Asking to reschedule a hearing or trial
A party can ask to reschedule ("continue") an upcoming hearing or trial by filing a Motion to Continue Hearing or Trial. It is up to the commissioner or judge to decide if the hearing or trial will be rescheduled. If it is not rescheduled the parties should plan to attend the hearing or trial.
Procedure
The process to ask to reschedule a hearing or trial differs by judicial district and by judge or commissioner.
For example, if both parties agree to reschedule, the commissioner or judge's team may organize a conference call with the parties to reschedule. Some judges or commissioners require a written request to reschedule.
Moving Party
The person asking to reschedule (the moving party) should contact the court handling the case and ask:
- how the judge or commissioner handles requests to reschedule, and
- if a written Motion to Continue Hearing or Trial must be filed, and what other forms must be filed with it (such as a Request to Submit for Decision and Order on Motion).
In Judicial Districts 1, 2, 3 and 4, commissioners are assigned to hear motions in divorce cases and several other types of family law cases. Motions decided by a judge and motions decided by a commissioner follow different procedures.
If you are not sure whether your case is assigned to a judge or commissioner, find out. Call the court, or look at the caption of the complaint or petition. If a commissioner's name has been listed in the caption, the motion will probably be decided by a commissioner.
Motions decided by a judge are governed by URCP 7. A judge will not rule on a motion until the time for filing an opposition to the motion has passed and a Request to Submit for Decision has been filed.
Motions decided by a commissioner are governed by URCP 101.
See the Motions web page for information about the difference in procedures and timelines depending on who is deciding the motion.
It may take weeks for the court to decide the motion. The motion should be filed well ahead of the hearing or trial date. If the court has not made a decision on the motion by the date of the hearing or trial, the parties should plan to attend the hearing or trial on the originally scheduled date.
Opposing Party
If the non-moving party agrees with the Motion to Continue, they can file a Stipulation. If all parties agree ahead of time to reschedule, they can work together to call the judge or commissioner's staff to reschedule, or they can file a Stipulated Motion.
If the non-moving party does not agree with the motion they can file a Memorandum Opposing the Motion. This document should be filed and sent to the other party as soon as possible.
The commissioner or judge can make a decision on the motion at any time. The court may follow the time frames for a motion found in Rule of Procedure 7, which takes a couple of weeks. Or, the court could decide the motion sooner. See the Motions page to read how motions usually work.
Forms
Information about filing documents in existing cases by email
The forms you need depend on your case. What is your case about?
