1. All requests to appear telephonically must be made no less than 24 hours before the hearing. In addition, unless expressly authorized by the presiding judge on request made no less than 24 hours before the hearing, participants appearing telephonically may not use the following devices:
- cellular phones
- speaker phones
- softphone technology on a PC or laptop, unless a hand-held or headset device is used
- phones in vehicles
- phones in public places or in locations with significant ambient noise
- phone equipment with an echo
2. Participants appearing telephonically must observe proper telephone etiquette at all times, as follows, to ensure all such participants can be clearly heard and recorded:
- Participants must mute their phones until ready to address the court. Once any telephone participant has joined the conference bridge or been transferred into the courtroom, any conversation on the participant's end of the line will be audible in the courtroom and to other telephone participants.
- Participants must identify themselves for the record using their full names each time they speak.
- Participants should not interrupt others who are speaking. Participants responding to another participant's statement should refrain from speaking for a brief pause, to permit the presiding judge to call upon all participants.
- Participants must not place a call on hold at any time, to avoid background music from disrupting court proceedings.