In Stanislaus County, our office frequently receives questions about the purpose of a court proceeding called a Case Management Conference, commonly referred to as a “CMC.” Whether your case has just started, or if you have already appeared in court, you may be confused about why there is a CMC and what happens at a CMC. You aren’t alone. Family law proceedings can be very confusing for parties representing themselves, and even for some attorneys. With or without an attorney, motions may be filed, parties may appear in court, negotiations may be held, but you will still likely feel lost in the proceedings, as if reading a book without knowing where you are in the story. Partial solution: the CMC.

What The Heck Is A Case Management Conference?

The purpose of a CMC in most cases is to help move a case along so that cases do not become stagnant or run off track. A CMC is effectively a procedural check-in hearing with your assigned judge regarding the general status of your case and whether you are completing the necessary steps to bring your case to a conclusion. A CMC could be compared to a property inspection or vehicle inspection, or even to a physical, in that it is a relatively short hearing during which time your judge will check-in with the parties or their attorneys regarding the general status of the case.  If the parties or attorneys have not completed some necessary step or paperwork to move the case forward, the court may issue orders to get the case moving in the right direction. If a case has not been resolved by the time of a scheduled CMC, the likely result will be a continuance of that CMC to another date with orders from the court about what needs to be done next. If a case has not been resolved by that continued date, the court will issue further orders. Ultimately, if a case has not been resolved by agreement of the parties, at the time of a scheduled CMC the court may set unresolved and contested issues for trial, which would be a separate hearing likely months and months down the road.

So, in short, what is a CMC? A brief check-in hearing with your judge.

What A CMC Is Not

If a CMC is a brief check-in hearing with your judge, do you get to bring witnesses and documents and argue about support, or custody, or property, or co-parenting? No, that is not the purpose of the CMC. Again, it’s a procedural check-in hearing. Although you may briefly bring up that there may issues with support, custody, property, or anything else, a CMC is not the time to ask the judge to decide a dispute or make orders for support, custody, visitation, property, or other issues. In most cases, if you need orders for support, custody, visitation, property, or other things before your case is finally resolved, you may need to file a Request for Order and have a separate hearing on those specific issues with your judge. If you have further questions or need assistance, contact Modesto Family Law today.