Supreme and County Courts
Civil Case Management Rules

Rev. 8/27/04

• Introduction
• I. Entry Into System
• II. Motion Procedure - Supreme Court
• III. Orders to Show Cause
• IV. Subsequent Motions
• V. All Purpose and Calendar Justice
• VI. Status Calendars
• VII. Preliminary Conferences
• VIII. Trial Procedure - Other than Onondaga County
• IX. Trial Procedure - "Dual Track System" - Onondaga County
• X. Matrimonial Rules
• XI. Tax Certiorari Matters - Onondaga County
• XII. Transfers
• XIII. Criminal Cases
• XIV. Interpretation
• Appendix A Supreme Court Motions
• Appendix B Onondaga Supreme and County Courts -
  Protocols for Orders to Show Cause and Temporary Orders of Protection - Matrimonial

INTRODUCTION
The Individual Assignment System (IAS) is in effect in the six counties of the Fifth Judicial District: Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, Onondaga and Oswego. The Fifth Judicial District Individual Assignment System provides for the continuous supervision of each action and proceeding by a single justice, with the exception of Onondaga County where a special trial system, the Dual Track System, is in effect.

I ENTRY INTO SYSTEM
Actions and proceedings are assigned to the justices of the court upon the filing of a Request for Judicial Intervention with the Clerk of the Court pursuant to 22 NYCRR 202.6, the New York State Court Rules and Regulations.

Assignment of cases is made by the Supreme and County Court Clerk's Office. In those counties where there is more than one justice available for assignments, the assignments will be made pursuant to a method of random selection authorized by the District Administrative Judge. The District Administrative Judge may authorize a transfer of any action or proceeding from one justice to another in accordance with the needs of the court and when, upon request of the assigned justice, the District Administrative Judge deems it inappropriate for the assigned justice to continue handling a particular action or proceeding. Justices in the Fifth Judicial District assigned to New York City will not be assigned any new contested cases for two weeks prior to the commencement of such assignment, and for the first two weeks during such assignment.

II MOTION PROCEDURE - SUPREME COURT
In the Fifth Judicial District, all cases are required to be assigned to an Individual Assignment Justice before a motion may be made returnable in an action.

The attached schedule (Appendix A - page 15 ) lists the requirements of the Fifth Judicial District justices with respect to appearance for oral argument. Unless excused by the assigned Justice or his/her designee, the moving party must appear on the return date of any motion or petition where oral argument is required. For those justices who do not require oral argument, the assigned justice at his/her discretion or at the request of a party, may determine that any such motion be orally argued, so advising the parties. Where all parties to a motion or petition request oral argument, oral argument will be granted unless the Court determines it is not necessary.

For a motion relating to disclosure or to a bill of particulars, see also Section VII (Preliminary Conferences).
All justices in the Fifth Judicial District have designated return dates for motions. Those dates are set forth on the annual schedule distributed throughout the District, and copies are available in the Supreme and County Court Clerk's Office in each County.

If the case has not yet been assigned to a justice, the moving party upon obtaining an index number, will deliver the original motion papers, a Request for Judicial Intervention (RJI) with proof of payment of filing fee, and the Motion Note of Issue in duplicate to the Supreme Court Clerk's Office in the county of venue, for assignment to a justice. Once the case has been assigned to a justice, the attorney representing the moving party will select a return date for the motion from one of that justice's scheduled dates for motions within the time requirements established by the CPLR. If the case is received in the mail by the Supreme Court Clerk's Office, the assignment clerk will place the motion on the nearest available motion return date for the assigned justice. The moving party will then serve the motion papers containing the name of the assigned justice and the return date upon all of the parties. The Supreme Court Clerk's Office will submit all of the original moving papers to the assigned justice. The moving party will next deliver his or her affidavit of service to the assigned justice. Any question with reference to entering the system should be directed to the Chief Clerk of the Supreme and County Courts in the county of venue.

The answering party(ies) will serve copies of all affidavits and briefs as required by CPLR 2214 upon opposing counsel and will deliver the originals of such documents to the Supreme Court Clerk's Office, which will then time and date stamp the papers and deliver them to the assigned justice. With respect to motions on which oral argument is required, all answering papers required to be furnished by CPLR 2214(c) must be filed with the Supreme Court clerk at least two (2) days prior to the return date. The Supreme Court Clerk's Office will be unable to accept answering papers filed less than the two days prior to the return date without the prior written approval of the assigned justice.

Stipulations made by the parties of a first adjournment of the return date of a motion must be directed to the court clerk assigned to the justice in Oneida and Onondaga Counties, and to the Chief Clerk in Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis and Oswego Counties. Such stipulations will be effective unless the court otherwise directs; in that event, the parties will be so notified.

Where all the parties do not agree to an adjournment, or it is other than a first adjournment, a request for the adjournment must be made to the law clerk of the assigned justice, with notice to the other party(ies). The court will notify the requesting party whether the adjournment has been granted.

Stipulations or requests for adjournment will be in writing, unless the justice or the justice's designee finds that circumstances justify the stipulation or request not being made in writing.

III ORDERS TO SHOW CAUSE
For cases which have not yet been assigned to a judge, the moving party's attorney obtains the name of the assigned justice from the Supreme Court Clerk's Office. In counties other than Onondaga, the original papers are then taken to the assigned justice for signature whenever possible. If the assigned Justice is unavailable, the papers are brought to the All Purpose Justice. In Onondaga County, the papers are brought to the ex parte (calendar) justice and a return date for the assigned justice will be selected by the ex parte justice from the published motion return date schedule.

After the assigned justice or ex parte justice signs the order, copies are conformed by the attorney for service, the original signed order and supporting papers are filed with the County Clerk's Office, and a certified copy of the papers are delivered to the Supreme Court Clerk's Office for data entry and delivery to the assigned justice.

Where an emergency situation exists and an early return date is needed, the ex parte justice will contact the assigned justice's office to obtain an early return date. If not possible, the ex parte or calendar justice will handle the initial motion and the case will subsequently be handled by the assigned justice.

IV SUBSEQUENT MOTIONS
All subsequent motions are made returnable before the assigned justice according to his or her scheduled return dates, in the county so designated, unless otherwise directed by the assigned justice. All papers are to be sent/brought to the Supreme Court Clerk's Office for data entry and delivery to the assigned justice.

An affidavit of good faith (to the effect that a good faith effort has been made to obtain the material sought without judicial intervention) must be submitted with every motion seeking discovery including preclusion motions. Failure to supply such an affidavit will constitute grounds for denial of the motion.

V ALL PURPOSE AND CALENDAR JUSTICE
In each of the counties in the Fifth Judicial District except for Onondaga County, a justice will be assigned to an All Purpose Part for each term. In Onondaga County, a justice will be assigned on a rotating basis to serve as Calendar Justice. Except as otherwise provided in these rules, the All Purpose or Calendar Justice will be responsible for handling ex parte matters including name changes, default judgments, applications for attorney fees, infancy settlements, foreclosures, mental hygiene calendars, and other matters of similar nature for his/her assigned term, as well as signing orders to show cause as discussed in Section III of these rules.

In Onondaga County, foreclosures and infancy settlements are assigned from the Individual Assignment System rotation. In Oneida County, foreclosures are assigned IAS and infancy settlements are heard by the All Purpose Justice.

VI STATUS CALENDARS
A status calendar of all pre - note of issue cases will be maintained by the assigned justice. This calendar may be called individually by letter or collectively in court, as the justice will direct. (See 22 NYCRR 202.22[c]).
The status of all pre - note of issue cases must be determined by the assigned justice or by his/her staff or court clerk when an RJI has been pending for eleven (11) months without a trial note of issue having been filed.
A failure by an attorney to respond to a written or in-court inquiry by the assigned justice as to the status of a case, or the failure of an attorney to comply with a direction of the assigned justice to file a trial note of issue within a specified time, will be considered a calendar default within Section 202.27 of the Uniform Rules for the New York State Trial Courts (NYCRR), which may result in the case being stricken from the calendar and dismissed.

VII PRELIMINARY CONFERENCES

Preliminary conferences will be provided as follows:

1. By voluntary request. Where issue has been joined, a party may request a preliminary conference. The court must then schedule a preliminary conference to be held not later than 45 days from the date of the request.

2. A party may request a preliminary conference incident to a motion relating to disclosure or to a bill of particulars in an action in which a preliminary conference has not been held. In these circumstances the court will schedule such a conference unless the parties agree to a timetable which provides for completion of disclosure within twelve (12) months after the filing of the RJI. A form of stipulation and order, prescribed by the Chief Administrator of the Courts, which the parties may sign, agreeing to a timetable for completion of disclosure within twelve (12) months and for resolution of any other issues raised by the motion is available in the Court Clerk's Office. If all parties sign the form and return it to court before the return date of the motion, and the form is "So Ordered" by the court, the motion will be deemed withdrawn. If the stipulation is not returned by all the parties before the return date of the motion, the court will distribute copies of the form to the parties on the return date, specifying a date by which the stipulations, if signed, are to be returned to the court. If the motion was submitted or oral argument was had, the court may determine part or all of the motion or may reserve determination pending return of signed stipulations or the holding of a preliminary conference. In the event signed stipulations are not returned by the date specified by the court, or stipulations returned are not "So Ordered" by the court, the court will fix a date for a preliminary conference. Following the conclusion of the conference, the court will make a written order including its directions to the parties as well as stipulations of counsel, or may have the directions and stipulations recorded by a court reporter.

VIII TRIAL PROCEDURE - OTHER THAN ONONDAGA COUNTY

In all counties in the Fifth Judicial District, with the exception of Onondaga County, all trials will be processed expeditiously under normal Individual Assignment procedures whereby justices routinely preside over trial of their own assigned cases. Pretrial conferences are scheduled at the option of the assigned justice in a manner that he or she deems appropriate. As far as practicable, the district trial scheduling procedure will continue to be on a "day certain" basis. When such a day certain is established, the Chief Clerk will notify the attorneys as soon as possible.

A court clerk will be assigned to each justice. The clerk, under the direction of the Chief Clerk, will assist the assigned justice and his/her personal staff in all scheduling matters.
After a trial date for a case has been set, an adjournment of that date may be made only by the assigned justice after consultation with a representative of each party with authority and sufficient familiarity with the case to agree to an adjourned trial date.

In most instances, establishing priority for trials will be possible by cooperation among the justices. If not, the District Administrative Judge will decide the priority.
The District Administrative Judge, Acting Supreme Court Justices and Judicial Hearing Officers will be used to "back up" trial parts for assigned justices. The use of "back up" parts will be determined by the District Administrative Judge after considering all of the circumstances, including the physical facilities available.

The Fifth Judicial District will continue to target "older" cases, with the objective that there will be no case pending over established Standards and Goals deadlines.

IX TRIAL PROCEDURE - "DUAL TRACK SYSTEM" - ONONDAGA COUNTY
In Onondaga County, cases will be originally assigned under the Individual Assignment System. Each case will be assigned to a justice by random selection and remain with the assigned justice until all discovery proceedings are completed, a trial note of issue is filed, and a pretrial conference is held.

After a trial note of issue has been filed with the clerk of the court, the case must be scheduled for pretrial by the assigned justice within two (2) months of the date of the filing. If such case is not settled or otherwise disposed during that time period, it will be referred for trial to the Supreme Court Clerk's Office to be placed on the General Trial Calendar (GTC) maintained for that purpose. The exceptions will be actions for money damages of $6000 and under, which will be referred by the assigned justice to the compulsory arbitration procedure, and those cases transferred to a lower court pursuant to CPLR 325(d).

Once an action is placed on the General Trial Calendar (GTC), the complete file maintained by the assigned justice will be forwarded to the Supreme Court Clerk's Office by the justice. All records in the Supreme Court Clerk's Office will be changed to show the action as pending on the GTC.

1. General Trial Calendar (GTC)
The General Trial Calendar (GTC) will consist of all cases deemed ready for trial, listed chronologically by Note of Issue date, and will be the source of all cases placed upon the ready calendar except as hereinafter set forth. A printed GTC calendar will be prepared by the Supreme Court Clerk's Office two weeks prior to the commencement of each trial term. By the preparation of a trial calendar two weeks before the start of a trial term, the attorneys will be alerted if an older action (trial note of issue) has been referred to the GTC. It will also insure that the oldest Note of Issue cases will be reached for disposition first.

Copies of the General Trial Calendar will be available in the Supreme Court Clerk's Office to be picked up by the attorneys. Any attorney may request that a copy of the GTC be mailed to his/her office, but must supply the Court Clerk's Office with a stamped, self addressed 9 X 12 envelope for that purpose.

2. Ready Calendar
The Ready Calendar will consist of up to 50 trial ready cases selected in chronological order from the GTC. As cases are disposed, additional cases will be added to the Ready Calendar from the GTC. All cases will remain on the printed Ready Calendar for that term of court until such cases are disposed, unless their removal is authorized by the calendar justice. Thereafter, the attorneys will be responsible for monitoring the progress of each case.

A case on the Ready Calendar when reached for the first time 1) may be announced ready for immediate trial, 2) may be announced settled, 3) a date certain for trial may be scheduled, or 4) a short adjournment may be requested to allow the attorneys to contact their clients and witnesses and agree upon a day certain for trial. There must be an appearance by a representative of each party to an action with sufficient familiarity with the case and with the schedule to agree upon a trial date.

After a trial date has been set, any adjournment of that date will be granted only upon good cause shown and may be granted only in the presence of a representative to each party with authority and sufficient familiarity with the case to agree to a new trial date.

A case scheduled for a day certain trial and not ready for trial, may be stricken pursuant to 22 NYCRR 202.27 (defaults). A case announced "settled subject", stricken from the ready calendar or a status calendar, may be restored only upon motion in accordance with 22 NYCRR 202.21(f) or by stipulation containing the showing required by 22 NYCRR 202.21(f), and an order of the justice who struck the case from the calendar.

3. Calendar Call
The justice assigned to Calendar Part for the term by the District Administrative Judge will preside at and supervise the call of the Ready Calendar each morning at 9:30 AM (9:00 AM from Memorial Day through Labor Day). Such justice will assign those cases which are reached and ready for trial. The calendar justice will assign a particular case to the original IAS justice who had referred the case to the trial calendar, if he or she is immediately available; if not, the case will be assigned to the next available justice or a back up justice or judicial hearing officer. If no justice or judicial hearing officer is available, the case will be marked "ready after" and will be assigned to the next available justice or judicial hearing officer available.

In the event that counsel announces that a motion is or will be pending or imminent after a case has been scheduled for trial, the trial will be delayed until decision of the motion only if an order to that effect is granted by the calendar justice. If the calendar justice does not grant an adjournment, the case will proceed to trial.

The pendency of an appeal shall not stay a trial unless an order granting a stay is issued by the Appellate Division or justice thereof (see CPLR 5519(c)), or by the justice who issued the order being appealed (see CPLR 2221).
Ex parte applications will be heard by the Calendar Justice immediately following calendar call and at 2:00 PM in the justice's chambers, or at such other time as directed by the Court.

All Individual Assignment System (IAS) justices will also be trial justices. It is recognized that an IAS justice on trial will, of necessity, have to adjourn trial to hear motions.

Any motion affecting a case on the General Trial Calendar or Ready Calendar will be made returnable before the calendar justice for disposition or referral to the IAS justice or to the trial justice, depending upon the relief requested. Post judgment motions must be made returnable to the justice who presided over the trial of the action.

X MATRIMONIAL RULES

1. DEDICATED MATRIMONIAL PARTS
Onondaga and Oneida Counties

The Dedicated Matrimonial Part will adhere to the Uniform Rules for Supreme Court of the New York (22 NYCRR 202, et seq.) and specifically the rules for matrimonial actions set out at 22 NYCRR Part 1400. These Dedicated Matrimonial Part rules supplement the Uniform Rules.

A. Preliminary Conferences
The purpose of the preliminary conference is to introduce the parties to the Court System and to resolve cases and/or issues where possible, to identify and narrow the remaining issues to be resolved, establish a time line for discovery, and identify cases that are complex and which require expert testimony, depositions, law guardians or have special circumstances.

(i) All preliminary conferences required by 22 NYCRR 202.16(f) will be held between 25 and 45 days after the filing of the Request for Judicial Intervention (RJI). The preliminary conference and subsequent conferences will be conducted by a Supreme Court Matrimonial Justice, a Court Attorney/Referee, or a Principal Law Clerk to a Supreme Court Justice.

(ii) The parties must be present, with counsel where applicable, at the scheduled time for the commencement of the Preliminary Conference.

(iii) Adjournments of scheduled preliminary conferences and subsequent conferences may be obtained by contacting the Court Clerk of the assigned Dedicated Matrimonial Part Justice. It is the obligation of the party or the attorney seeking the adjournment to obtain alternative available dates from the Court Clerk and obtain the consent of the opposing counsel or self represented litigant. After obtaining the consent, the requesting party must confirm the adjournment in writing to the Court and to opposing counsel within twenty-four (24) hours. It is not the responsibility of the Court Clerk's Office to confirm adjournments of conferences. Failure to timely confirm a consent adjournment will result in the denial of the adjournment request. In the event where opposing counsel does not consent to an adjournment, a party will request an adjournment directly with the assigned justice upon notice to the opposing counsel or self represented party. Except in emergency situations, any adjournment request must be made in writing with notice to the opposing counsel/self represented party at least five (5) days prior to the scheduled date. No preliminary conference may be adjourned beyond forty-five(45) days from the date of the filing of the RJI. Only one adjournment will be permitted within the 45 day period unless an application is made in writing to the Dedicated Matrimonial Part Justice to whom the case is assigned.

B. Procedures for Counsel and Self Represented parties
Pursuant to 22 NYCRR Section 202.16 and local rules, the Court further directs that the parties exchange with opposing counsel or self represented party and provide to chambers the following items at least TEN (10) DAYS PRIOR to the preliminary conference:

• 1. DRL 236B - Statement of Net Worth
• 2. For parties represented by counsel, copy of signed retainer agreement in conformity with the Appellate Division Rules for the Conduct and Discipline of Attorneys.
  3. Copy of date stamped summons, complaint and affidavit of service.
• 4. Competed conference information sheet (provided by the Court Clerk with scheduling letter)
• 5. Letter outlining issues which have been resolved and issues which are contested.
• 6. All paycheck stubs for the current calendar year and the last paycheck stub for the immediately preceding calendar year.
• 7. All filed state and federal income tax returns for the previous three (3) years, including both personal returns and returns filed on behalf of any partnership or closely held corporation of which the party is a partner or shareholder, to include all W-2 wage and tax statements, 1099 forms and K-1 forms.
• 8. All W-2 wage and tax statements, 1099 forms, and K-1 forms for any year in the past three (3) years for which the party did not file state and federal income tax returns.

• a. All statements of accounts received during the past three (3) years from each financial institution in which the party has maintained any account in which cash or securities are held
• b. The statements of accounts immediately preceding and following the date of commencement of the matrimonial action pertaining to: (A) any policy of life insurance having a cash or dividend surrender value; and (B) any deferred compensation plan of any type or nature in which the party has an interest, including but not limited to Individual Retirement Accounts, pensions, profit-sharing plans, Keough plans, 401(k) plans, or other retirement plans.

C. Temporary Relief and Scheduling Orders
1. Counsel and self represented parties may file orders to show cause and motions for temporary relief at any time in accordance with the CPLR and as set forth in these rules. Orders to show cause seeking emergency temporary relief may be scheduled for a return date prior to the Preliminary Conference date. All motions and orders to show cause must be submitted with an original and one (1) copy and must be heard and determined by a Justice of the Court.

2. Additionally, unless otherwise agreed upon, counsel and self represented parties may make an oral application at the Preliminary Conference for temporary child support, spousal maintenance, visitation scheduling, exclusive use and possession of property, and counsel and expert fees. Such an oral application must be preceded by a letter containing the list of the relief that will be sought and a statement of the reasons for seeking relief. The letter must be submitted to the Court and opposing counsel or self represented party at least ten (10) days prior to the Preliminary Conference and must be accompanied by a fully completed Net Worth Statement together with the most recent federal and state income tax returns, where available, and a recent representative pay stub or other documentation of income.

3. The relief sought in an application made pursuant to paragraph C(2) will be discussed at the Preliminary Conference to explore the possibility of a temporary consent order, which order will be signed by a Justice of the Court. Any such issues which remain in whole or in part unresolved after the preliminary conference will be referred to a Justice and, at the discretion of the Justice, argued immediately after the conference or rescheduled for argument or formal motion or order to show cause at a later date. The Court will treat any such subsequent formal motion or order to show cause as having been filed on the date of the application made pursuant to paragraph C(2).

4. A separate scheduling order will be made at the Preliminary Conference, which order will set time frames for financial disclosure and other pretrial discovery, appraisals, expert reports, law guardian appointment, further conference dates, the date for filing the trial Note of Issue, and the trial date. This order will be signed by the Justice of the Court. The scheduling order may be modified for good cause.

D. Compliance and Settlement Conferences
1. Compliance and Settlement Conference will be scheduled at the Preliminary Conference, and may be held by the Justice, Court Attorney/Referee, or Law Clerk to Justice.
2. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, the parties must attend all Compliance and Settlement Conferences.
3. Copies of all discovery demands are to be submitted to the Court ten (10) days prior to any Compliance and Settlement Conference.
4. All issues will be considered at the Compliance and Settlement Conference including the reasonableness of disclosure requests, the parties' compliance with temporary orders or prior orders of the Court, compliance with disclosure demands and responses, and counsel fees.
5. If a case has been resolved in its entirety, an oral stipulation may be placed upon the record before a Justice of the Court, the Court Attorney/Referee, or a Law Clerk to a Justice of the Court, and any resultant judgment or order will be signed by a Justice of the Court.
E. Trials
Ten (10) days prior to the pretrial conference, if scheduled, or ten (10) days prior to the trial, the parties must submit to the Court and exchange with opposing counsel or self represented party, a letter outlining a list of known witnesses, including parties, and a statement of proposed disposition.

F. Judgments
For all matrimonial cases assigned to the Dedicated Matrimonial Part in which the Judgment of Divorce adopts or continues, either by agreement or by default, an order of Family Court concerning custody and visitation, each judgment in such cases will contain the following provision:

"All future matters concerning child support and custody and visitation are hereby referred to the appropriate Family Court. All other matters concerning this Judgment will be retained by the Supreme Court Dedicated Matrimonial Part for two (2) years from the date of the signing this Judgment of Divorce. Thereafter, all matters except equitable distribution will be referred to the appropriate Family Court.

For all other matrimonial cases assigned to the Dedicated Matrimonial Part, each judgment in such cases will contain the following provision:

"All future matters concerning child support are hereby referred to the appropriate Family Court. All other matters concerning this Judgment will be retained by the Supreme Court Dedicated Matrimonial Part for two (2) years from the date of the signing of this Judgment of Divorce. Thereafter, all matters except equitable distribution will be referred to the appropriate Family Court."

Note: It is preferred that after the execution of the Judgment of Divorce, any future Supreme Court proceedings be commenced by Order to Show Cause.

G. Correspondence
In cases pending in Onondaga County Supreme Court, correspondence will be directed to:

Dedicated Matrimonial Part
Onondaga County Courthouse, Room 302
401 Montgomery St.
Syracuse, NY 13202
(315)671-1030, fax (315)671-1176

In cases pending in Oneida County Supreme Court, correspondence will be directed to:

Dedicated Matrimonial Part
Oneida County Supreme Court
200 Elizabeth St.
Utica, NY 13501
(315)798-5890, fax (315)798-6436

XI TAX CERTIORARI MATTERS - ONONDAGA COUNTY
All tax certiorari proceedings brought under Article 7 of the Real Property Tax Law will be assigned to a designated justice. The assigned justice's name will appear in the annual calendar published each year for the Fifth Judicial District. The calendar of cases in which a Trial Note of Issue has been filed will be called monthly. Attorneys and self represented litigants are required to be present at that time, unless excused by the Court. All matters relating to tax certiorari proceedings, including scheduling of appearances, pretrial conferences, discovery, and motions, will be handled by the designated justice.

XII TRANSFERS
Once an action is assigned to a Justice, the District Administrative Judge must approve a transfer to another justice. In Onondaga County, an exception to this is when cases are assigned for the purposes of trial from the General Trial Calendar or Supplemental Matrimonial Trial calendar to a trial justice, by the Calendar Justice.

XIII CRIMINAL CASES
Criminal cases are assigned by the Individual Assignment System in all counties in the District. Any transfers of criminal cases for trial or other disposition must first be approved by the District Administrative Judge.

XIV INTERPRETATION
Any questions regarding the interpretation or application of these rules shall be directed to the District Administrative Judge.

Appendix A

Revised 3/12/06

SUPREME COURT MOTIONS - FIFTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT

Appendix B - Onondaga Supreme & County Courts

Protocols for Orders to Show Cause and
Temporary Orders of Protection - Matrimonial

Revised 1/1/03

On all initial filings of Orders to Show Cause (OSC) for temporary relief in matrimonial actions including those which request a temporary order of protection (TOP), the papers may be brought to either the Matrimonial Court Clerk's office, Room 523 of the State Office Building, or the Supreme Court Clerk's Office, Room 302 of the County Courthouse. The action will be assigned off the matrimonial assignment wheel. The papers will then be forwarded to the assigned matrimonial justice. He/she will review the papers, sign the OSC and TOP if appropriate, and return the papers to his/her part clerk. The part clerk shall forward any TOPs to the registry and perform the necessary data entry.

If the assigned justice is not available to review the papers, the papers will be forwarded to the other Dedicated Matrimonial Part (DMP) Justice for review. If the other DMP justice is also unavailable, the papers will be forwarded to the Calendar Justice in the County Courthouse for review. The return date will be chosen from the assigned justice's return dates.

On subsequent OSCs in matrimonial actions, with or without a request for a TOP, the papers will be referred to the assigned matrimonial part justice. If the assigned justice is not available, the papers will go to the other DMP justice for review and signature. If neither DMP justice is available, the papers will go to the Calendar Judge for that term.

NOTE: The party requesting the TOP MUST provide a completed information sheet along with their papers.

Counsel is advised that where a represented client is seeking to appear before a justice to request a TOP, counsel is to appear with their client.