This notice is intended to address administrative policies for Family Division cases in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County.
Postponements and Modifications of Scheduling Orders
It is the policy of this Court to resolve family law disputes without unnecessary delay or undue waste of the time and other resources of the Court, the litigants and other case participants. Although it may be necessary or appropriate to postpone a hearing or court event, such requests should be based upon a showing of good cause and made well in advance of any scheduled court deadline or event.
The Court disfavors requests for postponement on the day of a hearing or trial, or any request for postponement or for modification of a scheduling order that delays the resolution of the matter beyond 12 months from the date of filing, which is the case time standard that applies to domestic proceedings.
The following may be rescheduled by conference call between the parties and the Court. All such requests must be made no later than seven days prior to the scheduled event:
- Scheduling Conferences—Call the DCM office at 410-887-2509.
- Show Cause or Motions Hearings—Call Civil Assignment at 410-887-2660.
- Mediation—Call the Family Services Office at 410-887-6570.
If the party requesting the change is unable to arrange a conference call with all necessary parties or counsel, or obtain agreement on a new proposed date, the request must then be made in writing and directed to the Civil Assignment Clerk to process.
All other requests for modification of a scheduling order or for postponement of a settlement conference, hearing or trial shall be in writing. If all parties consent to the modification or postponement, the request can be in letter format.
If the request is opposed, or if the party making the request is unable, despite reasonable effort, to ascertain the position of another party or counsel, the request should be made by motion. All requests must include:
- The basis for the modification or postponement
- The position of other parties or their counsel
- Suggested new scheduling dates
If a contested request is made less than three weeks before a scheduled hearing or trial, it should be accompanied by an appropriate motion to shorten time.
Rulings
If the Family Division Coordinating Judge is not available, postponement and scheduling requests shall be referred to the Administrative Judge.
Advance requests to postpone—Will be referred to a Family Magistrate for ruling. Any party or attorney seeking review of the decision by the Family Magistrate may request reconsideration in writing, which will be referred to the Family Division Coordinating Judge for final review.
Requests made on the day of trial— Will be referred to the Family Division Coordinating Judge for ruling. Parties or their counsel should report to the assigned courtroom and advise the Family Magistrate of the postponement request. The Family Magistrate will then notify the Family Division Coordinating Judge and refer the parties and counsel to the appropriate courtroom for a hearing on the postponement request.
Will be referred to the assigned judge. New dates will be set on the assigned judge’s calendar and confirmed with the Assignment Office, regardless of whether the reset date is during a period when the assigned judge is in a Family Division rotation.
Will be referred to the Family Division Coordinating Judge for ruling. Requests filed within 10 days of a hearing or trial are processed through the Central Assignment office. All other requests are processed through the Civil Assignment office.
Shall be heard on the record before the assigned judge. Postponements on the date of trial are strongly disfavored, and should only be granted upon a compelling showing of good cause or other special circumstance. If a case is postponed, parties and counsel shall be directed to the Civil Assignment office to select an agreed re-set date.
Administrative Postponements
While the Court seeks to reach all cases on the assigned trial date, that objective cannot always be met. However on the assigned trial date, the case is often in the optimal posture to settle or to narrow contested issues. Therefore, if the case cannot be assigned for hearing on the morning it is set for trial, counsel and clients will be required to appear for a follow-up settlement conference before a settlement court judge, a retired judge, a family magistrate, or a judge in the family law rotation. If the case:
- Can be resolved—In whole or in part, the settlement will be placed on the record.
- Cannot be resolved—And a judge or magistrate becomes available that day, the case will be assigned to proceed.
- Is not fully resolved and cannot be reached on the assigned trial date—An agreed date will be reset for the merits hearing.
Whenever possible, cases that have been administratively postponed will be given priority on the follow-up hearing date.
Settlement Conferences
All contested divorce, custody and visitation matters, including those before the Court on a request for modification, will be scheduled for a conference in Settlement Court. The date of the conference will be set at the scheduling conference or when the initial Scheduling Order is issued.
Any request to postpone or reschedule a settlement conference must be made in writing in accordance with the Family Division Postponement Policy. Requests made within 10 days of the scheduled conference are strongly discouraged. If a case settles in advance of the settlement conference, parties or their council must notify the Settlement Office at 410-887-2920 so the matter is removed from the settlement schedule.
Unless requested in writing and approved in advance of the settlement conference, parties and counsel must appear in person.
In all cases with the following contested issues, counsel and unrepresented parties are required to prepare and exchange the required documentation below in advance of the settlement conference and provide these to the the settlement judge for use in the conference.
- Contested issues involving marital property—Initial drafts of a Maryland Rule 9-207 Joint Statement of Parties Concerning Marital and Non-Marital Property. A finalized Joint Statement is not required at the settlement conference.
- Contested child support issues—Proposed Child Support Guidelines
If the case is not resolved in Settlement Court, a trial date will be set and can only be postponed by the Family Division Coordinating Judge. Any follow-up settlement conference must be set prior to that date.
Ex Parte and Emergency Hearings
Requests for ex parte relief and requests for an emergency hearing should be filed as separate matters, as they are processed and decided under a different mechanism. Both are forms of extraordinary relief and should, therefore, be employed only in matters where a risk or threat of serious harm or injury exists.
Requests for ex parte relief are directed to the chambers judge for ruling on the day they are filed. The preferred practice is for counsel to submit an advance copy to the chambers judge and arrange a time through that chambers to advise the opposing party or their counsel when the matter will be heard by the judge. The original request for ex parte relief must be filed with the Civil Department in the Clerk’s Office before the matter is heard by the chambers judge.
Most judges pre-screen ex parte filings to determine whether any chambers hearing will be granted. Ex parte requests may be denied without any chambers hearing if the request does not sufficiently state a claim that may warrant ex parte relief or if proper notice is not given to the opposing side. Maryland Rule 15-504 requires that any ex parte request be accompanied by certification of notice, or alternatively, of specified efforts commensurate with the circumstances to attempt to provide notice to the opposing side or their counsel.
Requests for an emergency hearing are directed to the Family Division Coordinating Judge.
- The original must be filed with the Civil Department in the Clerk’s Office.
- The Civil Department will docket the request and give the request to Central Assignment. The matter is then referred to Central Assignment and decided by the Family Division Coordinating Judge
- If the request is granted, the matter will be set in for hearing within 10 days, provided the case is at issue. If the case is specially assigned, it will be referred to that judge for a ruling.
- If an emergency hearing is granted, Central Assignment will contact the attorneys to schedule the hearing.
Strike Appearance of Counsel
Absent a showing of some compelling circumstance, a Motion to Strike Appearance of Counsel will not be granted:
- Within a 14-day period before an assigned settlement conference or hearing date unless accompanied by the entry of appearance of another attorney.
- During a period when counsel is responsible to submit a draft Order to the Court based upon a prior hearing or ruling.
Counsel are reminded that, pursuant to Rule 2-132(b) the Court “may deny the motion if withdrawal of the appearance would cause unduly delay, prejudice or injustice.”
Waiver of Family Services Fees
Any request to waive a family service fee must be made in writing and accompanied by a current Financial Affidavit of the party making the request. Requests for waiver shall be filed with the Civil Division in the Clerk’s Office, directed to the Family Services Coordinator for review, and ruled upon by the Administrative Judge.
Rescind Orders for Family Division Services
If Family Division Services, such as a Child Access Evaluation, Home Study or Investigation, are ordered through the Family Support Services Office (FSSO) and a party fails to comply with the Order, either by not contacting or responding to the FSSO or by failing to appear at scheduled appointments, the FSSO staff will first attempt to contact all parties or their attorneys to try and resolve the issue. If this attempt fails, the Family Services Coordinator will prepare an Order to Rescind Court Ordered Family Support Service, indicate the reason why the Service is being rescinded, and present the Order to the Family Division Coordinating Judge. If the Order is signed, any pending Child Access Evaluation Conference will also be vacated.
Notification of Pending Out-of-State Custody Cases
The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) requires parties and attorneys to provide notice to the Court whenever there is a related child custody case pending in another state. If a party is aware that an action has been filed or is pending in another state, the party or their counsel must notify the Family Case Manager in writing and provide:
- The name of the state and court where the action is pending
- The court’s phone number (if known)
- The name of the judge or other court official handling the matter.
- The Family Case Manager will contact the out-of-state court to confirm that a custody issue is pending in the other court
- The Case Manager will assign the jurisdictional aspect of the Baltimore County case to one of the Circuit Court judges designated to rule on these jurisdictional issues. Assignments are done on a rotating basis.
- The assigned judge will arrange a conference call with the out-of-state judge and conduct proceedings appropriate to determine which court will retain jurisdiction to determine the custody issues in accordance with the UCCJEA.
Advance Hearing Dates for Settled Cases
If a case has been settled in advance of an assigned trial or settlement conference date and parties wish to advance the date to finalize the matter, they may contact Civil Assignment at 410-887-2660. The matter will be promptly set for hearing before a Family Magistrate.