Rule 63.01.Trial Settings--Single-Judge Circuits.

Rule 63.01 answers a practical question for circuits that have only one judge: how does a case get set for trial? The rule lists four routes. The court can set a case for trial on its own motion on the first day of any term of court, without any special notice requirement tied to that timing. It can also set a case on its own motion on any regularly scheduled law day, but only after giving all parties five days’ written notice stating the date the trial-setting order will be entered. The parties can bypass both of those routes entirely by agreeing among themselves to a trial setting at any time. And a party can request a trial setting once the issues in the case have been joined and a reasonable time has passed for discovery, again with five days’ written notice to every other party stating the date the request will be made.

This structure matters because Rule 63.02 hands multi-judge circuits off to their own local scheduling rules instead. In a single-judge circuit, Rule 63.01 is the operative source for getting a case onto the trial docket, whether the initiative comes from the bench or from a party ready to move the case forward.