SPARC Forums

Soc, you have been helping me along here.

I live in VA, but my child lives in FL with CP. Florida has jurisdiction over the case. CP and I stipulated to a supplemental petition to modify visitation.

However, the petition had some problems and you suggested that I file a motion to clarify it.

Well the judge's assistant is telling me that I need to put a date on the judge's motion calendar.

I think that I can figure this out and get it done, but I am a little confused. I assume that what I should have done is file a motion with a date. However, I figured that I had attached enough substantiation for the judge to come to a decision without a hearing. This is a REAL grey area for me Soc, and I don't understand why sometimes a judge can grant a motion without a decision, and sometimes wants a hearing.

The only thing that worries me is that I would like to file a motion for a telephonic hearing as opposed to going down there and putting the date on the judge's motion calendar.

My questions are as follows:

1) Can I file a motion for a telephonic hearing at this point, or is it too late?

2) Should I have filed a combined motion for a telephonic hearing along with my motion to clarify?

3) How do I put a date on the judge's calendar?

4) What is the paper called when I put a date on the judge's calendar?

5) Is it always a bad idea to file motions without a date, especially when you have reason to believe that a judge may grant your motion?

Thanks a million as always Soc.

>My questions are as follows:
>
>1) Can I file a motion for a telephonic hearing at this point,
>or is it too late?

Depends on local procedure. Call the judge's assistant and ask if you can request a telephone hearing in a letter or whether it needs to be placed in a motion. The answer is probably in the local court rules, but sometimes it's at the courts discretion.

>
>2) Should I have filed a combined motion for a telephonic
>hearing along with my motion to clarify?

Don't know. See above.

>
>3) How do I put a date on the judge's calendar?

Call the clerk's office. They will either set one over the phone or tell you that you need to submit a request in writing (or send you back to the judge's assistant -- some judges keep their own calendars, others let the clerk's office handle it).

>
>4) What is the paper called when I put a date on the judge's
>calendar?

In some jurisdictions, you need to file a separate document. In others, the calendaring of a case is automatic with filing the motion. In still others, you can simply call the clerk and ask for a date. I can't tell you how FL does it. It's in the local or state court rules, though, and maybe the clerk will explain it for you.

>
>5) Is it always a bad idea to file motions without a date,
>especially when you have reason to believe that a judge may
>grant your motion?

Depends on jurisdiction. For instance, in Federal Court, the judge will either rule on the written pleadings or set a hearing. Litigants generally don't ask for a hearing.