Like other Los Angeles courthouses, the parties are required to attend mediation which is located in room 110 on the first floor of the building. The family law courtrooms are located on the second floor of the courthouse. As of the date of this blog, there are three judicial officers sitting at the Los Angeles Superior Court located in Pomona. Judge Susan Lopez- Giss is in Department B, Commissioner Don H. Christian is in Department C and Commissioner Rocky L. Crabb is in Dept. D. All judicial officers are knowledgeable about the law, but differ in the implementation of the law. Family cases are heard throughout the week and mostly start at 8:30 a.m. In Dept. B, they do a role call whereas in Dept. C & D, the check in process is more informal where people check in with the Baliff.
Matters are called in following order: 1) Interpreter matters, 2) restraining orders, 3) short matters where parties have counsel, 4) short pro-per matters (self-represented parties) and 5) longer matters with counsel and long pro per matters. The court takes a 15 minute break for in the morning session that lasts until 12 noon. Typically around 10:15-10:30a.m. Parties are free to use the restrooms (located on the same floor) or visit the snack bar (located on the 1st floor). The court breaks for lunch between 12 noon and 1:30 p.m. The afternoons are the time for ex parte (emergency) hearings and restraining orders which are always given priority. Each department has different protocol for hearing these afternoon matters. The court closes for the day at 4:30 p.m. If your matter is not heard on your scheduled hearing date, it will be trailed until the following day in the morning. This only typically happens when the court has several long matters or one of the departments is closed for the day (dark).
If you have a family law case at the Pomona courthouse, please contact attorney Paul Eads to discuss the best strategy for you.