Judge Dinah Archambeault Standing Orders

Court Schedule:
9:00a.m.: Case Management Conferences/Statuses/Presentment of Motions: Monday-Friday

9:30a.m.: Prove-ups, hearings: Monday-Friday

1:30p.m.: Trials: Monday-Thursday

1:30-4:30p.m.: Pre-Trials: Friday

NOTE: Hearings and trials will proceed day to day unless otherwise ordered. Pre-Trials may be specially set on other days and times.

General Procedures:

As long as the Chief Judge’s Administrative Order requires masks, attendance by zoom is optional for court appearances, including pre-trials and prove ups, with the exception of evidentiary hearings and trials which shall proceed in person. When ready, cases with attorneys and self- represented litigants who attend in person will be addressed first, with those on zoom taken in the order they raise their hand, using the raise hand function. Hands should be raised only if the case is ready to be addressed. If participating on zoom, attorneys and litigants must display their entire proper name and keep muted until addressing the Court.

Before Court begins for the day or during periods of court recess, check in with the Court Clerk. Do not approach the Clerk while Court is in session. When appearing on zoom, check in with the clerk using the chat function. If no one timely checks in, or is checking in and fails to return in a timely manner, the matter may be dismissed for want of prosecution and/or stricken. As multiple matters may be set for 9:30a.m., when checking in, please advise the court if the matter is proceeding and how much time is needed. When addressing the Court, state the docket line number, case name, number, your name and who you represent. If participating on zoom, state the case name, number, your name, and who you represent.

When scheduling a trial or hearing, advise the Court of how much time will be needed. Once a contested hearing or trial commences it will proceed day to day, except on Friday afternoons, unless for good cause shown and/or as otherwise ordered by the Court.
If a date is set and the matter resolved in advance, advise the Court so the date can be used for another matter.

Communication with the Court:

Communication with the Court must be in writing, with copies to parties of record.

Only hard copies of documents, including pre-trial memos and courtesy copies of contested matters, will be accepted.

Courtesy Copies:

The Court will accept courtesy copies of contested matters that are substantive in nature and/or as otherwise directed by the Court. Provide cited case law with the courtesy copies.

For petitions for attorney fees, courtesy copies of the petition, itemized billing statements and retainer agreements must be provided to the Court at least 7 days prior to hearing. No consent judgments will be entered without a hearing.

Orders:

Minute entries are acceptable for scheduling statuses, case management conferences, and hearings unless otherwise ordered by the Court, if stated on the record. Submit written orders electronically via Odyssey before leaving the Courthouse. A computer and scanner are available for use in the courtroom. Personal laptops may also be used to prepare and submit orders in Court.

Agreed orders for off-call cases will be accepted if at least one attorney of record appears in Court so that minutes can reflect entry of the agreed order. Do not email agreed orders to be submitted. All electronic orders are due by 3:00p.m., unless extended with Court approval.

Prove-ups:

All prove-up documents shall be submitted electronically, with separate documents in one envelope, via Odyssey, by noon on the day prior to the scheduled prove up. Do not include petitions or certificates of completion of parenting class.

Pre-Trials:

Hard copies of pre-trial memos, no more than 10 pages in length, identifying the date and time of pre-trial, and if applicable, financial affidavits, and support calculations for maintenance and child support, shall be provided to the Court at least 7 days prior to the pre-trial.

No email copies will be accepted.
In the event both memos are not timely provided, appear in Court that morning or before to get another date as the pre-trial will not proceed. The offending party may be subject to payment of attorney fees pursuant to 750 ILCS 5/508(b). Counsel must confer prior to submitting pre-trial memos and prior to the pre-trial to narrow the issues.

Trials:

Trial memos and exhibits shall be exchanged between the parties 7 days prior to commencement of trial. Counsel shall meet to determine which, if any, exhibits will be subject to stipulation.

For trial, provide the Court with marked exhibits and an exhibit list in a three ring binder. If exhibits will be displayed on the screen, let the Court know if you need to practice in advance to make sure you know how to utilize the Court’s technology and arrangements will be made. Exhibits will be returned once judgment is entered, and if appealed, the parties are responsible for filing the exhibits for the record on appeal.