A Judge’s Guide

MANAGING THE CHILD CUSTODY CASE
valuations. While courts are authorized to enforce these deadlines, it is also within
their discretion to extend these deadlines where appropriate. 68
Other subjects that may be covered in a pretrial order include limitation of the
number of witnesses; admission and stipulation of facts; appointment of experts
regarding child and property-related issues; discovery deadlines; and submission of
memorandums or trial briefs on specific points of law. Evidentiary rules give
courts discretion to limit the number of witnesses when the probative value of the
evidence is substantially outweighed by the needless presentation of cumulative
evidence. 69 The parties may also be required to submit a list of witnesses,
including the nature of their testimony. Failure to provide witness lists may result
in sanctions being levied by the court, including the possible exclusion of
undisclosed witnesses; however, rebuttal witnesses will typically be allowed to
testify absent a discovery request for disclosure of reasonably anticipated rebuttal
witnesses.
Parties are routinely ordered to prepare proposed parenting plans and property
divisions, to narrow and clarify the issues. Sworn inventories are also routinely
ordered, providing legal recourse in the event that property is not properly
disclosed. In the common scenario involving a party who believes that assets have
not been fully disclosed, a pretrial order awarding undisclosed property to the
innocent party deters deceit.
Aspects of the actual trial that may be addressed by pretrial orders include
exchange of witness lists, exhibit lists, and reports of experts. Bifurcated and
summary trials are effective in expediting the process and encouraging settlement
of remaining issues. Such trials allow specific issues in controversy, such as the
enforcement of a prenuptial agreement, to be dealt with in a separate trial, in an
expedited manner.
To further expedite the trial of the lawsuit, many courts require exhibits to be premarked
and exchanged with the opposing party prior to trial. It has been held that
a court does not commit error by excluding an exhibit that was not listed in a
pretrial order. 70 Trial notebooks also serve as effective aids to assist the court in
understanding the evidence; however, the exhibits contained therein should not be
presented to the court prior to their proper admission into evidence, as portions
of the notebook may be held to be inadmissible.
Direct Calendaring
“Direct calendaring” is the system of case assignment in which one judicial officer
is assigned to a family throughout the life of a case, as opposed to the “master
calendaring” system in which multiple judicial officers are assigned. The
RESOURCE GUIDELINES indicate that “[d]irect calendaring enables judges or
judicial officers to become thoroughly familiar with the needs of children and
families, the efforts over time to address those needs, and the complexities of each
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