A term used in California state courts to describe the length of a trial or hearing. The length of a long cause trial or hearing varies depending on jurisdiction. For example:
- Rule 3.735 of the California Rules of Court states “[a] short cause case is a civil case in which the time estimated for trial by all parties or the court is five hours or less. All other civil cases are long cause cases.”
- The Santa Clara County Superior Court defines a long cause hearing as “any hearing other than a trial that will take longer than 30 minutes” in Local Family Rule 5.
- Regarding family law, Rule 5.393 of the California Rules of Court states “[a] ‘long-cause hearing’ is defined as a hearing on a request for order that extends more than a single court day.”
The length of the trial or hearing may affect when the trial or hearing is scheduled on the calendar or which calendar the case is placed on. For example, in the San Mateo County Superior Court, Local Rule 4.4 states that in probate court “[a]ll matters estimated by counsel to require a hearing of longer than fifteen (15) minutes shall be set on the long cause calendar. Long cause matters will be specially set in the designated probate department depending upon the court's calendar and availability.”
[Last updated in June of 2020 by the Wex Definitions Team]