Q: How do I know if my continuance was approved?
I filed a motion for continuance 3 days before my court date at the clerks office. They took it and gave me a copy but I’m not sure what the next steps are and my original court date is tomorrow.
A: Unless you confirm with the court beforehand that the court date has been cancelled and postponed, you should assume that the case has not been continued. Failure to appear could result in a default against you. By rule, a motion requesting any elief must be served on the opposing party, and service must be attested to by the person filing the motion under a "certificate of service" by which you attest that you served the other side (name, date, address and means of service, such as first class mail or hand-delivery, or via the court's e-file/serve system). An opposing party is supposed to have 15 days to respond to most motions, including motions for continuance, before the motion is ripe for the court to rule on it. You filed this motion 3 days before the hearing, so it is unlikely a judge will rule on it before the court hearing, and will decide it in open court. You will need to appear to argue for the postponement. If the reason for the postponement is because you physically cannot appear (e.g., you have a scheduled surgical procedure or there's a sudden emergency--like the death of a family member just occurred) you would have to have explained and supported that justification attached to the motion (in the foregoing examples, a doctor's note, e.g.), and hope the judge accepts the rasons as sufficient.
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