(ROCKFORD ONLY)
Telephonic appearances are no longer arranged directly with Chambers. A
private company, Tele-Court, Inc., has been licensed by the Administrative Office of the
U.S. Courts to provide telephonic appearance services to attorneys for a fee. Tele-
Court does not set or calendar hearings for the Court, but rather only facilitates the
telephonic appearance of an attorney at hearings that have already been scheduled.
Permission will be denied on all scheduled telephonic appearances for matters
that do not comply with these guidelines. The fact that an attorney schedules a
telephonic appearance on Tele-Court’s system does not mean that a telephonic
appearance is permitted by the Court. Attorneys and parties who schedule telephonic
appearances are solely responsible for compliance with the Court’s rules and
procedures for telephonic appearances.
The Court allows the use of telephonic appearances on all matters except as follows:
1. No telephonic appearances are permitted for pre-trial conferences and
matters set for oral argument;
2. All sworn testimony must be presented in open court.
3. Only attorneys of record may appear telephonically.
Contacting Tele-Court to Arrange a Telephonic Appearance: Telephonic appearances
are scheduled online at www.tele-court.com. Persons without internet access can
schedule a telephonic appearance by calling (800) 924-5680. The fee payable to Tele-
Court for each attorney appearing telephonically is $10 plus 25 cents per minute. A
refundable deposit of $25 per call per appearing attorney is required at the time the
telephonic appearance is scheduled, which is payable by credit card or other form of
advance payment. Each appearing attorney is responsible for the charges applicable to
his/her individual connection.
Deadline: Telephonic appearances must be scheduled on Tele-Court’s system by 8:00
a.m. (CST) on the business day prior to the hearing date.
Dialing in to the Conference: Callers make a telephonic appearance by dialing a toll-free
number provided by Tele-Court five minutes before the scheduled hearing time and
providing the unique PIN number obtained at the time of scheduling.
Speaker-phone, Cellular Phones and Other Distractions: The use of speaker-phones,
cellular phones or phones in public places is strongly discouraged.
Conference Procedure: Although individual case conferences may occur as directed by
the Court, all persons making telephonic appearances typically will be connected to a
single conference call that is joined to on-going court proceedings via a speaker-phone
in the courtroom. All participants should mute their line until their matter is called to
avoid disturbing the courtroom with extraneous noise. Telephone participants must
identify themselves each time they begin speaking.