Rule 4 . Setting of cases.

1. All matters shall be set by the judicial assistant in the department where the case is filed. The office shall be open for that purpose from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Tuesday through Thursday. All other calendaring shall be done by appointment. If any department wishes to deviate from this procedure it shall be responsible for setting its own calendar in a manner and at a time specified. The times and procedures for such calendaring shall be advertised by each department. 2. If any case may not be heard because of another case or the unavailability of the judge, it shall be the primary responsibility of that judge or the judicial assistant to arrange a transfer to another department with the agreement of the new department. In the event that the department cannot successfully transfer the case, the matter shall be referred to the chief judge for resolution. 3. In every civil case, except in cases within the jurisdiction of the family division, within 30 days after the last answer is filed, the parties must obtain a date for trial unless the judge waives this requirement for good cause shown. If the parties fail to obtain a trial date, the court may set the case for trial at its discretion. 4. All cases shall be set for trial within 12 months of the date that the setting occurs, unless ordered otherwise by the trial court. 5. Contested matters shall be set by each court department on dates agreeable to counsel. A 14-day notice to appear and set a time for trial may be given by any party upon certification that the case is at issue. At the time fixed in the notice, with showing of service upon all parties, a court department shall set the case for trial at a time certain. If fewer than all parties appear before a court department on an application for setting, and file with the court department a conformed copy of written notice to appear for setting at that hour and day, a court department shall set the matter to be heard on a date satisfactory to the counsel present. Time shall be computed as provided in N.R.C.P. 6 . An individual court department may dispense with these procedures if necessary. Cases can be set via telephone conference or any other convenient method. 6. If the parties cannot agree on a trial date, a court department shall set the case for trial on the first available date in accordance with the judge’s individual calendar. 7. All disputes concerning calendar settings shall be resolved by each court department in accordance with procedures established by that department. 8. Matters set in each department shall be heard in the order set unless otherwise ordered by the trial judge. Matters which cannot be heard in the department in which set because of a conflict with a prior matter, shall be assigned to another department, if one is available, by the affected department, to be heard at the same time as originally set. If a matter cannot be heard at the time originally set because of conflicts in all other departments, the matter shall be continued by order of the affected department. Thereafter, such matters shall be entitled to priority for resetting in accordance with the judge’s individual calendar. Each court department shall determine the maximum allowed time that a matter can be set out on the calendar, subject to the 12-month setting rule. 9. All applications for setting shall be made on a printed form designated “Application for Setting,” copies of which shall be available at each court department, unless this requirement is waived by the department. It shall be the responsibility of the applicant to produce for the court department one original and the necessary copies of the “Application for Setting” form on which the court department shall endorse the date and time of such setting. The applicant shall file the original and serve a copy upon counsel for each other party. 10. If there are multiple settings, each court department shall endorse on the application the priority of the case in numerical order. 11. Except in cases within the jurisdiction of the family division, once set, a case may be removed from the calendar only with the consent of the trial judge or the chief judge, if the trial judge is unavailable. Cases within the family division, once set, may be removed from the calendar only with the consent of the trial judge or, if the trial judge is unavailable, by the chief judge or presiding judge of the family division. 12. Effective January 2, 1992, the judge who determines that a certain criminal defendant is incompetent shall be responsible for impanelling the Sanity Commission. 13. Effective January 2, 1992, the District Attorney’s Office shall be responsible for contacting each court department in succession to find someone willing to schedule the Grand Jury hearings. 14. Any questions arising under this Rule 4 that cannot be resolved by the individual court department shall be referred to the chief judge for decision. 15. Each district judge shall be willing and prepared to take overflow work from another department as each judge’s calendar permits.