SUPERIOR COURT OF LAKE COUNTY
COUNTY DIVISION, ROOM TWO
JUDGE SHEILA M. MOSS
PHONE (219) 755-3580

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON COURT PROCEDURES

As of March 7, 2022, this Court is REQUIRING IN-PERSON APPEARANCES FOR ALL HEARINGS.  MASKS are required to be worn, with social distancing measures in place.  

For all Hearings, you will be required to appear in the courtroom of Judge Sheila M. Moss or Magistrate Belzeski at the Lake County Government Center located at 2293 North Main Street, Crown Point, Indiana 46307.  No person will be allowed in the courtroom unless you are the Defendant, Respondent, Plaintiff, or Lawyer in the case.  If your case is set for trial or a hearing that requires witnesses, they will be asked to remain in the hall until their presence is required in the courtroom.  You will no longer be permitted to appear virtually through the Zoom app for court; unless you are out of state, sick, or are represented by an attorney.  In order to appear for court virtually through the Zoom app, you must request permission in writing from the Court at least SEVEN DAYS prior to your scheduled court appearance, NO EXCEPTIONS!  You must make this request prior to every hearing/court date that is scheduled, just because you were granted for permission for your previous court date does not mean it is for all of your court dates.  Also, there will be no cases added on to the court call the day of court.

Please also be advised that if you have NOT been granted permission by the Court to appear for your court date remotely by the Zoom app, the Court WILL consider that as a Failure to Appear for Court and may proceed in your absence which can result in issuing a warrant for your arrest and/or a driver’s license suspension for criminal cases, infractions or ordinance violations.  For Civil cases, this could result in a default judgment, eviction, garnishment dismissal or other adverse actions being taken against you.

IF YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED PERMISSION TO APPEAR REMOTELY for Criminal Court or Town Court (ordinance Violations), you may open Zoom, with a cellphone, laptop, or computer that has access to microphone and webcam or click on the following link:

https://zoom.us/j/2180959113?pwd=dEo2cngxcUpFUkQ5U0d4ZE1FNW1Qdz09

You will then be asked to enter the meeting ID and password, which are as follows:

Meeting ID: 218 095 9113
Password: 2222

If you do not have the technology to connect through Zoom and need to participate by telephone you may call 1 (312) 626-6799 US (Chicago) and you will be prompted to enter the meeting ID and password listed above.

IF YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED PERMISSION TO APPEAR REMOTELY for Small Claims Court, you may open Zoom, with a cellphone, laptop, or computer that has access to microphone and webcam or click on the following link:

https://zoom.us/j/6758882973?pwd=TkNoNTgxMFJUaUs0MkhDT2pUbllxUT09

You will then be asked to enter the meeting ID and password, which are as follows:

Meeting ID: 675 888 2973
Password: 2222

If you do not have the technology to connect through Zoom and need to participate by telephone you may call 1 (312) 626-6799 US (Chicago) and you will be prompted to enter the meeting ID and password listed above.

• If you are unavailable on your scheduled court date, the proceeding may go forward without your participation. Your failure to appear for any criminal matters may result in a finding of guilt or the issuance of a bench warrant.

• If you fail to appear for any criminal case, infraction, or ordinance violation, the proceeding may go forward without your participation. Your failure to appear may result in a finding of guilt or the issuance of a bench warrant and/or a driver’s license suspension.

• If you fail to appear for a civil case, the matter may go forward without your participation. This could result in a default judgment, eviction, garnishment, dismissal or other adverse action being taken against you.
• If you have been granted permission to appear remotely for a bench trial, all evidence, exhibits, and matte photographs must be e-mailed to the Court at LC_Division2@lakecountyin.org and must be submitted to the Court at least seventy-two (72) hours before trial.  Please limit your exhibits to only what is essential to your case.

• If you are requesting a continuance for any type of case, the request must be in writing and submitted to the court at least ten days prior to the hearing to facilitate the Courts review. There will be no walk-in defendants, plaintiffs, or counsel not appearing on the Court’s docket.  The same holds true for warrant recalls.  They must be e-filed by the attorney, if applicable, or filed in the Clerk’s office if you are unrepresented. 

• All Plea agreements in Criminal cases must be e-filed prior to the court hearing.  The plea must be accompanied by the Waiver of Rights form, The Waiver Allowing a Remote Hearing, the Miscellaneous form, and the Habitual Violator Notice form, if applicable.  All forms must be signed by everyone involved and submitted prior to the hearing.  There will be no exceptions.

• If you have questions about your case or the hearing, you can look up your case online at mycase.in.gov.

• Please remember that this is a formal court proceeding and you must conduct yourself accordingly.  The Indiana Office of Judicial Administration also has useful tips and further information about remote hearings at www.in.gov/judiciary/files/remote-hearings-tips.pdf.

• If you are requesting a continuance for any type of case, the request must be in writing and submitted to the court by E-FILE at least ten days prior to the hearing, to facilitate the Court’s review. There will be no walk-in defendants, plaintiffs, or counsel not appearing on the Court’s docket.  Any motions/orders filed by Attorneys must be filed ten days prior to the scheduled court date for the Court’s review.  Faxes will not be accepted.  For Pro SE Persons (Unrepresented), you must file your request for a continuance or any other requests/motions through the Clerk’s office.  Attorneys, please note - All requests MUST have a separate motion and order for that request.  The Court will not be accepting CCS entry forms or motions and orders on one document.

For Example:  If you are an attorney entering your appearance on a criminal case, waiving the Initial Hearing, pleading not guilty, requesting discovery and entering a jury demand; you would e-file the following:

• Appearance form (One Page)
• Motion for Discovery and an Order Granting the Motion for Discovery
• Motions Waiving the Initial Hearing and Orders Granting the Waiver of Initial Hearing.  However, if you are waiving the initial hearing on an Operating While intoxicated, an Acknowledgment of Administrative Driver’s License form signed by the Defendant must be filed out or it will not be considered.  Waiver of Initial Hearings on all felonies will be denied as those must be held in Court via Zoom.
• Answer to the Charges (Not guilty plea entered to the charges.  This is a one-page document.  You may also enter a not guilty plea within your motion to waive initial hearing.  If the not guilty pleas are not entered, your motion to waive initial hearing will be denied.)
• Motion or Request for Discovery Filed and an Orders
• Jury Demand (One Page)
• Waiver of Trial Rule 4C (If necessary, this is also a one-page document.)
• Please do not file CCS entry forms, which were done in previous year, as they will not be accepted.  They are no longer required.

All Plea agreements in Criminal cases must be e-filed seventy-two (72) hours prior to the court hearing.  The plea must be accompanied by the Waiver of Rights form, The Waiver of In-Person Plea and/or Sentencing Hearing, the Miscellaneous Fee Order (specifying costs) form, and the Habitual Traffic Offender Violator Advisement form (for driving offenses), Acknowledgment of Driver's License Suspension, if waiving initial hearing.  All forms must be signed by everyone involved and submitted prior 3 to 5 days prior to the hearing.  There will be no exceptions.  If any required document is missing, your case will be continued.

FOR ANY PARTICIPANT IN A CASE, including but not limited to attorneys, public defenders, prosecutors, defendants, respondents, etc. NO ONE will be permitted to file hard copies of any paperwork and request for a court staff member to scan into Odyssey the day of court.  NO EXCEPTIONS!  Your case will be continued.

Attorneys may not fax or email any paperwork, pleas, corresponding plea documents, motions, or orders.  This includes motions and orders to continue.  All pleadings must be e-filed.

For any Pro SE persons emailing the Court, you must provide your full name, case number, home address, email address and cellphone number within the email.  Once you provide your email address, all correspondence and court notices will be emailed to you and no longer delivered through US Mail.

Finally, please note that Rule 2.17 of the Indiana Code of Judicial of Conduct prohibits the recording of Court proceedings. Accordingly, everyone who in any way participates in, sees, or hears the Court’s proceedings is now ORDERED that that they will not participate in recording, or record the proceedings in any manner.  Violations of this Rule shall be punishable by Contempt of Court.