(a) ASSIGNMENT BY ROTATION.
The active judges of this Court except the Chief Judge shall be assigned in rotation
according to seniority to serve one month as Motions Judge. Part or all of the Motions
Judge assignment may be discharged by a volunteer senior judge designated by the Chief
Judge.
(b) MATTERS HEARD BY MOTIONS JUDGE.
The Motions Judge shall hear and determine the following matters:
(1) Any petition, application or other proceeding of a civil nature which is not
assigned to a judge of this Court, except as provided in LCvR 40.7(g);
(2) Any emergency matter filed in the Bankruptcy Court, as to which no Bankruptcy
Judge is available, and as to which the reference to the Bankruptcy Court is deemed
withdrawn pursuant to, and subject to the limitations of, DCt.LBR 5011-1(d), which
emergency matter shall be assigned a miscellaneous case number.
(3) Matters requiring immediate action in civil cases already assigned to a judge of
the Court, if that judge is absent or indicates that he or she is unavailable or
otherwise unable to hear the matter;
(4) Naturalization proceedings; and
(5) Proceedings for admissions to the Bar of this Court.
(c) EXTENDED PROCEEDINGS IN MATTERS ASSIGNED TO THE MOTIONS
JUDGE.
A judge who first takes a matter described in paragraph (b)(1) of this Rule may decide to
retain all further proceedings in the same matter, and in this event the judge shall
promptly so advise the Calendar and Case Management Committee. If the judge
determines at the outset that the matter appears to require a substantial investment of
judicial time and the judge decides not to retain it for all further proceedings, the judge
shall promptly so advise the Calendar and Case Management Committee for
reassignment by lot.
