§ RULE 77. COURTS AND CLERKS

RULE 77. COURTS AND CLERKS

(a) Courts Always Open. Courts shall be deemed always open for the purpose of filing any pleading or other proper paper, of issuing and returning process, and of making and directing all interlocutory motions, orders, and rules. Each term shall be deemed open and continuous until the commencement of the next succeeding term.

(b) Proceedings in Court and Chambers. All trials upon the merits shall be conducted in open court and so far as convenient in a regular courtroom. All other acts or proceedings may be done or conducted in open court or by a judge in chambers, without the attendance of the clerk or other court officials and at any place within the state; but no hearing, other than on ex parte, shall be conducted outside the judicial district in which the action is pending without the consent of all parties affected thereby who are not in default.

(c) Clerk's Office and Orders by Clerk. The clerk's office with the clerk or a deputy in attendance shall be open at such hours and on such days as may be provided by law, and by local rule not in conflict with law. All motions and applications in the clerk's office for issuing process, for entering defaults or judgments by default, and for other proceedings which do not require allowance or order of the court are grantable of course by the clerk; but his action may be suspended or altered or rescinded by the court upon cause shown.

(d) Orders in Any County. Any ex parte order in any pending action may be entered by the court, or by any judge thereof in any county of the district, irrespective of the county in which said action is pending.