Art. 708 Continuance and recess; definitions

This rule explains the difference between two ways a court case can be paused. A continuance happens before the trial or hearing starts. It means the whole event gets pushed back to a later date. Once the trial or hearing actually begins, the court can no longer grant a continuance.

A recess is different. It happens after the trial or hearing has already started. It's just a temporary break, like stopping for lunch, overnight, or to handle another matter, and then picking back up where things left off.

The main point is timing. If you need more time before things get going, that's a continuance. If a break happens once the proceeding is already underway, that's called a recess instead.