Walla Walla County Superior Court

		
		
                                       Local Rule 7
                            PLEADINGS ALLOWED; FORM OF MOTIONS

     A.  Regular Docket Schedule.

     1.  Law and Motion Days. Monday of each week shall be Law and Motion Day for the
disposition of issues of law regularly noted and docketed for hearing and for the setting of
trial dates for all cases properly noted as hereinafter set forth. The Law and Motion Dockets
shall alternate between departments. The court will conduct the Monday docket according to the
following schedule:

     9:30 AM - Civil and Domestic Relations: Assignments for trial; civil motions and entry of
orders; domestic relations motions and entry of orders.

     1:30 PM - Adult Criminal Docket: Assignments for trial; sentencings; motions and entry of
orders; review hearings; hearings on orders to show cause; non-contested probation violation
hearings.

     3:00 PM - Adult Criminal Docket: Adult arraignments; changes of pleas; first appearances
by summons.

     2.  Therapeutic Court and Truancy Dockets. On the Wednesday of the week in which
Department I hears the Monday Law and Motion Docket, Department II shall hear the
Therapeutic Court Docket beginning at 9:00 AM. On the Wednesday of the week in which
Department II hears the Monday Law and Motion Docket, Department I shall hear the Truancy
Docket at 8:30 AM. These dockets may rotate on an annual basis between the departments at
the direction of the judges.

     3.  Juvenile, Paternity, and Domestic Relations Dockets. On the Friday of the week in
which one department hears the Monday Law and Motion Docket, the other department shall hear
the Juvenile, Paternity and Domestic Relations Dockets. The court will conduct the Friday docket
according to the following schedule:

     9:00 AM - Juvenile Drug Court

     9:30 AM - Juvenile Court Docket: First appearances by summons; arraignments; changes of
pleas; dispositions; probation violations, motions; trial assignments.

     11:00 AM - Paternity Docket: Every week in which Department I has the Monday Law and
Motion Docket, the Court Commissioner shall hear all paternity matters so noted.

1:30 PM - Domestic Docket: the Court Commissioner shall hear non-contested dissolutions;
domestic violence protection orders.

     4.  Criminal First Appearances and Related Hearings. The department holding Law and
Motion Day on Monday shall, at 8:45 AM, Monday through Friday, that same week conduct all
criminal first appearances on probable cause for adult and juvenile defendants in custody,
pretrial release (own recognizance or bail) hearings, warrant arrests, and extradition hearings.

     5.  Ex Parte Matters. From 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM daily, the judge of the department that heard
the Monday Docket will that week be available in the Clerk's Office to sign criminal, civil and
probate ex parte orders, including, but not limited to agreed orders, orders on hearings where
notice of presentment is waived.

      6.  Domestic Violence Temporary Protection Orders. From 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM daily, the
Court Commissioner will be available in the Clerk's Office to sign domestic violence temporary
protection orders.

     7.  Omnibus Hearings. Each department shall schedule omnibus applications in criminal cases
as appropriate to its own calendar.

     B.  Law and Motion Practice.
	
     1.  Notice Requirement. All written motions, other than one which may be heard ex parte, and
notices of the hearing thereof and notices of trial settings shall be served not later than five (5)
business days before the time specified for the hearing, unless a different period is fixed by the
civil rules for Superior Court or by order of the court or by state statute. Normally, this means
that a matter to be placed on the regular Monday Law and Motion Docket must be served on
opposing counsel no later than the close of business two Fridays before. An order to show cause
may be entered on ex parte application if good cause is shown, and set for hearing on the
appropriate docket, subject to the same time constraint.

     2.  Supporting Documents. All motions shall be supported by affidavit, and the affidavit
shall be served with the motion. Except as otherwise provided in CR 59(c), opposing affidavits or
declarations shall be served by the Wednesday before the Monday hearing, and any reply should
be filed the Friday before the Monday hearing, unless the court permits them to be served at
some other time. (See CR 6(d)). Bench copies should be provided to the court as well.

     3.  Special Settings. Matters requiring a special setting for hearing may be noted on the
appropriate docket before the proper department (e.g., contested probate hearings, lengthy
probation violations and criminal pretrial hearings). A hearing time will be set in the same
manner as trial assignments.

     4.  Docket Procedure. The matters on the law and motion docket will be called in the order
set by the clerk, provided case settings and all other matters requiring less than 10 minutes
shall be heard first. The moving party, if no one appears in opposition, may take the order moved
for unless the court shall deem it manifestly unauthorized; or the adverse party, if no one appears
on the motion, may take an order denying the same; or the court may grant the same, if deemed well
taken. If no attorney or party appears to argue for or against the motion, and neither party
requests a continuance, the motion shall be stricken by the court. Any motion may also be
continued by the court for hearing at another specified time, and the court may alter the order of
hearings as may be necessary to expedite the business of the court.

     Matters not ready for hearing in the order above specified will go to the bottom of the docket.
Matters not ready for hearing when all other regularly noted matters have been called shall not be
heard on that day except by consent of the court.

     Matters not regularly noted on the motion docket will not be heard except by the consent of
all parties and the court, and then shall be heard only after all other matters regularly noted
have been heard.

     5.  Law and Motion calendar. The Clerk shall prepare a Law and Motion calendar on
Thursday of each week and shall enter on such calendar the notation of hearing, the number and
title of the case, the names of the attorneys appearing for the respective parties and the nature
of the application.

     6.  Time for Filing Notice of Argument. Notices for Monday's Law and Motion dockets shall
be filed in the Clerk's Office at the same time as the motion. Notices for Friday's domestic
relations and juvenile dockets shall be filed in the Clerk's Office no later than 4:00 PM the
preceding Monday. Matters not noted for hearing as set forth above will not be heard without
consent of the parties and the court.

     7.  Docket Posting. A copy of the calendar shall be available in the Clerk's Office on Friday
of each week preceding the next Law and Motion Day (Monday), and copies of the calendar
shall be available on the counsel tables on the docket day. It shall also be posted on the County
Clerk's website.

     8.  Clerk's Docket/Notices. The Clerk shall keep a daily docket for the court of all matters
for which a time of hearing had been fixed by the court. The Clerk will furnish to counsel of record
a notice advising counsel of the date and time a case is set for trial.

     9.  Effect of Holiday. If any docket falls on a legal holiday, matters noted will be heard on
the preceding or succeeding judicial day, as appropriate.

     10.  Motions to Shorten Time. All motions to shorten time must be in writing and supported
by declaration or affidavit that (a) states exigent circumstances or other compelling reasons why
the matter must be heard on shortened time and (b) demonstrates due diligence in the manner and
method by which notice, or attempted notice, was provided to all other parties regarding the
presentation of the motion to shorten time.  If the moving party, after showing due diligence, has
been unable to notify all parties of the motion to shorten time, it is within the judicial officer's
discretion to proceed with the motion to shorten time.  The judicial officer shall indicate on the
order shortening time the minimum amount of notice to be provided the responding party, which,
barring extraordinary circumstances as set forth in the declaration or affidavit supporting the
motion, shall not be less than 48 hours.  The court file must be presented along with the motion
to shorten time, declaration or affidavit, and the proposed order to the judicial officer considering
the request.


[Adopted January 1, 1999; amended effective September 1, 2016]