Things to Remember When You Appear in a Family Law Hearing

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    • First, right now, family law hearings are happening over Zoom. However, before COVID times family law hearing occurred in person. We lawyers and our clients would arrive at the courthouse and wait while matters were heard line by line based off a paper that the court posted. For example, in San Francisco County sometimes there would be 20 lines on the paper, and if we were line 20, we would have to wait until all the other cases had been heard. Eventually, the bailiff would bring all of us who were waiting into the court, and we would wait for our turn to speak with the judge.
    • Over Zoom, the court follows a similar procedure, except we don't know which line number we are since we don't have the piece of paper from the court to look at. So the court usually invites everyone into the Zoom call and we will all be in a waiting room or observing the court proceedings live ( which is usually the case).
    • The court will begin by calling matters that are having continuances first. A continuance means that the case will be heard on a different day because of a few reasons such as: the lawyer is not available, or they didn't get served. So, the court continues those matters first to a later date.
    • The judge doesn't have to pick line one, line two, as it would be on the in-person list. Instead, the judge might feel, "Well, I want to hear the easiest and quickest matters first so that they don't have to wait and hear these other complicated matters.” Then the complicated matters will come after.
    • Usually when the hearing starts at nine, the judge takes a break at 10:30 am, not just for the judge, but also for the transcriber, who transcribes all the hearings and needs to take a break, or so that the clerks may take a break as well.
    • When a matter is called, usually the lawyers talk.
    • If a client is represented, they're not expected to speak because most of the hearings that are on a calendar are called "short cause hearings. This means each hearing is no longer than 20 minutes and the arguments already have been submitted to the court prior in writing and the court usually will only ask, "Well, do you have anything new to add since you filed this last declaration?"
    • Then the lawyers sometimes use this time to remind the court about all the other arguments and some judges interrupt and say, "Yes, I know, I read it."
    • Next, the judge takes the matter under submission for a second, or sometimes for two days, and states the decision.
    • When a case comes where the client must testify, the clerk asks to both parties to raise their right hand, state that they're testifying under penalty of perjury, and state their name on the record.

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