If you file a claim, we are required to appear in court regularly to inform the judge of the progress of your dispute. If your case is not resolved at the pre-trial hearing, the next appointment is usually the compliance hearing. Any disclosure requested by your lawyer will usually be presented by the prosecutor at the compliance hearing. Depending on the court and the judge, the prosecutor can submit the discovery 4 weeks before the trial. The compliance hearing is not a mandatory appointment that you should schedule, but it can be a useful step for your criminal case. If there are items that have not been handed over and need to be given to the other party, the court wants to know what is taking so long and why they have not been provided. This is the essence of what is happening at a conference on compliance in the New York City justice system. In such cases, the court may be required to decide whether or not to issue these documents. Once all the lawyers have informed the court of the progress of your case, the court clerk will usually set a new conference date to appear again in court a few months later. At this point, all parties have a clear idea of what needs to happen in your case to move on to the next step. In addition, the court also wants to know whether the declarations were completed on time.
At the very first court conference, called a pre-conference, the court sets a schedule and assigns a time record to your case. Depending on the complexity of the case, 12 months are allotted for disclosure, 18 months or something else in the court guidelines. Lawsuits involving many defendants will obviously take longer than an individual lawsuit. Medical malpractice is typically given an 18-month window of discovery here in upstate New York. Finally, you can also settle your case at the compliance hearing. If you are unable to resolve your case during the hearing, the matter is usually scheduled for a motion or hearing. Similarly, we are required to provide the defence with certificates of authorization, also known as authorization to the defense, so that they can receive your records. Sometimes there are disputes over whether or not to grant the requested authorizations. They can apply to medical care and treatments you received a long time ago. These may have nothing to do with current events.