Circuit Court Clerk's Office

Civil Motions

December 6, 2024 (UPDATED 11/18/2024)

Civil Motions (In-person) - Fridays at 10:30 a.m. Anyone requesting a hearing via Webex must have approval from the judge before it will be placed on the docket. If approved, the party/parties will be contacted by Chambers with login instructions prior to the hearing date and time. (10:30am Preacipe PDF)
Civil Motions (cases involving the Commonwealth) - Fridays at 9:00 a.m. (two-week rule still applies unless approved by the judge). (9am Praecipe PDF )
The first page of the Praecipe/Notice must be on yellow paper. The Clerk's Office will continue to enter those submitted on white paper; however, we can no longer ensure that these will be handled as priority documents. It is suggested that any Notice or Praecipe be placed on top of any other documents you are filing.
To set a case for Motions Day, you must file a Praecipe/Notice with your preferred date and type of motion with the Clerk's Office (Room 314) or by email [email protected].
Initial Civil filings will not be placed on the Motions Day docket until two (2) weeks after filing in the Clerk's Office unless given leave of the court.
If you are filing your Notice or Praecipe in person (Room 314) and bring a copy, you can have your copy date stamped on the back as proof of filing for your records.

Cases may be removed from the Motions Day docket by calling Judge's Chambers at 703-792-6171 if all parties agree to removing the case from the docket. Generally, cases may be removed up to the close of business on the Thursday preceding your hearing date.
In addition to removing a motion, the Clerk's Office requires a pleading stating the reasons and that it is by agreement of the other counsel/party.
If a judge set the case on the Motions Day docket for entry of an order or any other reason, the case may not be removed without permission from the judge.
To place cases back on the docket after being removed, a new Notice or Praecipe must be filed with the Clerk's Office within current Motions Day guidelines.
Please note on the motion that you are continuing the motion from the current hearing date to the future date. Even if it is announced in Court that a case is continued. The attorney/party must file the new Notice or Praecipe timely.

Motions may be removed or continued by consent of the parties prior to Motions Day by notifying Chambers at 703-792-6171.
A new Notice must be timely filed to put the motion(s) back on the docket. Without consent, the request must be made to the office of the Circuit Court Clerk.
If a judge (as opposed to a party) has placed a case on the docket (such as for a Rule to Show Cause), it may not be removed without the permission of the judge, regardless of whether both parties consent.

Motions Day begins at 10:30 a.m. (In-person) with the judge calling the docket to obtain time estimates from counsel. Time estimates are used to prioritize cases, with the Court normally taking the shorter motions first.
Motions shall not exceed thirty (30) minutes. Accordingly, the time estimate given should reflect the total time for both parties.
If a motion requires longer that 30 minutes for the Court to hear, a date certain can be set by the Judge at that time or it will be referred to Judges' Chambers to be scheduled.
If counsel cannot agree whether a matter can be heard in thirty (30) minutes or less, they should indicate this at the docket call and the Court will either grant five (5) minutes for argument to determine whether or not the motion can be heard on the regular docket, or, in its discretion, will direct the litigants to obtain a date certain.