V. Raymond Swope

Judge Swope hears his regular Law & Motion on Mondays at 2:00 p.m. To schedule a hearing date for motions in non-complex cases, please check the Court's web site. Please do not contact Department 23 directly to schedule a hearing date. Tentative rulings are issued pursuant to Local Rule 3.403.

Judge Swope hears his Complex Law & Motion on Mondays at 3:00 p.m. To schedule a hearing, contact Department 23 rather than the Civil Clerk's office. The clerk's office will reject the motion in complex cases if a hearing date has not been obtained first from Department 23. Please be advised that Judge Swope requires all briefing to be completed at least three (3) weeks before the hearing date. Judge Swope generally issues tentative rulings in his complex cases.

Unless otherwise ordered, all IDCs for cases in Department 23, are conducted by the Civil Commissioner. To schedule an IDC, please check the Court's web site. Please do not contact Department 23 to schedule an IDC. Only the Civil Commissioner can schedule an IDC.

Under Local Rule 3.500(d), "[e]x parte applicants and opponents must appear IN PERSON, subject to the exceptions set forth in CRC Rule 3.1207."

The ex parte application fee must be paid in at the Clerk's Office before proceeding to Department 23. The application may NOT be e-filed.

The Applicant MUST inform Judge Swope, preferably by email, if there will be an opposition and when that opposition will be filed.

The applicant MUST provide a proposed order or the application will be denied. (See Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1201.) The parties should email their application or opposition, and any supporting papers, and the proposed order AS SOON AS THEY ARE AVAILABLE to the Court at Dept23@sanmateocourt.org. The proposed order should be provided in Word format if possible.

Judge Swope ex partes are on Wednesdays and Fridays at 1:30 p.m.

ALL PARTIES MUST APPEAR IN PERSON FOR EX PARTES.

If the matter is urgent and requires an immediate hearing, please contact Department 23 preferably by email at Dept23@sanmateocourt.org or by phone.

The Initial Case Management Conference is heard by the Civil Commissioner. See Local Rule 3.801.

For non-complex cases, Judge Swope holds his TSC/CMCs on Fridays at 2:00 p.m. Lead trial counsel must attend the Conference. This conference is not scheduled until the case has had an Initial Case Management Conference before the Commissioner and the parties have engaged in an ADR process.

Judge Swope strongly prefers that the parties file a Joint Trial Setting/Case Management Conference Statement. The Statement should address as many of the issues in his Pretrial Conference Order (see link under Pretrial Order) as possible.

Following each TSC/CMC, Judge Swope will order one of the parties to prepare a written order consistent with the Court's rulings at the Conference.

Judge Swope intends to issue the following Order for Civil Trials in all of his unlimited non-complex civil cases and complex cases at the first Trial Setting/Case Management Conference (TSC/CMC): Pretrial Order for NON-COMPLEX and Complex Cases.

Any order prepared by a party after the first TSC/CMC must include the following provision:

"All parties are ordered to comply with the Order for Civil Trials attached hereto."

If any party believes that the Order for Civil Trials should not be implemented or that the Order should be modified, the party should include a description of any changes to the Order being requested and a brief explanation for the change in the parties' Joint Trial Setting/Case Management Conference Statement. Please note that Judge Swope will be more inclined to make change(s) if the parties agree.

All MSCs for civil cases in Department 23 will be conducted by a civil direct calendar judge in South San Francisco. 

For civil cases in which Judge Swope is conducting the MSC, the MSC will be scheduled on a Redwood City date. The conference will be conducted via Zoom video unless otherwise ordered the Court.

The Mandatory Settlement Conference (MSC) will be conducted by a Civil Judge who is not assigned as the single-assigned judge for this civil action. You must appear remotely on Zoom for the MSC. On the day of your MSC hearing, you will log into the Zoom calendar, and at that time, a Judge will be assigned to conduct your MSC.

Judge Swope typically schedules a pretrial conference at least two (2) weeks before the trial date in his unlimited civil cases. The conference is held Mondays at 9:00 a.m. If the parties do not believe that a pretrial conference is necessary, they must explain why in their Joint Trial Setting/Case Management Conference Statement.

Judge Swope is assigned three (3) trial days per week, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. In 2021, voir dire will take place at the San Mateo Convention Center. Due to a number of factors, scheduled trials may not start on the assigned date. Judge Swope will notify the parties as early as possible if it appears that the trial will be unable to begin on the scheduled day. All jury trials will be held in person. Non-jury trials may be conducted through Zoom.

Judge Swope is assigned three (3) trial days per week, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. In 2021, voir dire will take place at the San Mateo Convention Center. Due to a number of factors, scheduled trials may not start on the assigned date. Judge Swope will notify the parties as early as possible if it appears that the trial will be unable to begin on the scheduled day. All jury trials will be held in person. Non-jury trials may be conducted through Zoom.

When Judge Swope orders a party to prepare a written order, that party should deliver or mail a hard copy of that order to the Civil Clerk's Office in Redwood City. The party should also email the order in Word format to Department 23 at Dept23@sanmateocourt.org. That email must include the other parties.

The party preparing the order must comply with Rule 3.1312 of the California Rules of Court. Judge Swope will reject proposed orders that do not inform him of the opposing party's response, if any, to the proposed order. The party preparing the written order must make a good faith effort to meet and confer with the other parties about the order before submitting it to the Court.