Rule 8.2.Ready List

Rule 8.2 creates the waiting line for jury trials. Once a case meets the readiness standard set by OCGA § 9-11-40, it goes on a “ready list” that the calendar clerk keeps, and that list becomes the pool the court draws from when it builds an actual trial calendar.

A case can land on the ready list two ways. The assigned judge can put it there directly, as long as the parties get notice. Or a party can request placement, but only after a pretrial order has already been entered, and only after giving notice to the other parties — a party cannot jump onto the ready list before the case has gone through pretrial.

Position on the list normally tracks filing date, oldest first, so cases wait their turn in the order they were filed. Two exceptions matter. A case that was already on the ready list before — say, it came off for a continuance and went back on — keeps its earlier, more senior position rather than going to the back of the line. And any action that a statute entitles to precedence, such as an expedited case type, gets moved ahead regardless of filing date. The judge can also depart from strict chronological order for cause.