Opinion
Civil Action No. 05-cv-02446-BNB-PAC.
February 21, 2006
TRIAL PROCEDURES ORDER
Trial in this case is set for three days to a jury beginning February 12, 2007, in Courtroom 401, 4th floor, Alfred A. Arraj United States Courthouse, 901 19th Street, Denver, Colorado. Trial days run from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Counsel should appear at 8:30 a.m. on the first day of trial.
A Final Pretrial Conference is set for January 8, 2007, at 9:30 a.m., in Courtroom 401, 4th floor, Alfred A. Arraj United States Courthouse, 901 19th Street, Denver, Colorado. The parties shall prepare a proposed final pretrial order and submit it to the court on or before December 29, 2006.
The following procedures supplement the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the local rules of this court:
Miscellaneous Deadlines
1. The parties shall exchange exhibits on or before December 1, 2006. Prior to the Final Pretrial Conference, the parties must confer in an attempt to agree on joint exhibits. The use of joint exhibits avoids duplication and confusion.
2. On or before December 1, 2006, the parties shall designate by page and line all deposition testimony to be offered at trial. Counter-designations must be made on or before December 15, 2006. Any objections to the designated or counter-designated testimony must be marked on a copy of the transcript and provided to the court on or before January 2, 2007. Objections to videotaped testimony will be ruled on at the Final Pretrial Conference to allow editing prior to trial. If written depositions are to be read at trial, the parties must provide the reader.
3. Motions in limine shall be filed on or before December 1, 2006. Responses shall be filed on or before December 15, 2006. No replies are allowed without leave of court.
4. On or before January 8, 2007, counsel shall notify my courtroom deputy of the need for any special accommodations required by an attorney, party, or witness; and of the need for technological equipment, including videoconferencing, equipment required for the presentation of evidence using CDRom, and any equipment required for other electronic presentation of evidence.
5. The parties shall submit proposed jury instructions on or before January 7, 2007, one with authorities cited and one without. To the extent possible, the parties shall submit joint jury instructions. Disputed jury instructions must be noted. Counsel are to submit instructions on a disc compatible with WordPerfect 12.
6. Pursuant to D.C.COLO.LCivR 54.2, in order to avoid the assessment of jury costs, counsel must notify the Clerk of the Court and my chambers of a settlement before twelve o'clock noon on the last business day before the scheduled trial date.
At the Final Pretrial Conference
1. The parties shall submit three copies of their final witness lists with an estimate of the time required to complete direct examination. Witnesses shall be listed in the order they will be called. Each witness designated as a "will call" witness shall be counsel's representation, upon which opposing counsel may rely, that the witness will be present and available for testimony at trial.
2. The parties shall submit three copies of their exhibit lists (including joint exhibits). Stipulations as to authenticity and admissibility shall be set fort on the exhibit lists. Counsel shall be prepared at the Final Pretrial Conference to enter into additional stipulations as to the admissibility of exhibits.
3. The parties shall submit to the Courtroom Deputy the original exhibits, properly marked and filed in notebooks. Plaintiffs' exhibits should be marked with yellow labels, designated by numbers. Defendant's exhibits should be marked with blue labels, designated by alphabetical letters. If defendant has more than 26 exhibits, please mark them as A-1 through Z-1, A-2 through Z-2, etc. Do not use double or triple letters. Joint exhibits should be marked with white labels, designated by numbers. The civil action number should appear on each exhibit sticker. Exhibits with more than one page shall have each page separately numbered. Dividers with the exhibit number must be placed between each exhibit for ease of reference.
The parties also shall submit two copies of the exhibit notebooks for use by the court and one copy for use by opposing counsel.
4. The parties must file and serve their objections to exhibits. The objections shall state concisely the evidentiary grounds for the objection and the legal authority supporting the objection. If the authority is a Federal Rule of Evidence, the Rule shall be cited; if the authority is case law, a copy of the case shall be provided to the court.
5. The parties shall submit proposed voir dire questions and proposed verdict forms.
On the First Day of Trial
1. The parties shall submit to the courtroom deputy an original and one copy of any stipulations.
2. The parties may provide notebooks for juror exhibits. Those exhibits which have been stipulated to may be placed in the jurors' notebooks prior to trial. Additional exhibits may be published to the jury for placement in juror notebooks following the exhibit's admission into evidence at trial.
General Information
1. My courtroom deputy is Geneva Mattei. She can be reached at 303-335-2061. Any questions concerning exhibits or courtroom equipment should be directed to her. The proceedings will be tape recorded. Any request for transcripts should be directed to the courtroom deputy. Extraordinary requests, such as for daily copy, should be made at least 30 days in advance of the trial date.
2. My secretary is Estee Fraitag. She can be reached at 303-844-6408.
3. My staff attorney is Renee Christian. She can be reached at 303-844-6408.
4. At trial, all parties and witnesses shall be addressed as "Mr.," "Mrs.," "Ms.," "Dr.," etc. Informal references are not authorized except with my express permission.