Civil motions are heard on Tuesdays & Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. Please check the Closed Motion Dates before filing a motion. Other than discovery motions discussed below, or as set forth in an applicable scheduling and case management order, it is not necessary to clear a civil motion date with the Court before filing the motion.

Judge Kwok does not require courtesy copies of electronically filed documents. The only exception is for summary judgment motions and oppositions in civil cases. Mandatory chambers copies of those documents must be delivered to Judge Kwok's drop box (outside Room 1200 on the 12th Floor of the Roybal Federal Building) by noon on the day after filing. Chambers copies do not need to be bluebacked. In habeas corpus cases and Social Security disability cases, Judge Kwok does not require hard copies of materials that are lodged electronically. Electronic copies of proposed orders in Microsoft Word must be emailed to the Court at DMK_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov.

General Procedures. 1. Unless otherwise ordered, counsel of record must appear in person for all court proceedings other than Informal Discovery Conferences. Remote appearances (by telephone or video) for civil court proceedings will generally not be permitted if counsel for both sides are located within Los Angeles County, unless there are extraordinary reasons. Counsel wishing to request a remote appearance in civil cases must do so in writing by no later than 14 calendar days before the noticed hearing date. All criminal court proceedings must be conducted in person, except as otherwise authorized by law and ordered by the Court. Fed. R. Crim. P. 53.

Informal Discovery Conferences. Discovery disputes often may be resolved without the need for formal motion papers. To facilitate the just and expedient resolution of discovery matters and to conserve the Court's and the parties' resources, the Court requires the parties to follow the procedure below for filing discovery motions. The procedure does not apply to ex parte applications (see General Procedure 2 above), where the motion is filed by a non-party, or where a party to the discovery dispute is in custody and is self-represented. First, as Local Civil Rule 37-1 requires, the parties must meet and confer in a good-faith effort to resolve any discovery dispute. Second, if the parties conclude that they have reached an impasse, within two business days of the last meet-and-confer session, the movant must e-mail the Court at DMK_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov seeking a conference with the Court via Zoom to discuss the discovery dispute. Third, no discovery motion may be filed until the Court has conducted a pre-motion conference via Zoom unless the movant has obtained leave of Court sought by an ex parte application. The Court may strike any discovery motion filed in violation of this procedure.