Rule 40 Assignment of Cases for Trial

Courts get to set their own local rules for scheduling trials. This means each circuit court decides how cases end up on the trial calendar. A case might be scheduled automatically without anyone asking, or a party can request a trial date and let the other side know, or the court can use whatever method it thinks works best.

If a law says a certain type of case should be handled first, the court has to follow that. This might apply to cases like emergency matters or ones where the law says time is especially important.

For people involved in a lawsuit, this means the exact steps for getting a trial date can differ depending on which circuit court is handling the case. It's a good idea to check the local rules for that specific court or ask the clerk's office how trial scheduling works there.