In an effort to offer litigants with pending jury trials greater access to the courts, litigants with pending cases in the circuit civil division may place cases on the 17th Judicial Circuit’s Ready for Trial Docket. The Ready for Trial Docket will afford litigants and their counsel the opportunity to place any circuit civil case to be tried by a jury on a trial docket. The case may or may not be under a current trial order but, the parties through their counsel shall stipulate the case meets all criteria to be placed on the Ready for Trial Docket.
The parties may specify a date certain period they wish their case to proceed to trial. If a judge becomes available during their specified time the case will proceed to trial. If the parties specify a date certain for trial and no judge is available, the case will be returned to the division judge. No party will be required to proceed to trial if their case is not reached within their specified time. Nothing precludes the parties from resubmitting the case, if not reached at their specified time, on future Ready for Trial Dockets.
To be placed on the Ready for Trial Docket the case must meet ALL of the following criteria:
- All counsel of record and any self-represented party must sign a stipulation acknowledging the case meets the Ready for Trial Docket criteria and is ready for trial.
- The case must be pending in the circuit civil division.
- The case will be tried within (7) court trial days.
- The case is a jury trial.
- The parties either are under a current trial order or stipulate they are ready for trial and all witnesses and trial exhibits to be used at trial have been disclosed.
- The parties will have mediated the case before trial.
- No dispositive or Daubert motions are pending with the courts.
