Civil and Family Cases:
Requests for Postponement and Requests to Appear Remotely in civil and family law cases must be made in the form of a written motion and should be filed as soon as the need arises. Delays in filing may result in the Court being unable to consider the motion. Please note that even if the other party/counsel agrees to the postponement, a motion received by the Postponement Coordinator less than forty-eight (48) hours prior to a hearing may not be considered by the Court. Verbal or telephone requests will not be considered.
If the motion is filed within 19 days of the event, it may be necessary to file a Motion to Shorten Time, along with your Motion to Postpone or Request to Appear Remotely. A Motion to Shorten Time must be filed with the Clerk’s Office and “walked through” to the appropriate Coordinating Judge.
To request a Postponement due to a documented Medical Emergency or Death of a family member, please refer to the "Medical Emergency" section.
Self-represented litigants may utilize the Maryland Help Center (all civil or family cases) or the Family Law Help Center (family law cases only) for free legal assistance in filing a Motion to Postpone, a Motion to Appear Remotely, a Motion to Shorten Time or for other civil or family law matters. Forms for self-represented litigants are available to download "FORMS."
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Postponement Due to Medical Emergency
To request a postponement or permission to appear remotely due to a documented medical emergency or death of a family member, call the Postponement Coordinator at (410) 222-1215 (x5) for civil cases or (410) 222-1153 (x6) for family law cases, in addition to following the instructions for all motions to postpone and motions to appear remotely listed below.
NOTE: For all medical emergency motions, the Court requires written medical documentation specifying that you are unable to attend Court.
Instructions for All Motions to Postpone and Motions to Appear Remotely
- Motions filed with insufficient time for the opposing party(ies) to respond must be accompanied by a Motion to Shorten Time if the opposing party(ies) has not consented to or jointly filed the Motion. Both the Motion to Postpone or Motion to Appear Remotely must be "walked through." See "MOTIONS TO SHORTEN TIME and 'WALK THROUGH' PROCEDURE."
- Paper motions served by mail that are filed less than nineteen (19) days before the hearing must include the consent of all counsel/unrepresented parties OR be accompanied by a Motion to Shorten Time to Respond.
- Electronic motions e-filed through the MDEC system and paper motions that are hand delivered must be filed at least sixteen (16) days before the hearing or must include either the consent of all counsel/ unrepresented parties OR be accompanied by a Motion to Shorten Time to Respond.
- Motions must include an address, telephone number(s) and e-mail address(es) pursuant to the Maryland Rules. In addition to mailing a copy of the Order, the Court may also send notice of the outcome of the Motion via email.
- Motions to Postpone must include a tentative reset date that is cleared by all parties and the Assignment Office. The movant must conduct a conference call by calling the opposing party/parties and then calling the Assignment Office at (410) 222-1422. See "TENTATIVE RESET DATE FOR POSTPONEMENTS."
- If a Motion to Postpone or Motion to Appear Remotely is not filed within 72 hours (3 business days) after clearing a tentative reset date, the date may be released.
- In addition to filing the motion with the Court, copies of the motion must be served via MDEC or in paper on all counsel/unrepresented parties. This should be reflected in the Certificate of Service of your motion.
JOINT OR CONSENT MOTIONS TO POSTPONE OR APPEAR REMOTELY
For hearings where ALL parties/counsel consent to postpone the hearing or for remote appearance the motion should be titled "Consent Motion to Postpone"/ "Consent Motion to Appear Remotely" or similar. If the motion is joint (meaning that all parties are requesting a postponement), the motion should be entitled "Joint Motion to Postpone"/ "Joint Motion to Appear Remotely" and should include the signatures of all counsel and unrepresented parties. Failure to entitle the motion "Consent" or "Joint" may result in a delay in ruling on the motion. Clearing a Tentative Reset Date does not imply consent to the Motion. Express consent must be provided by the opposing party(ies). See Instructions for ALL Motions to Postpone and Motions to Appear Remotely.
Motion to Shorten Time
If a motion is filed and a copy is mailed nineteen (19) or less days (or hand- delivered or served through MDEC sixteen (16) or less) before your hearing, the Court ordinarily cannot consider the motion before the hearing unless there is an Order to Shorten Time, permitting a shortened deadline for the opposing party(ies) to respond to your motion. Motions to Shorten Time must comply with the Maryland Rules 1-204 and 1-351. In addition to following the requirements of Maryland Rules 1-204 and 1-351, all motions to shorten time must be "walked through" the Court in order to be considered. See "WALK-THROUGH PROCEDURE."
Notice of Deficiency (from Civil or Family Law Postponement Coordinator)
The Civil or Family Law Coordinating Judge will issue a Notice of Deficiency when a filed motion does not comply with the Postponement Policy. The Notice of Deficiency will state the specific error(s) in the filing. The filing party(ies) will need to correct the error before the motion can be processed. For questions about a Notice of Deficiency that has been issued, contact the Civil Postponement Coordinator at (410) 222-1215 (x5) or the Family Law Postponement Coordinator at (410) 222-1153 (x6).
Tentative Reset Date for Postponements
A Motion to Postpone must include a tentative reset date cleared by all parties. The moving party must call the opposing party(ies) and then conduct a conference call with the Assignment Office at (410) 222-1422. Clearing a tentative reset date does not represent that the opposing party consents to the postponement. If a Motion to Postpone does not include a tentative reset date, a Notice of Deficiency will be issued to the moving party. The moving party can submit a tentative reset date directly to the Postponement Coordinator within the specified time written on the Notice of Deficiency without having to file an amended Motion. If the Court does not receive a tentative reset date within that time, the postponement will not be considered or may be denied.
"WALK-THROUGH" PROCEDURE
In addition to following the requirements of Maryland Rules 1-204 and 1-351, all motions to shorten time require:
- Prior to the presentation to a judge, the moving party must provide at least 24-hour notice to all opposing counsel/parties.
- The moving party must contact the appropriate judge’s chambers to arrange a time to present the motion – more than 24 hours from that time. The Judge’s chambers will advise as to whether the motion is to be presented virtually or in person.
- NOTE: Counsel facilitating presentation to a judge via the "walk-through" policy should contact the appropriate chambers (see below) directly. Pro se litigants facilitating presentation to a judge via the "walk-through" policy should contact the Office of Case Management ((410) 222-1215 (x5) for civil non-family law cases or (410) 222-1153 (x6) for family law cases) for assistance in contacting the appropriate chambers.
The appropriate judge for motions to shorten time is as follows:
- For motions to shorten time to respond to postponements or remote appearance requests – either the Civil or the Family Coordinating Judge, depending on the type of case.
- For all other motions to shorten time – the Chambers Judge.
- NOTE: The Motion to Shorten Time must include the date and time the moving party notified the opposing counsel/parties of the details of the presentation and the details that were in the notice (specifically the date and time of the presentation to the judge, to which judge the presentation will be made, and whether the presentation shall be made virtually or in person).
- When filing the motion, the moving party must tell the clerk that the Motion to Shorten Time needs to be "walked-through." If the moving party does not request that the motion be walked-through, it will be held until the time to respond has expired.
- NOTE: For both Self-Represented Parties AND Attorneys, if the Motion is granted, the party(ies) / attorneys shall ensure appropriate service of the Order and any other documents as directed by the Judge. For Family Law cases only, party(ies)/attorneys shall notify the Family Law Postponement Coordinator (410-222-1153 (x6)) for family law cases.
Family Law Only:
POSTPONE SCHEDULING CONFERENCE
- If all counsel and unrepresented parties agree to postpone a scheduling conference, they may do so once by conference call with the Assignment Office, (410) 222-1422. The conference call must occur at least 48 hours prior to the original scheduling conference date. If there is availability with the Assignment Office, the parties can also agree to a date earlier than the scheduled date.
- If all counsel and unrepresented parties do not agree, or if filing within 48 hours of the original scheduling conference date, a Motion for Postponement must be filed with accompanying Motion to Shorten Time, if necessary.
POSTPONE SHOW CAUSE HEARING
- If all counsel and unrepresented parties agree to postpone a Show Cause hearing in a family law case (set pursuant to a party’s petition for contempt), they may do so once by conference call with the Assignment Office, (410) 222-1422. The conference call must occur at least ten (10) days prior to the original show cause hearing. The new date shall be no later than thirty (30) days after the original date. If there is availability with the Assignment Office, the parties can also agree to a date earlier than the scheduled date.
- If all counsel and unrepresented parties do not agree, a Motion for Postponement must be filed with accompanying Motion to Shorten Time, if necessary.
- DCM Show Cause Hearings or other Show Cause hearings set on the Court's own initiative may NOT be postponed using this procedure. A Motion for Postponement must be filed in those circumstances.
POSTPONE PROTECTIVE ORDER HEARING
- To request a postponement of a hearing on a petition for protection from abuse/protective order, call the Postponement Coordinator at (410) 222-1153 (x6).