King County Superior Court Filing Rules
Official filing rules, court-wide sources, and procedure resources for King County Superior Court
For King County Superior Court filings, start with the official local rules and court-level instructions. Then confirm any division, department, clerk, or assigned-officer procedure that applies to the case.
- Judge Melinda Young
Dispositive motions are heard on Fridays only.
- Judge Kristin Ballinger
Judge Ballinger intends to decide motions within one judicial day of the noting date.
- Judge Johanna Bender
Parties must comply with all requirements of KCLR 7 when setting non-dispositive motions.
- Judge Michael K. Ryan
Motions for exceptional sentences must be accompanied by proposed findings and submitted 7 days prior to the hearing.
- Judge Ken Schubert
Provide a copy of all proposed orders in Word format to the Court by emailing them to the bailiff.
- Judge Melinda Young
Request hearing dates by email including case number/name and nature of motion.
- Judge Ken Schubert
Let the bailiff know if anyone will need an interpreter.
- Judge Todd D. Tinker
General civil (non-unlawful detainer) pretrial conferences are generally held on Thursday mornings.
- Judge Johanna Bender
Dispositive motions are heard on Fridays and certain Thursday afternoons in one-hour slots.
- Judge Samuel Chung
The Court hears civil non-dispositive motions and sentence modification hearings at 8:30 AM, 1:00 PM, and 4:00 PM.
- Judge Samuel Chung
Court attire is required (suit and tie for males) when appearing via Zoom.
- Judge William L. Dixon V
Do not email the judge directly; all email correspondence must go through the bailiff.
- Judge David Whedbee
All hearings are conducted via Zoom using the provided meeting ID.
- Judge Nelson K.H. Lee
Settlement conferences are conducted Monday through Friday at 4:30 pm; schedule at least 2 weeks in advance by emailing the bailiff.
- Judge Kristin Ballinger
Email ballinger.court@kingcounty.gov to arrange a conference, describing the issue succinctly and non-argumentatively, and copy all parties.
- Judge Andrea King Robertson
Submit working copies of motions and declarations via the e-filing portal.
- Judge Nicholas Straley
Department 4 prefers working copies via eWorking Copies; do not email working copies without prior authorization.
- Judge Johanna Bender
The court cannot accept delivery of working papers by email or by delivery to the courtroom.
- Judge Monica Cary
All submissions to Judge Cary must be made via e-working copies (KCMS).
- Judge William L. Dixon V
Parties must ensure the court receives working copies before a hearing per LCR 7(b)(4)(F).
- Judge Johanna Bender
Motions for change of civil trial date, even by stipulation, must comply with Local Rule 40(e).
- Judge Maureen McKee
Motions to continue trial (other than the 28-day adjustment under LCR 40(e)(1)) require a declaration describing the nature of the case, completed discovery and trial preparation, what remains, and why the case could not be completed within the original schedule; mere need for more discovery or negotiation is insufficient.
- Judge Andrea King Robertson
If anticipating a trial continuance, first file a continuance to accommodate a later motion hearing date.
- Judge Michael Scott
Motions to continue trial beyond the 28-day adjustment require a declaration describing the case, discovery completed, what remains, and why the case could not be completed within the original schedule; more time for discovery or negotiation alone is not good cause.
- Judge Ken Schubert
Requests to change the trial date should be by motion, filed and noted for hearing on a nine-court-day calendar.