I.  POLICIES GOVERNING TELEPHONIC APPEARANCES

Telephonic appearances are allowed in all matters before Judge Deborah J. Saltzman in Courtroom 304, except the following:

1. Trials and evidentiary hearings (all counsel and all witnesses must appear in person).
2. Chapter 11 status conferences (debtor's counsel must appear in person; other parties in interest may appear telephonically).
3. Adversary proceeding initial status conferences and pretrial conferences (all trial counsel must appear in person).
4. Chapter 11 and 13 confirmation hearings (debtor, debtor's counsel, and all objecting parties must appear in person).
5. Reaffirmation hearings (debtor and debtor's counsel must appear in person; other parties in interest may appear telephonically).
6. Any matter designated by the court as requiring a personal appearance.

All telephonic appearances must be arranged through Court Call, an independent conference call company, pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section II.

Before requesting a telephonic appearance, counsel should check Judge Saltzman's calendar to review any tentative ruling concerning the matter on calendar.  Each party who appears telephonically will be expected to have reviewed and be familiar with the applicable tentative ruling. The 3:00 p.m. deadline for scheduling telephonic appearances noted below is independent of the tentative ruling process. Late scheduling of a telephonic appearance is not justified even if tentative rulings have not been posted on the court's website by 3:00 p.m. the day before the hearing.

Please be aware that individuals making telephonic appearances do so at their own risk. Absent extraordinary circumstances, hearings will not be rescheduled due to missed connections. If an individual schedules a telephonic appearance and then fails to respond to the call of a matter on calendar, the court may pass the matter, treat the failure to respond as an intent to accept the tentative ruling, or treat the failure to respond as a failure to appear. Scheduling simultaneous telephonic appearances in multiple courts does not excuse a failure to appear.

II. SCHEDULING A TELEPHONIC APPEARANCE

Standard Procedure
Counsel should arrange telephone appearances by calling Court Call at (866) 582-6878 not later than 3:00 p.m. the day prior to the court hearing date.

Emergency Procedure
If an unexpected emergency arises that prevents counsel from following the standard procedure above, counsel must telephone chambers and obtain a law clerk's approval to appear telephonically. A law clerk will only approve a late request for a legitimate and unanticipated emergency. Once your emergency request is approved, notify the courtroom deputy of the approved telephonic appearance. The courtroom deputy may be reached at (951) 774-1075. You must then contact Court Call at (866) 582-6878 to arrange a telephonic appearance. If Court Call is not able to accommodate counsel's late request or if a law clerk denies the request, counsel will not be permitted to appear telephonically and must make an appearance in court as usual.

III. PROCEDURE FOR TELEPHONIC APPEARANCE

Court Call will provide counsel with written confirmation of a telephonic appearance and will give counsel a number to call to make the telephonic appearance. It is counsel's responsibility to dial into the call not later than 10 minutes prior to the scheduled hearing. Court Call does not place a call to counsel. Court Call charges a fee for a telephonic appearance. If you do not call and connect with the Court Call operator in a timely manner, you will be billed for the call, the hearing may proceed in your absence, and the Court may treat your absence as a failure to appear.

Telephonic appearances are connected directly with the courtroom's public address system and electronic recording equipment. Participants should be able to hear all parties without difficulty, echo or other interference. To ensure the quality of the record, the use of cellular phones is prohibited except in the most extreme emergencies. If an individual's cellular phone is causing any interference, the Court may ask that individual to disconnect from the hearing, and that individual will be deemed to have waived his or her appearance in the matter. Similarly, if a cellular phone disconnects during a hearing, the party appearing on cellular phone will be deemed to have waived his or her appearance.

After you have placed your call to Court Call, at the time of your hearing, you may initially be in the listening mode, in which case you will be able to hear the matters before yours just as if you were in the courtroom. After your call is connected to the courtroom, the Judge will call the case, request appearances, and direct the manner in which the hearing proceeds. Each time you speak, you should identify yourself for the record. The Court's teleconferencing system allows more than one speaker to be heard, so the judge can interrupt a speaker to ask a question or redirect the discussion. When the judge informs the participants that the hearing is completed, you may disconnect and the next case will be called.

Telephonic appearances by multiple participants are only possible when there is compliance with every procedural requirement. Sanctions may be imposed when there is any deviation from the required procedures or the Court determines that an individual's conduct makes telephonic appearances inappropriate. Sanctions may include dropping a matter from calendar, continuing the hearing, proceeding in the absence of an unavailable participant, a monetary sanction, and/or a permanent prohibition against an individual appearing telephonically.

Effective: 3/29/2010

Printable version of Judge Saltzman's Telephonic Appearance Procedures