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Show Getting into the courts By TAMARA J. HAUGE f,..f , jtaaaS! Editor's Note: Legal Lines author Tamara J. Hauge is a practicing attorney with the legal firm Dan Adamson and Associates. She specializes in domestic law, as well as general practice. Tamara is featured regularly on the KAI.L radio program "Legal Eagles," and is counsel for several parental right groups in the Salt Lake Valley. She can be reached at her firm, 5250 S. 300 W., Suite 255, Salt Lake City, Utah 84107, or by telephoning 262-5885. Her column is a regular feature of the Davis County Clipper. In a state where the courts were badly backlogged, a young lawyer was asked how many cases he had brought to trial. He replied: "I haven't brought any cases to trial. I've only been out of law school for four years." In that state it took five years after a complaint was filed for the parties to get a trial date! Is this the norm for lawsuits in the United States? Do Utah courts suffer from this problem? The answer depends on which court system the parties are in, and of course the type of lawsuit which is filed. Let's start at the extreme end of the spectrum. In Utah the Federal court system involves the most delay, with trial dates being set six months to a year after a trial date is requested. The Federal court system also presents some delays in the length of time that it takes to get a case ready for trial, since there are delays of one to two months to have pretrial motions heard. If several motions must be heard, of course this will delay the time it takes to get to the point where a trial date may be requested. . The state district court system involves more modest delays of two to four months once a trial date is requested. If the trial is very short, a setting may be obtained as quickly as within one month. For a trial longer than two or three days the delay will probably involve four months or longer. The state circuit court system is the speediest way to get a trial, but then, only cases involving less than $5,000 in damages may be brought in this system. After a trial date is requested in the circuit court, a date is usually set within the next two months. This is quite a contrast to the Federal court system where it takes an average of nine months to get a trial date. The second factor in length of time it takes to get to trial is the type of case which is brought. Some cases involve very simple facts which are easy to deter- mine and present. For example, a triajtojhiyj ild support reduced or raised is one of the simpfest tvsof -trials. The issues involve the financial status and nees oflBoth" parties; so the parties present their income easily verifiable by check stubs and tax returns, and their monthly expenses verifiable by receipts and statements. To prepare for trial does not require hundreds of hours in interviewing witnesses, doing legal research, hiring experts, or reviewing hundreds of documents. Because of this, a trial can be scheduled soon after the complaint is filed. Not only is this type of trial easy to prepare for, but it is easy to schedule since ajudge will often have a one or two hour block open in the upcoming month's calendar, where he may not have several days open for several months. A trial involving complicated facts will take much more time to prepare for trial. An anti-trust case, for example, will involve examination of many records from many companies over a long period of time. Many witnesses will have to be interviewed so that the attorneys may try to determine whether the antitrust laws actually were violated, and the testimony of each witness may take many hours to relate. If a lawsuit involves many different companies then there will be scheduling problems every time the attorneys must get together. For each hearing or deposition, the attorneys for each company must coordinate their schedules and with conflicts in schedules, the hearing or deposition may be delayed for weeks or even months. ' Each case is slightly different and will take more or less time to bring to trial. To ensure a speedy resolution of a case, if you are seeking legal help you should hire an attorney who is committed com-mitted to processing the case as quickly as is possible. You can encourage your attorney to move the case ajong by asking the lawyer for an estimate of how long each step in the litigation process will take, and by asking for an explanation if the lawyer falls behind. Don't be afraid to be persistent and to express dissatisfaction if things are going too slowly. A lawyer should help you to settle your case or bring it to trial as quickly as is possible that is part of the job. |