Administrative Practices

Civil Cases

• Uniform Pretrial Scheduling Order (PDF): Pursuant to the provisions of Rule 1:18(B) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Loudoun County Circuit Court’s normal scheduling procedure shall include the entry of a Uniform Pretrial Scheduling Order at the time the trial is scheduled.  In compliance with Rule 1:18(B), the Uniform Pretrial Scheduling Order entered will be that which is contained in Section 3 of the Appendix of Forms at the end of Part I of the Rules of the Supreme Court.  
• A Pretrial Conference will be set for all of the following matters:
  • Any divorce hearing where equitable distribution is contested.
  • Any domestic relations matter scheduled for more than one day. For these matters a Domestic Pretrial Conference Order (PDF) will be entered.
  • Any non-domestic civil hearing scheduled for more than two days.  For these matters a Civil Pretrial Conference Order (PDF) will be entered.  

For the above-designated matters, the Court will be scheduling a pretrial conference contemporaneously with the entry of the order setting the trial date.  For matters not designated above, or in the event that a pretrial conference for one of the above-designated matters is mistakenly not set contemporaneously with the setting of the trial date, a pretrial conference may be ordered on motion of a party, or ordered sua sponte by the Court.  The Court’s sua sponte determination that a pretrial conference will be ordered may occur at any time between the scheduling of the matter and the trial.  The Court will make reasonable efforts to accommodate counsel and the parties regarding scheduling of the pretrial conference.  Any matter involving self-represented parties will require that the pretrial conference be set at a scheduling hearing on the Court’s docket.

Any motion by a party for a pretrial conference will need to be filed, noticed, docketed and heard according to proper procedure.

Criminal Cases

If a jury trial has been scheduled, and a plea agreement is reached, it is suggested that counsel make diligent efforts to inform the docket manager as soon as an agreement has been reached.  The Court will make every effort to schedule the plea on the Court’s docket for entry on a date prior to the scheduled date of the beginning of the trial.  This is an effort to prevent jurors from being required to report for duty unnecessarily when a plea agreement is entered on the date of trial.  This procedure also will serve to prevent defendants who had requested a jury trial from having to pay the court costs associated with jurors reporting on the first day of trial.  

Motions Days

Starting in December 2020, there will be three Civil Motion’s Dockets per month, on the first, third and fourth Friday of the month.

Misdemeanor Appeals Day  

Starting December 2020, misdemeanor appeals will be heard on Thursdays at 9:00 a.m. on the Criminal Docket.