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Department S's courtroom information and trial guidelines (Santa Monica Courthouse, West District): courtroom hours (check-in at 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.), court staff and the local rules; and the department's rules on telephone and video appearances, trials (a mandatory settlement conference ordered in every case set for jury trial), continuances, self-represented litigants, motions, ex parte applications, court reporters and language assistance.
California > Second Appellate District > Los Angeles County > Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles > Santa Monica Courthouse > Department S
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES – WEST DISTRICT DEPARTMENT S Judge Ericka J. Wiley Courtroom Information & Trial Guidelines COURT INFORMATION Santa Monica Courthouse, 1725 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401 Department Main Telephone Number: (310) 255-1847 COURTROOM HOURS Doors open from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. in the morning and 1:30 p.m. in the afternoon. COURT STAFF Calendar Clerk: Brian McClendon LOCAL COURT RULES Los Angeles Superior Court – Local Court Rules DEPARTMENT S RULES PROFESSIONALISM, CIVILITY AND COURTROOM DECORUM: At all times counsel’s conduct before the court, in writing, in communication and with regard to each other and self-represented litigants shall be professional, polite, courteous, and respectful. Counsel are required to comply with local rules and State Bar rules on civility and professionalism. The Court expects and requires the highest degree of professionalism from counsel appearing in this Department, whether in person or remotely, including knowledge of, and compliance with, the Code of Civil Procedure, the California Rules of Court, the Los Angeles County Superior Court Rules, and the California Attorney Guidelines of Civility and Professionalism. The Court intends to treat everyone with dignity and respect and expects all those involved to do the same. Uncivil or unprofessional behavior will not be tolerated. TELEPHONE/VIDEO APPEARANCES: The Court has implemented LACourtConnect (LACC) to allow attorneys and self-represented litigants to make audio or video appearances in Los Angeles County courtrooms at no cost, if they prefer not to appear in person. The Court expresses a preference for video appearances, as opposed to audio-only appearances. Further when a party’s case is called for hearing they are expected to turn on their camera and appear on video. If you are unable to appear by video please provide, at the time of registration, the name of the attorney who will make the appearance, along with the phone number from which the attorney will call in. Registering by phone number only, or without the correct name, is discouraged and may result in delay when your case is called. Be aware that litigants must register with LACC at least one half-hour before the appearance. Failure to timely register will preclude your ability to participate remotely. Absent unusual circumstances and direct permission of the Court, no landline appearances are permitted. DIFFICULTIES WITH SIGNING IN FOR REMOTE APPEARANCES: If you have difficulty signing in, please completely disconnect and try again. If you are on hold for more than 10 minutes and cannot hear anything, please call the help desk at (213) 830-0400. If you are unable to reach the help desk, please call the department. TRIALS: For all cases set for jury trial, the Court will order the parties to participate in a Mandatory Settlement Conference on or before the trial date. Mandatory Settlement Conferences are conducted on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays only in Dept T (immediately adjacent to Dept. S) by a neutral mediator who will assist the parties with settlement discussions. All counsel and parties are ordered to appear in person for the Mandatory Settlement Conferences pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 367.75 and California Rule of Court, rule 3.672. On the day set for trial (whether bench trial or jury trial), trial counsel and parties must be personally present in court for their trial assignment. Cases set for trial will take priority on the Court’s calendar and will be called first in order. Audio and video appearances are not permitted for matters set for trial. On the day of trial, prior to answering ready for trial, parties and counsel should meet and confer to attempt to resolve the case. If you are negotiating settlement of your case, please let the bailiff or judicial assistant know where you will be in the courthouse. Failure to do so may result in the Court calling your matter and dismissing or continuing the case. The parties must comply with the Court’s 4th Amended Standing Order with regard to jury trials as well as the Los Angeles Superior Court Local Rules (Chapter Three, Civil Division Rules) and California Rules of Court. Failure to comply with the Court’s 4th Amended Standing Order, the Superior Court Rules and the Rules of Court may result in the imposition of sanctions pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure §§ 128, 128.5, 177 and 177.5 as well as Rules of Court 2.30 and 3.1548 and Local Rules 3.25 and 3.37. On the day of trial, parties shall have a three-ring binder with a table of contents containing conformed copies of each of the following (each signed by counsel and parties representing themselves) behind a separate tab: i. Copies of the current operative pleadings (including the operative complaint and answer); ii. Joint Statement of the Case (if a jury trial); iii. Motions in Limine, if any, which must be drafted in accordance with LASC Rule 3.57 and served and filed; iv. Joint Witness List disclosing the witnesses who will be called, what they will testify to, whether an interpreter is needed, and how long their testimony will take; v. Joint exhibits in exhibit books, numbered appropriately, and a Joint Exhibit List (See LASC Rules 3.52 and 3.53). All exhibits must be exchanged prior to trial; vi. Edited Joint Proposed Jury Instruction printed out for the Court (if a jury trial); and vii. Edited Joint Proposed Verdict Form(s) printed out for the Court (if a jury trial). To assist the parties, a UD Jury Trial Readiness packet (LACIV244) is available on the Court’s website at: www.lacourt.org/forms/unlawfuldetainer If, prior to the date of trial, any party fails to meaningfully participate in the preparation and submission of joint trial documents, the trial documents prepared and submitted by the Court by the party seeking to fulfill their meet and confer obligations will be the operative trial binder CONTINUANCES: The Court will postpone trial if all attorneys of records and/or parties who have appeared in the action stipulate in writing or on the record to a continuance. Written stipulations to continue trial should be filed in advance. Please do not wait until the last minute to seek a continuance. SELF-REPRESENTED LITIGANTS: Information for self-represented litigants is available online at: https://www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp.htm. Additionally, there is a Self-Help Center at the Santa Monica Courthouse on the second floor-Room 210. MOTIONS: 1. Filing: Compliance with electronic filing is required for attorneys. Please refer to the Court’s website for electronic filing orders. Self-represented litigants without means for filing electronically may file their documents in the Court. 2. Discovery Motions: The Court strongly discourages discovery motions and encourages informal resolution of discovery disputes. The rules governing discovery are very clear, and virtually all disputes can be resolved through communication and good faith discussion. Before filing a discovery motion, the parties should meet and confer in person, by phone or by videoconference to resolve or at least narrow the dispute. 3. Shortening Time: Please make every effort to conduct litigation so as to minimize the need to request that the Court shorten time to hear a motion. The Court does not consider counsel’s or a litigant’s failure to timely schedule motion practice an affirmative factual showing of irreparable harm, immediate danger or any other statutory basis for granting relief ex-parte. (CRC § 3.1202(c).) EX-PARTE APPLICATIONS: Before bringing an ex parte application, all parties should review California Rules of Court 3.1200 – 3.1207 and Los Angeles County Superior court Rule 3.26. Please pay particular attention to the notice requirements and the requirement of an affirmative factual showing of good cause. Among the most common grounds for denial of an ex parte application is the failure to provide proof of the required notice and/or failure to prove why the application could not be brought as a noticed motion. An “emergency” caused by procrastination or other unexcused delay on the part of the applicant is not grounds for ex parte relief. Counsel and self-represented litigants may appear on ex parte applications via LACourtConnect or in person. The Court may rule on the ex parte papers without any oral argument if a hearing is deemed unnecessary. With that in mind, please include all necessary information and evidence in the ex parte application; waiting to present evidence at oral argument may result in denial of the application. COURT REPORTERS: Official court reporters are not provided in limited civil cases. Electronic recording is the method used to create the official record in all limited civil proceedings, including collections, unlawful detainer, and small claims matters. (Gov. Code § 69957.) The Court uses “For The Record” (FTR) as its vendor for official electronic recording; a party may request an audio recording of a proceeding by going to the Court’s website at: www.lacourt.org. LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE: The Los Angeles Superior Court language access services division provides multilingual interpretation and general language services in court proceeding to ensure meaningful participation in the judicial court process for individuals with limited English proficiency. In doing so, the Court promotes equal access to justice and guarantees Court procedures are fair and understandable for Court users from diverse cultural backgrounds. If you may need an interpreter for a courtroom proceeding visit the court’s website at www.lacourt.org or call the Calendar Clerk at: (310) 255-1847 at least 2 court days prior to your hearing. 07/22/2025
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES – WEST DISTRICT DEPARTMENT S Judge Ericka J. Wiley Courtroom Information & Trial Guidelines COURT INFORMATION Santa Monica Courthouse, 1725 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401 Department Main Telephone Number: (310) 255-1847 COURTROOM HOURS Doors open from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Check-in begins at 8
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-09-29 (California T3 Los Angeles build 2026-09-29) from BenchPath custody ca/t3/ca-los-angeles/dept/CourtroomInformation_SM_S.pdf (232127 bytes, sha256 02a3681ea44123d50ddb1f18505de87c126272f3c5e4fa123fc123d6fbd09e4c; 5 pages) with the shared verbatim composer (v2 reflow, drawn-glyph reading): page numbers, pleading line numbers and running headers or footers removed as chrome; lines reflowed into the sheet's paragraphs; proof 1 (whitespace-only), proof 2 (same character multiset as the text layer minus chrome) and proof 3 (same characters as the glyphs drawn on the page) all pass. Running footers or headers printed on only some pages, or at shifting heights, are named for this sheet and left out as page marks. Attached to the department only (review task): The sheet names Judge Ericka J. Wiley; the app and the Judicial Officer Search place Judge David A. Perkiss in Department S and Judge Wiley in Inglewood Department 8.
1 verbatim requirement on judge preferences.
20 verbatim requirements on judge preferences.