COURT CALENDARS:

Honorable Judge Diane Finkle

341 Meeting Information and Calendars

Calendar of Attorney Court Excusals

1.  IN-PERSON COURT PROCEEDINGS: On May 10, 2023, the Court issued General Order 23-002, rescinding all COVID-19-related general orders then in effect due to the end of the national public health emergency. All court proceedings will be held in-person unless otherwise ordered.  

2.  VIDEO COURT PROCEEDINGS: When necessary, the Court will continue using ZoomGov for remote hearings. Court staff will contact the litigants and conduct a practice session if needed prior to any Zoom evidentiary matter being held.  

3.  ZOOM VIDEO ACCESS INSTRUCTIONS: Instructions for a Zoom session are available here: RIB Attorney Zoom Guide. An email with the Zoom login information will be sent by the courtroom deputy prior to your hearing.  

4.  ZOOM TRAINING AVAILABLE: Training on Zoom is available upon request by contacting the Courtroom Deputy, Pamela Ricciarelli at 401-626-3136 or via e-mail at Pamela_Ricciarelli@rib.uscourts.gov. In addition, the US District Court, through its Virtual Litigation Academy, has produced a 90 minute instruction video on "How to Conduct a Bench Trial via Zoom".  Please check out the 90-minute instructional video here: https://youtu.be/IH56DQVkGqQ.  The District Court has applied for 1.5 CLE credits (.5 Ethics) for this program. If you would like CLE credit, please email your bar number to Lisa Quartino after watching at lisa_quartino@rid.uscourts.gov

5.  MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC AND MEDIA:  Judicial Conference policy generally prohibits the broadcasting of proceedings in federal trial courts. On March 31, 2020, the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference, however, approved a temporary exception to the policy to allow a judge to authorize the use of teleconference technology to provide the public and the media audio access to court proceedings while public access to federal courthouses generally, or with respect to a particular district, is restricted due to health and safety concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. This authorization will expire upon a finding by the Judicial Conference that the emergency conditions due to the emergency declared by the President with respect to COVID-19 are no longer materially affecting the functioning of the federal courts generally or a particular district.

A calendar schedule for the next 30 days is provided below under calendar information.  No special access codes are required - simply click the YouTube streaming link and turn on your speakers.    

Persons accessing live audio streaming of court proceedings are reminded of the general prohibition against photographing, recording, and rebroadcasting of court proceedings. Violation of these prohibitions may result in sanctions, including removal of court issued media credentials, restricted entry to future hearings, denial of entry to future hearings, or any other sanctions deemed necessary by the court.

6.  CALENDAR INFORMATON:  The Court's hearing calendars for Bankruptcy Judge Diane Finkle, and other designated judges hearing RI cases, are presented in two different versions. 

• The "current" (clean) version shows only matters currently scheduled for hearing as of the date/time of the report; and

• a second "w/ vacated" version includes matters marked in red that have been removed from the original calendar and are provided on the list for informational purposes. 

• If a matter appears on the current calendar, or is not marked in red on the w/vacated calendar, counsel are expected to appear at the designated time. Requests for continuance of matters set for hearing must comply with LBR  5071-1.