COMMISSIONER
CATHERINE CONKLIN
SECOND DISTRICT
1. What judicial districts/counties do you cover?
Second District, Weber Davis and Morgan Counties.
2. Where are your offices located?
Ogden. The address is 2525 Grant Avenue, Ogden, UT 84401.
3. What is the telephone number of your scheduling clerk?
I have several. (Am I important or what?) In Davis County, my clerk’s name is Kimberly. Her number is 801-447-3919. In Morgan County, my clerk’s name is Janae. Her number is 801-845-4020. In Ogden, the clerk who schedules ordered to show cause is currently Sheliece. Her number is 801-395-1123. Everything else is scheduled through Tammy, who is also my in-court clerk. Tammy’s number is 801-395-1131
4. What is the telephone number of your in-court clerk?
Davis County: Kim 801-447-3819
Morgan County: Janae 801-845-4020
Weber County: Tammy 801-395-1131
5. Do you have a case manager? If so, what is the process when a case manager is involved?
Nope!
6. Do you require that motions be filed before a hearing date is obtained?
Yes.
7. Do you need courtesy copies of pleadings and exhibits prior to motion hearings? If so, where, how and when do want them delivered?
I only ask for financial declarations before motion hearings. I can read the remainder of the documents on my computer, but I like to mark up the financial declarations. I prefer them to be delivered to OGDEN regardless of where the hearing is to take place, and I would like to have them at least two business days in advance, please.
8. Do you accept pleadings/courtesy copies by facsimile?
I accept courtesy copies by fax, mainly because we haven’t figured out how to have the fax machine say no. It’s a costly process for the court, though, so mailing or hand-delivery would be preferred, please. Original pleadings cannot be accepted via fax.
9. What are the days and times of your law and motion calendars?
Davis County: Monday morning.
Morgan County: Roughly every other Friday morning. (I share the courtroom with two judges, and we also have to schedule around bailiff availability)
Weber County: Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
10. Do you allow stipulated matters to be heard before those that require argument?
YES!!!!!
11. How much time do you allot for each case on your law and motion calendar?
15 minutes.
12. At hearings, how do you feel about requests to pass on cases so that settlement discussion can occur outside the courtroom?
I am always in favor of resolution that the parties can negotiate as opposed to on handed down by the black-robed stranger. Counsel should keep an eye on the clock, though, to be considerate of other cases. When in doubt, check with my clerk or bailiff, and they can tell you if there are any time commitments that may not appear on my calendar.
13. Under what circumstances, if any, do you conduct formal evidentiary hearings?
I always take evidence in disputed protective orders. Other than that, the parties often stipulate to have me take evidence rather than the assigned judge, with the understanding that there is no second evidentiary hearing in the event of an objection and I issue written findings after the hearing so that my recommendation to the judge is clear.
14. What are your views about how much leeway should be afforded to pro se litigants.
Some leeway is required, but the rules apply to everyone. If a pro se litigant has not achieved proper service or failed to file a parenting plan, for example, he or she will be treated the same as a represented party.
15. On what days and times do you hear requests for protective orders?
Wednesday mornings in Weber County. I don’t hear protective orders in Davis County. In Morgan, they are scheduled on an as-needed basis.
16. How much time do you allot for hearing on each protective order case?
My protective orders generally are set half at 9 and half at 10:30. How many are on each setting depends entirely upon how many were filed. I think my record is 18 in one day. Most cases are either continued or stipulated, so there is generally about 45 minutes on each setting available for those that require evidence. If the evidence can’t be heard on that day, we will give it a special setting to accommodate how much time will be required.
17. What is your procedure regarding contested motions to continue hearings/conferences?
I would hope to have a brief opposition explaining why the request is opposed. If there is time, I generally to set a telephone conference to discuss the issue.
18. How do you conduct pretrial settlement conferences, and how do you view your role during PTCs?
With pro se parties, I will go through the issues and try to help them figure out where they’re at odds and how they could resolve the matter. With counsel, I take the position that if settlement were feasible, it would have happened already. I ask counsel to state the issues that require resolution, and then I work with them to facilitate a pre-trial order that will help get the case ready to be submitted to the judge. This will include discovery deadlines and exhibit/witness list exchanges.
19. How much time do you allot for pretrial settlement conferences?
Thirty minutes.
20. What are your views regarding mediation and other private dispute resolution vs. judicial intervention in domestic matters.
As I have noted above, I think that a settlement agreed upon by the parties is almost always going to be better than what the court can impose because the parties know their own case. Sometimes, though, there are legal issues or facts that are so disputed that someone has to step in and make a ruling.
21. What are your views on the use of special masters in domestic cases?
I have had very little experience, but my impression is not favorable. In the few cases where I have seen a special master used, one party or the other concluded quickly that the special master was biased and objected to every ruling, which defeated the utility of a special master.
22. Do you set time limits on bringing motions for custody evaluations? If so, what time criteria do you consider?
I try to set time limits the first time a case is in front of me, which is generally for temporary orders. I usually direct that the case be mediated within 60-90 days and that if medication is unsuccessful a 4-903 motion be filed within ten days after mediation. I am concerned about custody evaluation motions that are filed months into the case without any apparent justification for the delay, and I would be disinclined to grant such a motion. There isn’t any bright line, though. Sorry.
23. Do you require that the parties mediate before entertaining motions for custody evaluations?
Generally, yes.
24. Do your clerks generate orders appointing custody evaluators?
No. I do it myself..
25. How do you handle Rule 4-903 custody evaluation settlement conferences, and how do you view your role during 4-903 CESCs?
To answer the second question first, I view myself as a facilitator. I set a telephone conference with counsel and the evaluator when we’re ready to set a settlement conference. At the phone conference, I ask some questions to determine the best way to conduct the conference to benefit these particular parties. There are some cases that counsel knows will go to trial regardless of what the recommendation is. They are rare, but it is a waste of everyone’s time to set a conference in those cases.
There are other cases where a party doesn’t absorb information quickly enough to be in any position to negotiate after hearing what the evaluator has to say (especially if it’s bad news). In these cases, it may benefit the parties to receive some information (perhaps even the bottom line of the recommendation) a week or two before the conference so that they have time to process it.
Then, there are those cases where if a party receives negative information in advance, it just gives him or her an opportunity to get riled up and defensive such that by the time the conference comes around, the gloves are off.
The point of the telephone conference is to talk about the personalities of the parties involved in the case and decide what will be the best format of the conference and whether or not any information should be given in advance.
26. What is your best general advice for attorneys and parties appearing before you?
Be respectful to each other and be honest about the strengths and weaknesses of your position.
27. What are the most common problems you see in pleadings?
Typos! (Actually, those are entertaining more often than not, so keep them coming). I really dislike motions and orders to show cause that just refer to an affidavit rather than requesting specific relief.
28. What are the most common problems you see with proposed orders?
I have to reject at least two or three orders a week that are for joint legal or physical custody and do not have a parenting plan or the other components required by statute.
29. Do you have any special concerns not specifically addressed by these questions?
If counsel could file financial declarations as a separate document rather than as an attachment to an affidavit, it would be really helpful. Financial declarations are critical, and it’s frustrating sometimes to have to wade through pages and pages of exhibits to find one. If it is filed separately, it gets its own entry on the docket, and it’s very easy to find. Thank you!!!
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