Civil actions: telephone appearances.

Existing law authorizes a court to permit parties to appear by telephone in designated conferences, hearings, and proceedings in civil cases and to require, at its discretion, a personal appearance in those matters if it would assist in the determination of the proceedings or in the management or resolution of the case. Under existing law, the Judicial Council was required to adopt rules by January 1, 2008, prescribing the notice for telephonic appearances and the procedure for conducting those appearances. This bill would require a court to permit a telephonic appearance by parties and their attorneys and would expand the types of hearings, conferences, and proceedings where those telephonic appearances must be permitted by the court. The bill would specify that this requirement is subject to the court's discretion, which may require a personal appearance under the circumstances specified in existing law. The bill would extend the time for the Judicial Council to prescribe the notice and procedure for telephonic appearances to July 1, 2013.