Presentment, Status, or Hearing - Knowing the Different Types of Court Dates

Different Court Dates for Different Purposes

The legal process is.. slow. One major reason for this is that there are not enough Judges and the Judges have limited time. To be more efficient with their time, each court date has a specific purpose and its own procedures and requirements. While this is not an exhaustive list, and each Judge has some discretion with how they run their court room, each court date generally falls into one of the following categories:

Status Dates

Status dates are court dates where the Judge is expecting an update on the progress of the case. Usually they are specifically look for progress on agreement to terms of the AJ and then the MSA. There will always be an Order after a status date, however the Order may not have any substance other than, "This matter is set for future status on settlement on [date]." If the parties are negotiating and moving forward, they may only require Status dates and then a final prove up date.

Presentment Dates

Whenever one party files a Motion, they very first time in Court for that motion is for "Presentment" of the motion. Generally nothing will happen at the presentment date except that the side who did not file the Motion will be given time to respond and a future date will be set for the new issue.

Hearing Dates

A Hearing is a 'mini trial' where the Court is trying to decide the facts on a specific issue. This may mean taking witness testimony or reviewing documents. Hearing dates are very important because the unline a status date or presentment date, at the end of a hearing the Judge will usually issue a substantive rule that will impact the case and the lives of the parties. Parties need to be present for hearings and will need to be prepared by their attorney if they are going to act as a witness.

Case Management

The purpose of some court dates is to set the schedule for the rest of the case. At the end of this court date, the Judge will issue an order with exact deadlines and requirements for each of the parties to meet. These deadlines will set the path for the rest of the case toward completion.

Trial

Although it is generally not as glamourous as it is on TV, Trials are what most people think about when they think about the law. After the attorneys discuss procedural matters with the Judge, they will each give opening statements. Each side will then have the opportunity to present witnesses and enter evidence into the record. After all evidence and testimony has been taken, each side will have the opportunity to make closing arguments, and then the Judge will make a ruling. Depending on the complexity of the case, and the number of issues that need to be decided at trial, a trial may take place over several days or a single afternoon. Although there are some avenues for appeal, the Order coming out of trial will be the final Order for the case.