An illustration that’s closer to home. A little over a year ago, I had to seek an emergency continuance of a trial because I had been diagnosed with a detached retina which required immediate surgery and a month of recovery. One of my colleagues, knowing our judge well, said he thought there was only a “50/50” chance the judge would grant the continuance. This meant he thought there was a 50% chance the trial would not be continued!
I’m not sure how I could have simultaneously undergone invasive eye surgery and made an opening statement, but you can imagine how important it was to me that the judge grant my application for a continuance. Not only did I explain in my declaration, step by step, how my vision had rapidly deteriorated over the last few days causing me to insist on an emergency appointment with my doctor, I also attached a doctor’s note (which I had to basically dictate to his assistant) and a series of articles from the internet discussing my condition, how emergency surgery is required to avoid almost certain blindness, and how my head would need to be positioned face down during the recovery period. Fortunately, the judge granted the requested continuance, my surgery was successful and I won the trial! The point is to never assume the judge understands and will adopt your position just because you say she should–it’s crucial to explain why.