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Charlotte Division Hearings Scheduled for May 2020 Before Judge Whitley

Thursday, April 30, 2020

To reduce the possibility of exposure to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE JUDGE WHITLEY'S MAY 2020 CHARLOTTE DIVISION HEARINGS will be conducted as follows:

  1. Except as provided in paragraph 3, ALL HEARINGS WILL BE CONDUCTED TELEPHONICALLY.  Parties and counsel will not be permitted in the courtroom.  Call in information is found below in paragraph 4.
  2. ALL PARTIES AND COUNSEL, INCLUDING INDIVIDUALS NOT REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL (“PRO SE PARTIES”), MAY APPEAR TELEPHONICALLY.  Represented parties wishing to participate in the hearing should call in with their counsel, on a single telephone line. 
  3. Exceptions:
    • Lengthy hearings.  If a hearing will require more than 30 minutes, the parties should confer with one another and then contact chambers (704-350-7575) in advance of the scheduled hearing date for the purpose of obtaining a special setting.  Normally, special settings will be heard later in the day of the originally scheduled hearing date.  However, if these matters cannot be accommodated on that day, they will be set for another date.
    • Evidentiary hearings.  If the hearing will require evidence, the parties should first confer with one another and then contact chambers (704-350-7575) in advance of the hearing date to obtain a special setting and to coordinate the presentation of that evidence.  Evidentiary hearings will typically be set for a later date and conducted by Skype Business.  Counsel and parties should confer and attempt to stipulate to as many of the uncontroverted facts and exhibits, as possible.   
  4. Call in & Other Technical Information:
    • Parties should call in 15 minutes before the scheduled time of the hearing.  When Court is opened, the phone lines will be locked.
    • The call in numbers for these hearings are:
      • Teleconference Number:  888-684-8852
        Access Code:  7389051#
        Security Code:  5041#
    • Please call in using a landline, if possible.  The use of cell phones is discouraged due to the possibility of dropped connections.  If you choose to use a cell phone and the connection is dropped, you will not be able to reconnect to the courtroom. 
    • When Court begins, and UNTIL YOUR CASE IS CALLED, please MUTE your phone.  Do not place the call on hold.  WHEN YOUR CASE is CALLED, UNMUTE your phone.  The Court will ask for appearances in the case.  At that point, state your name and your relationship to the case.
    • When your case is over, the Judge will tell you when it is appropriate to disconnect.  Attorneys having multiple cases should, at the end of their last case, advise the Judg  

If you have questions, please contact chambers at 704-350-7575 or email hearings@ncwd.net.  We appreciate your patience during this unprecedented public health challenge.