Good reasons to ask for a continuance share one feature: something outside your control changed after the court date was set, and going forward on schedule would be genuinely unfair. Judges don’t grant postponements freely. You need to show “good cause,” and the court weighs your need for more time against the disruption a delay causes the other party, the witnesses, and its own docket.1Legal Information Institute. Continuance Some reasons almost always succeed. Others get denied, and a few can get you sanctioned.
Reasons Judges Routinely Grant
The strongest requests point to a specific event, a specific date it happened, and a specific reason it makes the current hearing date unworkable. Vague beats nothing, but concrete beats vague every time.
- Medical emergency. Sudden illness, hospitalization, or a serious condition affecting you, your attorney, or a critical witness. This is probably the most commonly granted reason, but the key word is sudden. A condition you’ve known about for weeks won’t impress the court.
- Needing to find or replace an attorney. If your lawyer withdraws unexpectedly, or you’ve just been served and need time to hire counsel, courts generally allow a reasonable delay. The same applies if you’ve been representing yourself and decided you need help.
- An unavailable key witness. When a witness whose testimony is essential cannot appear despite being properly subpoenaed, the court may postpone to secure their attendance. You’ll need to explain why the witness matters and what you’ve done to get them there.
- Newly discovered evidence. If significant evidence surfaces close to the hearing and you need time to analyze it or respond, that’s a recognized ground. It has to be genuinely new, not something you could have found earlier with reasonable effort.
- Your attorney has a conflict in another court. When a lawyer has a conflicting obligation in another courtroom, particularly a trial that ran long, courts usually accommodate. Judges understand this happens, because they’re the ones creating the overlapping schedules.
Notice the pattern. Each of these points to a change the reader did not cause and could not have planned around. That’s what good cause looks like.
When Both Sides Agree
Your odds improve dramatically if the opposing party agrees to the delay. A stipulated continuance is a written agreement, sometimes called a stipulation and order, that both sides sign and submit together. Judges still have discretion to deny even a stipulated request, especially if the case has been delayed repeatedly or a trial date was set specifically to force progress. In practice, though, agreed postponements are granted far more often than contested ones. If you think the other side might agree, make the call before filing a contested motion.
Reasons That Will Get You Denied
Courts keep crowded dockets, and judges have heard every excuse. Requests that signal poor planning or stalling are almost certain to fail.
Being unprepared because you didn’t get around to gathering documents or lining up witnesses isn’t good cause. Neither is forgetting your court date, a planned vacation, or a routine work obligation. These are scheduling inconveniences, not emergencies, and judges draw a sharp line between the two. A general claim that you “need more time” without identifying what changed or why the original timeline was insufficient will land the same way.
Courts are especially skeptical when a party has already received one or more continuances. Each additional request faces a higher bar. If a judge sees a pattern of last-minute requests, vague justifications, or continuances that don’t actually produce the promised preparation, the next one will likely be denied regardless of the stated reason.1Legal Information Institute. Continuance
Bad-Faith Requests Can Be Sanctioned
Filing a motion for continuance just to delay crosses a line from unsuccessful to sanctionable. Under federal rules, every motion you sign carries an implicit certification that it isn’t being filed for an improper purpose like harassment, unnecessary delay, or driving up the other side’s legal costs. A court that finds you violated that standard can order you to pay the other party’s attorney fees for responding, impose a penalty payable to the court, or enter other corrective orders.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 11 – Signing Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers State courts have similar rules. Honest requests that get denied aren’t the target; the target is the third postponement filed by a party who has no real reason for it.
Back Up Your Reason With Documentation
A motion without supporting documents is just a request to take your word for it, and judges generally won’t. Match your evidence to your reason.
- Medical issue. A letter from your doctor on official letterhead stating the condition, when it arose, and that you cannot attend court on the scheduled date. A vague note saying the patient is under their care isn’t enough. The judge needs to understand why the condition prevents your appearance.
- Unavailable witness. Proof the witness was properly subpoenaed, an explanation of why they can’t appear, and a description of what their testimony would establish. If you never subpoenaed them, that undercuts your argument.
- Needing an attorney. Names and dates of the lawyers or legal aid organizations you’ve already contacted. This shows you’re working on the problem, not using it as a stall.
- New evidence. A description of what was discovered, when you learned of it, and why you couldn’t have found it earlier.
File Early, Not the Morning Of
Even a strong reason loses force when it shows up at the last minute. File as soon as you know you need the delay. Under federal rules, written motions generally must be served at least 14 days before the hearing unless the court sets a different deadline or the situation qualifies as an emergency.3Legal Information Institute. Rule 6 – Computing and Extending Time; Time for Motion Papers State deadlines vary, but the principle is universal. Judges view last-minute requests with suspicion because they disrupt everyone’s schedule and suggest the party could have acted sooner.
When something genuinely happens the morning of court, like a car accident or sudden illness, most courts allow you to request a continuance orally at the hearing, or have someone appear on your behalf to make the request. There’s no guarantee the judge will grant it, and the bar tends to be higher because of the disruption. Call the clerk’s office before the hearing if you can. Even a brief written request emailed that morning is better than walking in with nothing.
The Speedy-Trial Tradeoff in Criminal Cases
If you’re a criminal defendant, a “good reason” has a hidden cost worth understanding before you ask. The Sixth Amendment gives you a right to a speedy trial, and continuances interact with that right in ways that catch people off guard. When you or your attorney request a continuance, the time covered by that delay is typically excluded from the speedy trial clock. You’re agreeing to wait longer, and that waiting period won’t count toward any deadline the prosecution faces to bring you to trial.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3161 – Time Limits and Exclusions
In federal court, the Speedy Trial Act requires that trial begin within 70 days of the indictment or the defendant’s first appearance, whichever comes later. Continuances granted for reasons like competency evaluations, other pending charges, or pretrial motions don’t count against that window.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3161 – Time Limits and Exclusions State speedy trial rules vary but follow the same general pattern. If a continuance you asked for is later challenged as a speedy-trial violation, courts weigh it against you, because you’re the one who sought the delay.5Justia. Barker v. Wingo, 407 US 514 (1972) You may be trading preparation time for a longer wait before your case resolves, and in some situations a longer stretch in pretrial detention. Sometimes the preparation time is worth it. Go in knowing the tradeoff.
What Happens If the Judge Says No
Never assume your continuance will be granted. If the judge denies it, the hearing or trial proceeds on the original date. You must appear. There is no appeal that pauses the clock.
If you’re the civil defendant and you don’t show up, the court can enter a default judgment against you. The other side wins without proving their case, and you could owe whatever they requested. If you’re the plaintiff and you don’t appear, your case can be dismissed. In criminal cases the consequences are more severe: a judge will typically issue a bench warrant for your arrest, and you may face a separate failure-to-appear charge on top of the original one.
Prepare for the original date even while your motion is pending. If the answer comes back no, you want to be ready to proceed, not scrambling.