United States District Court, D. Idaho
ORDER SETTING TRIAL AND PRETRIAL CONFERENCE
B.
Lynn Winmill, United States District Judge
On
November 18, 2019, the Court's staff held a status
conference for the purpose of setting a trial date in this
matter. Based on that conference, the Court issues the
following order:
NOW
THEREFORE IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the following deadlines
and procedures shall govern the remainder of this litigation:
1.
Trial Date: A week-long trial shall be set for
March 30, 2020, at 1:30 p.m. in the
Federal Courthouse in Boise, Idaho. Beginning on day two,
trial shall begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m., with two
fifteen minute breaks.
2.
Pretrial Date: A telephonic pretrial conference
shall be held on March 9, 2020, at 3:30 p.m.
Counsel for Plaintiff shall initiate the call. The Court can
be reached at (208) 334-9145. The purpose of the conference
is to discuss and resolve (1) the legal issues remaining in
the case; (2) evidentiary issues; (3) trial logistics; and
(4) any other matter pertaining to the trial. Not less than
twenty days prior to the date of the pretrial conference, the
parties shall communicate and reach agreement on as many
items as possible. The parties shall be prepared to discuss
with the Court those items over which counsel disagrees.
3.
Jurors: The Court shall seat 7 jurors to try the
case. Their verdict must be unanimous pursuant to Rule 48(b).
4.
Rule 702 Motions: In cases involving serious
Daubert issues, the parties shall contact Staff
Attorney David Metcalf on or before December 20,
2019, to determine whether a hearing is necessary.
5.
Witness Lists: The parties shall exchange witness
lists on or before February 28,
2020. The witness lists shall contain the
material listed in F.R.C.P. 26(a)(3)(A)&(B), and shall
include a full summary, not just the subject, of the
witnesses' expected testimony.
6.
Exhibit Lists, Exhibits, Proposed Voir Dire, Proposed
Jury Instructions, Trial Briefs and Motions in Limine:
All exhibit lists, proposed voir dire, proposed jury
instructions, trial briefs, and motions in limine shall be
filed with the Court on or before February 28,
2020. On the same date the parties shall exchange
all trial exhibits, but shall not provide them to the Court
until the day of trial. Counsel shall only provide the Court
with a set of original pre-marked exhibits. Because of the
use of electronic evidence presentation systems, it is
unnecessary to provide any copies. Counsel may wish to have
available in the courtroom a copy of any exhibits which the
Court may find difficult to review through the evidence
presentation system. The exhibit lists shall follow the
guidelines set out in Local Rule 16.3(f) to the extent it is
not inconsistent with this Order. The exhibit lists shall be
prepared on form provided by the Deputy Clerk, with
sufficient copies for the Judge, the Deputy Clerk, and the
Law Clerk. Exhibit numbers 1 through 999 shall be reserved
for joint exhibits; exhibit numbers 1000 through 1999 shall
be reserved for plaintiff's exhibits; exhibit numbers
2000 through 2999 shall be reserved for the first defendant
listed on the caption; exhibit numbers 3000 through 3999
shall be reserved for the second defendant listed on the
caption; and so on. Counsel shall review their exhibits,
determine any duplication, and jointly mark and stipulate to
the admission of those exhibits that both sides intend to
offer and rely upon. The proposed jury instructions shall
follow the guidelines set out in Local Rule 51.to the extent
it is not inconsistent with this Order. Additionally, counsel
shall provide a clean copy of the Jury Instructions to the
Court in Word format and emailed to
BLWorders@id.uscourts.gov.
7.
Settlement/Mediation Deadline: The parties agree
that they shall notify the Court on or before
February 7, 2020 that the case has
either settled or will definitely go to trial. Trial
Procedures:
a. The Court will generally control voir dire, and counsel
will be limited to 20-30 minutes. Counsel are cautioned not
to repeat questions already asked by the Court or other
counsel and are advised that the Court will not permit voir
dire which appears intended to influence the jury rather than
explore appropriate concerns with a juror's ability to be
fair and impartial.
b. Counsel shall exercise good faith in attempting to reach a
stipulation on undisputed facts and admission of exhibits.
c. During trial, the jury will be in the box hearing
testimony the entire trial day between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30
p.m., except for two standard fifteen minute morning and
afternoon recesses.
d. During the time the jury is in the jury box, no argument,
beyond one-sentence evidentiary objections, shall be allowed
to interrupt the flow of testimony. Almost all objections
should be stated in one to three words
(“hearsay”, “asked & answered”,
“irrelevant”, etc.). If counsel have matters that
need to be resolved outside the presence of the jury, they
are to advise the Court and counsel prior to the issue
arising during trial so that it can be heard during a recess,
or before or after the jury convenes. Where the need for such
a hearing cannot be anticipated, the Court will direct the
examining counsel to avoid the objectionable subject and
continue on a different line of questioning so that the
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