Southern District of California Document Format Requirements

Checked and corrected to match the court's document on Oct 4, 2026CRITICAL

Criminal cases

Counsel must create two thumb drives: one with all marked and admitted exhibits preserved for the record, and one with only admitted exhibits for the jury.

Counsel will need to create two thumb drives; one of which will include all marked and admitted exhibits that will be preserved for the record and the second will be a thumb drive containing only admitted exhibits which will be given to the jury for their review.

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Criminal cases

Hard-copy exhibits may not be passed among jurors during trial.

Hard copy exhibits may not be passed among the jury during trial.

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Criminal cases

Digitized exhibits must display an exhibit tag and number at the bottom-right corner.

Digitized exhibits must be branded with an exhibit tag and number, which shall be placed at the bottom right- hand corner of each exhibit.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 4, 2026CRITICAL

Civil cases

Format

PDF

The Settlement Conference Statement and any Confidential Settlement Letter must be emailed to the Court in PDF format, not filed, and received at least 10 calendar days before the conference.

Both the Statement and the Letter must be lodged in .pdf format via email to efile_goddard@casd.uscourts.gov (not filed), and must be received no later than 10 calendar days prior to the conference.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 4, 2026WARNING

Criminal cases

Format

DOCX

Proposed orders and other documents submitted to the Court should be emailed in Microsoft Word format; WordPerfect submissions will be rejected.

All proposed orders and other documents submitted to the Court should be emailed to efile_cheeks@casd.uscourts.gov in Microsoft Word format. Documents submitted in Word Perfect will be rejected by the Court.

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Criminal cases

Documents should be scanned using OCR when possible.

All documents should be scanned using Optical Character Recognition (“OCR”), if possible.

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Criminal cases

Exhibits must be numbered rather than lettered.

All exhibits must be numbered, not lettered.

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Criminal cases

An exhibit should be marked only once, and another party should not assign a second number to the same document.

A single exhibit should be marked only once. If one party has marked an exhibit, then another party should not re-mark the exact document with another number.

Checked and corrected to match the court's document on Oct 4, 2026WARNING

Criminal cases

Different versions of a document must be treated as separate exhibits with different numbers.

Different versions of the same document, e.g. a copy with additional handwriting, must be treated as different exhibits with different numbers.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 4, 2026WARNING

Criminal cases

Counsel should label and describe exhibits neutrally and without argument.

Counsel should both label and describe exhibits in a neutral, non- argumentative manner (e.g., Exhibit 37 - Cell Phone Video, not Exhibit 37 - Murder Video).

Checked against the court's document on Oct 4, 2026WARNING

A copy of the proposed order must be emailed in Word format.

The parties must email a copy of the proposed order in Word format to efile_goddard@casd.uscourts.gov.

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Criminal cases

Counsel may agree to use separate exhibit-number ranges.

Counsel may agree to number ranges (e.g., Government has 1–100 and Defendant has 101–200) for their respective uses.

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Criminal cases

To let the entire panel examine an exhibit before deliberations, counsel should provide blow-ups or use the Court’s visual equipment.

If counsel wish the entire panel to examine a particular exhibit prior to deliberations, they should either provide blow- ups or use the Court’s visual equipment.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 4, 2026INFO

Criminal cases

Counsel may annotate exhibits or demonstratives shown on the Court’s equipment, but the annotations cannot be printed.

Annotations may be made on exhibits or illustratives presented on the Court’s equipment, but those annotations are unable to be printed.

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Criminal cases

Exhibit tags should ideally use a conspicuous color, such as bright yellow.

Each exhibit tag will ideally be in a color that stands out, such as bright yellow.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil cases

The parties may not attach copies of correspondence or e-mails between counsel unless those documents evidence an agreement alleged to have been breached.

Summary: Parties may not attach copies of correspondence or e-mails between counsel to a Joint Discovery Motion unless those documents evidence an agreement alleged to have been breached.

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Civil cases

Format

DOCX ?

The parties must also lodge a Word version of the proposed stipulated protective order containing the language of the stipulated protective order, the parties' electronic signatures, and a signature line for Judge Rodriguez.

Summary: The lodged proposed stipulated protective order must be in Word format.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil cases

Format

DOCX ?

The parties must email a copy of the proposed order in Word format to efile_goddard@casd.uscourts.gov.

Summary: Proposed orders for stipulated protective orders must be provided in Word format.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Criminal cases

Required

Always ?

Documents submitted in Word Perfect will be rejected by the Court.

Summary: WordPerfect documents will be rejected by the Court; filings must be in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Criminal cases

Format

DOCX ?

In addition to filing these documents, the parties must email chambers (efile_schopler@casd.uscourts.gov) a Microsoft Word or similar digital version of them.

Summary: Proposed jury instructions, verdict forms, and voir dire questions must be provided to chambers in Microsoft Word or a similar digital format.

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Criminal cases

Format

DOCX ?

All proposed orders and other documents submitted to the Court should be emailed to efile_cheeks@casd.uscourts.gov in Microsoft Word format. Documents submitted in Word Perfect will be rejected by the Court.

Summary: Proposed orders and documents must be submitted in Microsoft Word format; Word Perfect is rejected.

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Civil cases

The separate statement should be prepared in a table format, with each undisputed material fact individually enumerated and supported by citations to evidence in the record.

Summary: Separate statement must be in table format with enumerated facts and citations.

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Civil cases

Format

DOCX ?

email a copy in Word format to efile_cheeks@casd.uscourts.gov

Summary: Proposed jury instructions and verdict forms must be emailed in Word format to chambers.

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Civil cases

All exhibits submitted in support of motions should be excerpted to include only relevant material. All exhibits must be clearly labeled, dated, tabbed, and indexed. Copies of documents already contained on the electronic docket will not be included as exhibits. Such documents should be cited in the text of the motion as [Doc. No. ___ at ___] referencing the docket number of the document cited and using the ECF generated page number for pinpoint cites.

Summary: Exhibits must be excerpted, labeled, dated, tabbed, indexed; do not include documents already on docket.

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Civil cases

Required

Always ?

The parties must comply with all of the formatting requirements in Civil Local Rule 5.1 unless otherwise ordered by the Court.

Summary: All formatting requirements in Civil Local Rule 5.1 must be followed.

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Civil cases

In addition, the parties must scan any documents, including exhibits, to be filed on the docket using Optical Character Recognition ("OCR"). The OCR requirement only applies to parties with electronic-case-filing privileges.

Summary: Documents must be scanned with OCR if filing electronically.

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Civil cases

Required

Always ?

In preparing trial exhibits, the parties are directed to contact the Clerk’s Office for exhibit stickers. Parties may create their own exhibit stickers as long as the stickers include the exhibit number and case number. Civil trials must only use numbers for identifying exhibits and not letters, unless otherwise ordered by the Court.

Summary: Civil trials must use numbers only for exhibit identification, not letters.

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Civil cases

The first copy should indicate the number of the proposed instruction, the instruction, and the authority supporting the instruction.

Summary: First copy must include instruction number, text, and authority.

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Civil cases

The second copy should contain only the proposed instructions on plain paper, that is, not on pleading paper. No other marks or writings should be present.

Summary: Second copy must be plain paper with only instructions, no marks.

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Civil cases

Format

WORDPERFECT

This copy also should be presented electronically in WordPerfect format (any version).

Summary: Electronic copy must be in WordPerfect format.

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The separate statement must be in a two-column format with the moving party providing in numerical sequence the undisputed material facts in the first column followed by the evidence citation that establishes those undisputed facts. In opposition, the opposing party shall indicate in the second column whether the fact is 'disputed' or 'undisputed.' If disputed, the opposing party must state in the second column, directly opposite the fact in dispute, the reasons for the dispute and cite the evidence that supports the position that the fact is controverted.

Summary: Separate statements must use two-column format with specific content requirements.

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The courtesy copy shall contain the CM/ECF document header on the top of each page.

Summary: Courtesy copies must include CM/ECF document header on each page.

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If a filing has more than three (3) exhibits, the exhibits must be tabbed.

Summary: Filings with more than 3 exhibits must have tabbed exhibits.

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The courtesy copy shall contain the CM/ECF document header on the top of each page.

Summary: Courtesy copies must include CM/ECF header on each page.

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If a filing has more than three (3) exhibits, the exhibits must be tabbed and listed in a table of exhibits.

Summary: Exhibits over 3 must be tabbed with table of exhibits.

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Format

DOCX ?

Counsel must email proposed orders in Word (.doc) format to efile_ohta@casd.uscourts.gov

Summary: Proposed orders must be in Word (.doc) format.

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All exhibits submitted in support of motions should be excerpted to include only relevant material. All exhibits must be clearly labeled, dated, tabbed, and indexed.

Summary: Exhibits in support of motions must be excerpted to relevant material, clearly labeled, dated, tabbed, and indexed.

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Format

DOCX ?

The parties must also email a proposed order in Word (.doc) format to efile_ohta@casd.uscourts.gov. See Civil Chambers Rule II.B. The proposed order must set forth the currently scheduled date and the new, proposed date.

Summary: Proposed orders for agreed continuances must be in Word (.doc) format, emailed to specified address, and include current and proposed dates.

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Parties may use their own exhibit stickers if the stickers include the exhibit number and case number.

Summary: Party-provided exhibit stickers must include exhibit number and case number.

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Civil trials must only use numbers for identifying exhibits and not letters, unless otherwise ordered by the Court.

Summary: Civil trials must use numbers (not letters) for exhibit identifiers unless court ordered.

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For all disputed instructions, the parties will prepare their respective proposed instruction and submit both proposals in the one set submitted to the Court. The text of the disputed instructions shall be color-coded as follows a. Model Instruction Text: black ink b. Stipulated Modifications to Model Instructions: red ink c. Plaintiff’s Proposed Edits or Additions: blue ink d. Defendant’s Proposed Edits or Additions: green ink

Summary: Disputed jury instructions must be color-coded per specified scheme and both parties' versions submitted.

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if the parties propose different versions of the same instruction, each version of the disputed instruction shall comply with the color coding above. These competing versions of the same instruction should be placed one after another in the one set of proposed instructions submitted to the Court.

Summary: Competing versions of the same disputed jury instruction must be placed consecutively in the submission set.

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Civil cases

proposed orders must not contain the name and law firm information of the filing party, and must not contain the word 'proposed' in the caption.

Summary: Proposed orders must not include filer's name or 'proposed' in caption.

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Civil cases

Required

Always ?

In preparing trial exhibits, the parties are directed to contact the Clerk’s Office for exhibit stickers. Parties may create their own exhibit stickers as long as the stickers include the exhibit number and case number. Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 16.1.f.2.c., Plaintiff’s exhibits must be identified numerically, starting with “1,” and Defendant’s alphabetically, starting with A to Z, then AA to AZ, then BA to BZ, etc., unless otherwise ordered by the Court.

Summary: Trial exhibits must follow specific numbering system (Plaintiff numeric, Defendant alphabetic).

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In accordance with Section 2(h) of the ECF Manual, proposed orders must not contain the name and law firm information of the filing party, and must not contain the word 'proposed' in the caption.

Summary: Proposed orders cannot contain filer's name/law firm or word 'proposed' in caption.

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Format

DOCX ?

Counsel must email proposed orders in Word format to

Summary: Proposed orders must be emailed in Word format.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.CRITICAL?

Criminal cases

If the parties modify any form instruction, whether stipulated or disputed, they must clearly identify such modifications in either bold or redlined format, or in some other manner that makes it clear to the Court what modifications are proposed.

Summary: Modifications to any form instruction must be clearly identified in bold, redline, or another clear format.

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Civil cases

Format

PDF ?

Unless the physical nature of the exhibit renders it impracticable, exhibits must be attached to the documents to which they belong. Each exhibit should be submitted in CM/ECF as a separate attachment. (For example, if a party is filing five exhibits to Document Number 10, the exhibits should be filed as Doc. 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4, and 10-5.)

Summary: Exhibits must be attached to documents and filed as separate CM/ECF attachments.

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Civil cases

If the form instructions contain bracketed language or blanks, the parties should provide the Court with the appropriate language from the brackets, and all blanks should be completed. This new language shall be written in bold font.

Summary: Complete bracketed language in form instructions and use bold font.

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Criminal cases

Format

DOCX ?

Proposed orders should be submitted simultaneously with the accompanying motion in Word format.

Summary: Proposed orders must be submitted in Word (DOCX) format simultaneously with the accompanying motion.

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Criminal cases

Format

DOCX ?

The proposed preliminary and final jury instructions must be filed and submitted to the Court in Word format directly to the Judge’s official email address, which is efile_Robinson@casd.uscourts.gov, as well as copy the Courtroom Deputy Clerk at Jessica_A_Ortiz@casd.uscourts.gov.

Summary: Proposed jury instructions must be submitted in Word format to the Judge’s efile email and cc the Courtroom Deputy Clerk.

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Criminal cases

A binder of exhibits shall be provided for the bench.

Summary: A binder of exhibits must be provided for the bench.

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Criminal cases

Format

DOCX ?

Proposed forms of verdict must be submitted by email in Word format on the day set for motions in limine.

Summary: Proposed verdict forms must be submitted in Word format via email on the day of motions in limine.

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Civil cases

All exhibits submitted in support of motions should be excerpted to include only relevant material. All exhibits must also be clearly labeled, dated, tabbed, and indexed.

Summary: Exhibits must be excerpted, clearly labeled, dated, tabbed, and indexed.

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Civil cases

Exhibits are to be placed in three-ring binders separated by tabs.

Summary: Place exhibits in three-ring binders separated by tabs.

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Civil cases

Format

DOCX ?

Proposed orders must be submitted in Word format simultaneously with all motions that are not fully noticed and set for hearing twenty-eight (28) days or more after the date of filing. In accordance with Section 2(h) of the Electronic Case Filing Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual, proposed orders must not contain the name and law firm information of the filing party, and must not contain the word “proposed” in the caption.

Summary: Proposed orders must not contain filer's name/law firm or the word 'proposed' in caption.

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Civil cases

Please bind courtesy copies on the top left corner only. Please do not use steel prong fasteners at the top.

Summary: Courtesy copies must be bound on top left corner only, no steel prong fasteners.

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Civil cases

The courtesy copy must contain the CM/ECF document header on the top of each page.

Summary: Courtesy copies must include CM/ECF document header on each page.

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Civil cases

If a filing has more than three (3) exhibits, the exhibits must be tabbed and listed in a table of exhibits.

Summary: Filings with more than 3 exhibits must have tabbed exhibits with table of exhibits.

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should be free of any attorney names, firm names, document management numbers or insignia in the caption, margins or footer.

Summary: Proposed orders must not contain attorney/firm names or insignia in the caption, margins, or footer.

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Format

DOCX ?

All stipulated protective orders must be filed as a joint motion. The parties must email a copy of the proposed protective order in Word format to efile cabral@casd.uscourts.gov. The parties are encouraged to use the District Court’s model protective order, which is available on the District Court’s website.

Summary: Stipulated protective orders must be filed as joint motions, with a Word copy emailed to chambers; use of model order is encouraged.

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Format

DOCX ?

All proposed orders should be submitted by email (efile cabral@casd.uscourts.gov) in Word format and should be free of any attorney names, firm names, document management numbers or insignia in the caption, margins or footer.

Summary: Proposed orders must be in Word format and free of attorney/firm names or insignia in caption, margins, or footer.

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Civil cases

Format

DOCX ?

Proposed orders must be lodged in Word format.

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Civil cases

When citing legal authority, parties should always follow the latest Bluebook guidelines.

Summary: Legal citations must follow latest Bluebook guidelines.

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Required

Always ?

Format

THUMB_DRIVE

All exhibits, including audio and video exhibits, are to be digitized wherever possible. The digitized exhibits must be submitted on a thumb drive. CDs and DVDs are no longer be accepted.

Summary: All exhibits must be digitized and submitted on thumb drive; CDs/DVDs not accepted.

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Civil cases

Generally, no other person apart from the examiner and the examinee (and possibly the examiner’s staff) may be present at a psychiatric examination, as it would contaminate the examination.

Summary: Only examiner, examinee, and staff may attend psychiatric exams.

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Civil cases

Generally, the examinee’s attorney may not be present.

Summary: Attorney generally not permitted at medical exams.

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Civil cases

The proposed pretrial order shall be in the format prescribed by CivLR 16.1.f.6.c.

Summary: Pretrial order must follow CivLR 16.1.f.6.c format.

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Required

Always ?

Format

DOCX ?

Proposed Orders must be submitted in Word Perfect or Word format.

Summary: Proposed orders must be in Word Perfect or Word format.

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Civil cases

Required

Always ?

The pages of each pleading must be firmly bound at the top. In no event shall a courtesy copy of a pleading be delivered unbound.

Summary: Courtesy copies must be bound at the top.

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Civil cases

If a pleading has more than 3 (three) exhibits, the exhibits must be tabbed.

Summary: Exhibits must be tabbed if more than 3.

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Civil cases

Format

WORD

The word 'proposed' in brackets (e.g., '[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING EX PARTE APPLICATION TO. . .') must appear on the document. This Chambers Rule, mandating the addition of '[PROPOSED],' supersedes Section 2(h) of the ECF Manual. Additionally, all extraneous information shall be removed from the headers, footers, and margins (e.g., contact information and any attorney or firm information, including firm logos).

Summary: Proposed orders must include '[PROPOSED]' in brackets and remove all extraneous information from headers, footers, and margins.

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Civil cases

Proposed orders must not include an attorney or law firm caption on the title page or side margin.

Summary: Proposed orders cannot include attorney or law firm captions.

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Criminal cases

In addition to filing these documents, the parties must email chambers (efile_schopler@casd.uscourts.gov) a Microsoft Word or similar digital version of them.

Summary: The digital version submitted to chambers must be in Microsoft Word or a similar digital format.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.WARNING?

Criminal cases

Format

WORD_PERFECT ?

The parties must file proposed jury instructions and verdict forms seven (7) days prior to the date of trial, unless otherwise ordered by the Court and email a copy in Word format to efile_cheeks@casd.uscourts.gov.

Summary: The emailed copy of proposed jury instructions and verdict forms must be in Word format.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.WARNING?

Criminal cases

Discs will no longer be accepted.

Summary: Discs are not accepted for audio and video exhibits submitted to the jury.

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Civil cases

The parties must avoid duplication of exhibits as much as possible. All exhibits submitted in support of motions should be excerpted to include only relevant material. All exhibits must be clearly labeled, dated, and indexed.

Summary: Exhibits must be non-duplicative, relevant, and properly labeled.

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Counsel are required to bring their own computers, laptops, tablets, HDMI or VGA adapters and wireless cards, if necessary. Counsel should contact the CRD for details and instructions and with questions regarding the use of equipment not provided for by the Court.

Summary: Counsel must bring own electronic equipment for courtroom use.

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Civil cases

However, in accordance with Section 2(h) of the ECF Manual, proposed orders shall not contain the name and law firm information of the filing party.

Summary: Proposed orders must not include name and law firm information per ECF Manual.

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Civil cases

Counsel should not enter the well, except during voir dire, opening statements, and closing arguments. Counsel should conduct all examination of witnesses from the podium, seek permission from the Court before approaching a witness, and keep any visit to the witness stand brief, e.g., by quickly orienting the witness with an exhibit and returning to the podium. After first asking for permission to approach a witness, counsel does not need to seek permission again for the remainder of that witness’ examination.

Summary: Counsel must stay at podium during witness examination except for brief, permitted approaches.

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Criminal cases

Required

Always ?

F. Presentation of Evidence. Please abide by the following rules: Do not enter the well, except during voir dire, opening statement and closing argument. Conduct all examinations of witnesses from the podium. Feel free to approach witnesses during examination, but first seek permission from the Court. Please keep your visit to the witness stand brief, e.g., by quickly orienting a witness with an exhibit and returning to the podium.

Summary: Witness examinations must be conducted from podium; approaching witnesses requires court permission.

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If a filing has more than three exhibits, the exhibits must be tabbed and listed in a table of exhibits.

Summary: Exhibits over 3 must be tabbed and listed in table of exhibits.

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All exhibits submitted in support of motions should be excerpted to include only relevant material. All exhibits must be clearly labeled, dated, tabbed, and indexed. Copies of documents already contained on the electronic docket should not be included as exhibits. Such documents should be cited in the text of the motion as [Doc. No. ___ at ___] referencing the docket number of the document cited and using the ECF-generated page number for pinpoint cites.

Summary: Exhibits must be excerpted, labeled, and not duplicate docket documents.

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If a filing has more than three exhibits, the exhibits must be tabbed and listed in a table of exhibits.

Summary: Exhibits over 3 must be tabbed and listed in table of exhibits.

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Criminal cases

If a filing has more than three exhibits, the exhibits must be tabbed and listed in a table of exhibits.

Summary: Exhibits over 3 must be tabbed and listed in table.

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Criminal cases

Do not submit a list of model jury instruction numbers and do not submit model instructions with brackets.

Summary: Do not submit model instruction numbers or bracketed instructions.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.WARNING?

Civil cases

Format

PDF

Exhibits must be bookmarked within the .pdf file.

Summary: Exhibits included with the Settlement Conference Statement must be bookmarked within the PDF.

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Civil cases

A proceeding conducted via Zoom is still a court proceeding and all attendees are expected to dress and conduct themselves in a manner that is appropriate for a court proceeding.

Summary: Zoom proceedings require appropriate dress and conduct as in-person court proceedings.

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Required

Always ?

Because Zoom may quickly deplete the battery of a participant’s device, each participant should ensure that their device is plugged in or that a charging cable is readily available during the video conference.

Summary: Participants should ensure devices are charged or have charging cable available.

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Civil cases

Within a document, parties should consistently cite to one legal research database (e.g., Westlaw or LEXIS, but not both).

Summary: Citations must consistently use one legal research database per document.

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Civil cases

If a particular unreported case does not appear on a certain database, the party must include the case docket number, as instructed in the Bluebook.

Summary: Unreported cases not in database require docket number citation.

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Civil cases

If a filing has more than three (3) exhibits the exhibits must be tabbed.

Summary: Filings with more than 3 exhibits must be tabbed.

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Civil cases

For cases not assigned to a reporter for publication, WESTLAW citations should be given, if available. Citations to cases not available in WESTLAW or LEXIS should be accompanied by copies of the cases cited.

Summary: Use WESTLAW citations when available; provide copies for cases not in WESTLAW/LEXIS.

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Required

Always ?

Motion hearing dates are generally set on Fridays at 1:30 p.m.

Summary: Motion hearings are generally scheduled on Fridays at 1:30 p.m.

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The Court prefers courtesy copies to be printed double-sided, but will accept single-sided.

Summary: Courtesy copies should be double-sided but single-sided accepted.

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Civil cases

Required

Always ?

Trial generally proceeds from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, unless the Court schedules otherwise. There will be a one-hour break over the noon hour and two 15-minute breaks, one in the morning, one in the afternoon.

Summary: Trial schedule is 9 AM - 4 PM, Monday-Thursday, with breaks.

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The Court prefers courtesy copies to be printed double-sided.

Summary: Court prefers double-sided printing for courtesy copies.

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Criminal cases

Required

Always ?

When referring to an exhibit, counsel should refer to its exhibit number whenever possible to keep a complete record.

Summary: Counsel should refer to exhibits by exhibit number when possible.

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Criminal cases

Required

Always ?

If an exhibit is being used and counsel's view is obstructed, counsel may relocate for better viewing without requesting permission from the Court.

Summary: Counsel may relocate for better viewing of exhibits without court permission.

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Criminal cases

When referring to an exhibit, counsel should refer to its exhibit number whenever possible to keep a complete record.

Summary: Counsel should refer to exhibits by their exhibit number whenever possible.

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Criminal cases

Exhibit stickers may be obtained from the Clerk of the Court in advance of trial, or exhibits may be marked electronically with the case number and exhibit numbers.

Summary: Exhibits may be marked with stickers from the Clerk or electronically with case and exhibit numbers.

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Civil cases

The Court modifies the manner of numbering trial exhibits set forth in Civil Local Rule 16.1(f)(2)(c) as follows: Rather than mark exhibits using alphabetic letters, defendant(s) must number their exhibits beginning at number 500 (or any other number agreed upon with opposing counsel).

Summary: Defendants must number exhibits starting at 500 instead of using alphabetic letters.

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Civil cases

The Court prefers courtesy copies to be printed double-sided, but will accept single-sided.

Summary: Courtesy copies should be double-sided but single-sided is acceptable.

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Civil cases

Format

ZOOM

The Court conducts the majority of its ENEs, MSCs, and SCs via Zoom. The order setting the hearing will state whether the hearing is in person or via Zoom and will provide the logistics for accessing the Zoom proceeding.

Summary: ENE, MSC, and SC proceedings are primarily conducted via Zoom.

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Where briefing has been ordered by the Court, counsel should attach only those exhibits that are necessary to the resolution of the parties’ dispute. Generally speaking, this does not include counsel’s meet and confer correspondence. The foregoing requirements apply to all discovery disputes.

Summary: Discovery dispute briefs should only attach necessary exhibits, excluding meet and confer correspondence.

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Required

Always ?

Participants are encouraged to use laptops or desktop computers for the video conference, if possible, as mobile devices often offer inferior performance.

Summary: Laptops/desktops preferred over mobile devices for Zoom conferences.

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Civil cases

Required

Always ?

Format

IN_PERSON

A court may order that the conference take place in person where that would appear to be of significant benefit.

Summary: Court may order in-person Rule 26(f) conference when beneficial.

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Civil cases

Format

IN_PERSON

Premises liability cases or Americans with Disabilities Act Title III cases regarding public access barriers are ideal types of cases for in-person Rule 26(f) conferences between the parties and counsel at the site that is the subject of the action.

Summary: Premises liability and ADA Title III cases are ideal for in-person Rule 26(f) conferences at the site.