Pray – THE LAW 101: The Vacation Roster dilemma and the reality of Court Recess (Part II)

Because vacation judges take their own earned leave when the new term commences, any untaken substantive case risks being frozen until the following year.

While vacation judges often exercise judicial discretion to indulge lawyers by adjourning substantive cases to the new term, the administrative reality is far more rigid.

By design, a judge designated to sit during the vacation carries a dual responsibility: attending to urgent motions for colleagues whose courts are in recess, while continuing to manage their own substantive dockets.