Judge Douglass A. North

Mailing Address: King County Superior Court 516 3rd Ave, Room C-203 Seattle, WA 98104 Mailstop: KCC-SC-0203	Courtroom number: W-764 Phone: 206-296-9110 Fax: 206-296-0986 (shared; located in judges' mailroom)
Judicial Assignment: Unified Family Court	Email: ava.chen@kingcounty.gov (When emailing the court, please copy opposing party to limit ex parte contact.)
Department Number: 30	Working Papers: Use mailing address or deliver to King County Courthouse, Room C-203.
Bailiff: Ava Chen ava.chen@kingcounty.gov 206-296-9110	Clerk:

Visit this webpage BEFORE CONTACTING THE COURT.

Rules to review before calling:

Local Rule 7(b); Local Rule 40(e); Local Rule 56; Civil Rule 56

Prior to Appearing in Judge North's Court for Hearings or Trial:

If you anticipate the need to use videos, power point, ELMO, or even easels, you should visit the courtroom before your hearing or trial to plan your set-up in a manner that will be most efficient and effective. Please discuss your needs with the bailiff and do not assume that the court will have any particular equipment available for your use.

Motions Practice in Judge North's Court

If you want the court to look favorably on your motion, begin by following the rules. The most common mistakes are: (1) failure to provide a stamped, addressed envelope for each and every party requiring notice, (2) failure to provide an original, signed, proposed order, (3) failure to note the time and date for consideration of the motion in the upper right hand corner of all documents pertaining to the motion, (4) failure to comply with the Military Service Members Relief Act, and (5) failure to obtain the signature of the party when requesting a continuance of greater than 28 days.

The bailiff calendars and sorts the documents related to each motion by the date for consideration and the title of the motion. If there is more than one motion pending in a case, separate responses and replies should be made for each motion; combined responses may be missed.

Finally, the bailiff cannot tell litigants when the judge will rule on any particular motion. However, if you are concerned that time has passed without a ruling, you are encouraged to call the bailiff to be sure that the paperwork was indeed received by the court, and to request that you be contacted when a ruling has been made.

Motions to Shorten Time

When a party wishes to request that the court consider a motion on shortened time, the underlying motion must be noted in the regular course, and a separate motion to shorten time submitted as well. Until and unless the court grants the motion to shorten time, all responses and replies should be submitted as though the motion is to be considered in the normal course.

Requesting/Setting Oral Argument for Motions:

If you are setting a dispositive motion for which any party desires oral argument, you must contact the bailiff to schedule the hearing on Judge North's calendar. Dispositive motions are generally set on Friday mornings at 9:15, 10:00, and 10:45. Judge North's Friday motions calendar is routinely booked two months in advance, so you must generally reserve the time for hearing well in advance of any motion filing deadlines. So, for example, if you wait until 28 days prior to the summary judgment hearing deadline to request a hearing date, you are unlikely to secure a hearing time.

Judge North will also routinely schedule oral argument for motions for restraining orders, preliminary injunctions, revisions, and class certification hearings. Contact the bailiff to schedule such hearings.

Most other motions do not require oral argument under the Civil Rules or Local Rules, and Judge North rarely grants oral argument for such motions. If a party would like to request oral argument, the motion should be noted pursuant to the applicable court rules, and the party requesting oral argument should submit a letter to the court setting forth the reasons oral argument would be helpful. After Judge North has considered all briefing (moving papers, responses, and replies) and after the consideration date, if the court determines oral argument is appropriate, the bailiff will contact the parties and set a mutually acceptable time for oral argument to be presented to the court.

Deliveries Directly to the Courtroom:

Deliveries should generally be made to the judges' mailroom. However, Judge North allows deliveries to the courtroom, too. The bailiff may not always be present to receive and stamp such deliveries.

Hearing/Trial Information:

The general trial schedule is Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Judge North requests all parties to plan accordingly so that trial may actually begin at 9:00 a.m. Should any party require time to set up or prepare prior to beginning at 9:00 a.m., the court room is open not later than 8:30 a.m. every morning to accommodate preparation/set-up time requirements. However, please contact the bailiff the day before to determine accessibility to accommodate preparation/set-up time requirements.

Judge North frequently hears motions at 8:30 a.m. on trial days. Friday mornings are generally devoted to summary judgment and RALJ hearings. Friday afternoons are generally devoted to sentencing calendars.

Settlement Conferences:

Judge North is available for settlement conferences for parties with limited means. Please contact the bailiff to request the conference. The bailiff will submit a request form to Judge North and contact the requesting party once a decision has been made.

Weddings: Judge North does not perform weddings.