Court Filings & Submission Guidelines

All proposed orders must include the correct judicial signature line:

​

Honorable Melissa M. Calhoun

Judge, State Court of Effingham County

​

Orders that contain an incorrect title or court designation will be returned for correction before being presented to the Judge.

Whenever possible, proposed orders should be submitted in an editable Word format to allow the Court to make any necessary revisions prior to entry.

When a motion requires a proposed order, both the motion and the proposed order should be submitted at the same time whenever feasible.

Requests for Default Judgment must include all supporting documentation required by law. The Court may request additional documentation prior to review.

All dismissals, defaults, and other final case resolutions must include a Final Disposition Form. This form may be filed directly with the Clerk’s Office or forwarded to the Court with the proposed order.

Motions for Summary Judgment generally require a hearing unless otherwise directed by the Court.

Scheduled hearings will not be canceled or continued without prior approval from the Judge. Requests for continuances must be submitted in a timely manner and will be considered in accordance with applicable law and court procedures.

Administrative inquiries regarding scheduling or the submission of proposed orders may be directed to the Court’s Executive Judicial Assistants, Robin Sapp or Danielle Gibson.  Communications regarding the merits of any pending case must not be directed to the Court outside of scheduled proceedings.

All motions and proposed orders must include a Certificate of Service demonstrating that all parties have been properly served in accordance with applicable law and court rules.

The Court cannot consider communications regarding the merits of a pending case outside of scheduled court proceedings or properly filed pleadings. Parties and attorneys must not attempt to communicate directly with the Judge regarding a pending matter.