordon.
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