The Superior Court of the District of Columbia is the court of original jurisdiction for civil cases. A claimant may request either a judge or jury trial. If the claimant requests a judge trial the defendant can timely request a jury trial. The rules of procedure in the Superior Court are very much like the Federal Rules of Procedure. Discovery in Superior Court can be accomplished by interrogatories, requests for production of documents, depositions of witnesses, experts or parties, and records depositions whereby the claimant’s medical records are obtained by the defendant. A scheduling conference is held shortly after the case is at issue whereby future events in the case are required to be conducted pursuant to the schedule. Each case is put on a track, depending on the complexity of the case. If the case is a routine matter, it will be placed on a fast track. If it is a complicated matter it will be placed on a much slower track in order that there will be sufficient time for discovery. At the end of discovery often there is a mediation conference wherein a trained mediator attempts to assist the parties in resolving the matter amicably. If the matter is not resolved at the mediation conference, a pre trial date is established. At the pre trial the parties must attend. The judge assigned to the case will conduct the pre trial hearing and establish guidelines for the trial of the case. Each party must file a pre trial statement indicating various things required under the rules of court. Once the trial date is established it is very unlikely that it will be continued except for good cause. Since there may be more than one matter assigned for a particular trial date, there is a chance that the court might hold the parties over for trial until after the initial matter is resolved which could mean that a couple of days after the original trial date should be reserved as well. The trial will be conducted pursuant to the Rules of the Superior Court and according to the rules of evidence. Although doctors are sometimes called as live witnesses to provide expert testimony regarding injuries, frequently video depositions of the treating physicians are used in lieu of live testimony. This avoids scheduling conflicts resulting from unpredictable court schedules and usually is a savings for the client since the doctor is not paid for time wasted for travel and/or sitting around court until he/she is actually put on the witness stand to provide testimony.
Civil DivisionHours of Operation
Mondays-Fridays: 8:30a.m.-5:00p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon (for filings only)
Filings can be made in the after-hours filing box in the lobby of the Moultrie Courthouse.
Main Contact - (202) 879-1133
To file a case, get case information or review a case file, call (202) 879-1133 or see a clerk in JM-170 of the Moultrie Courthouse.
Location
Moultrie Courthouse
500 Indiana Avenue N.W., Room JM-170
Washington, D.C. 20001
Each branch has a separate location. Please click below for the address of the appropriate branch for filing cases or for information.