Telephone Appearances
Consistent with California Rules of Court Rule 3.670 and Local Rules 5 (1) and 7 (d), parties can sometimes participate in their court hearing by telephone. The guidelines for these appearances are organized by case type or court location:
| CASE TYPE or LOCATION |
TELEPHONE APPEARANCE GUIDELINES |
Branch Courts
(Richmond, Pittsburg, Walnut Creek) |
|
| Civil |
- OK for all Case Management Conferences unless directed otherwise by the court.
- Contact department for any other hearings
|
| Criminal |
- Not available without Court permission.
|
| Family Law |
- OK for all Case Management Conferences and non-evidentiary hearings
- Generally not available for settlement conferences or trial
- Contact department for any other hearings
|
Family Law –
Child Support |
- Allowed for short cause hearings not involving extensive testimony or credibility determinations if parties are in continental U.S.
- Parties fill out and file FL-679 form no later than 12 days before the hearing
- Contact department for permission for any other hearings
- When telephone party is in continental U.S., they must be on standby for the duration for the court calendar. The court will initiate the call.
- When the telephone party is outside of the continental U.S. the parties may initiate the call via CourtCall.
- Personal appearances are required for any hearing requiring extensive testimony.
|
| Juvenile |
|
| Probate |
- OK for most court appearances
- Requirements for personal appearance at a hearing may be included in a tentative ruling
|
To participate in your court hearing by telephone, parties must use CourtCall®. They can be reached Monday–Friday 5:00 am to 5:30 pm as follows:
By phone: (888-882-6878) or (310) 342-0888
By fax: (888) 883-2946 or (310) 743-1850
You must arrange your CourtCall® at least 5 days before your hearing. You must also:
- Prepare and serve a CourtCall® Request for Telephone Appearance
- Pay $60 for each CourtCall® appearance, plus $20 mandated appearance fee
- Dial the courtroom’s dedicated toll free teleconference number and access code (information will be supplied by CourtCall®) 5 minutes before the scheduled hearing time.
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