Q. Judge Smith, how do you decide when to schedule civil cases for jury trials? What do you include in your trial orders? — Cassandra

A. Many parties do a good job moving their cases along. Others don’t. I use my experience to jump-start languishing cases. If a case goes too long without progress, I schedule it for a hearing to encourage the parties to settle or try their lawsuit.

Some parties will not resolve their case until they are forced to by circumstance. The work and expense of trying the lawsuit and their fear of the unknown often generate a compromise.