(a) Conditions for Reassignment. A criminal case may be reassigned to
another Judge if it is found to be related to a lower-numbered (or earlier-filed)
criminal case assigned to that Judge and each of the following criteria is met:
(1) All Defendants in each of the cases are the same, or, if the Defendants are
not all the same, the cases are based upon the same set of facts, events, or
offenses;
(2) Both cases are pending in this District;
(3) The handling of both cases by the same Judge is likely to result in the
overall saving of judicial resources; and
(4) Neither case has progressed to the point where reassigning a case would
likely delay substantially the proceedings in either case, or the Court finds
that the assignment of the cases to the same Judge would promote
consistency in resolution of the cases or otherwise be in the interest of justice.
(b) Motion to Reassign. A motion for reassignment based on relatedness
may be filed by any party to a case. The motion must be filed with, and will be
decided by, the Judge to whom the lowest-numbered case of the claimed related
set is assigned for trial or other final disposition. If the set includes both felony
cases and one or more misdemeanors assigned to a Magistrate Judge, then the
motion must be filed with, and will be decided by, the District Judge assigned to
the lowest-numbered felony case in the set. Copies of the motion must be
served on all parties for all of the affected cases. The motion must:
(1) Set forth the points of commonality of the cases in sufficient detail to
indicate that the cases are related within the meaning of subsection (a); and
(2) Indicate the extent to which the conditions required by subsection (a) will
be met if the cases are found to be related.
Absent a Court order, any objection to the motion must be filed within seven
(7) days of the filing of the motion.
(c) Order. The Judge must enter an order finding whether or not the cases
are related, and, if they are, whether the higher-numbered case or cases should
be reassigned. Where the Judge finds that reassignment should occur, the
Clerk must reassign the higher-numbered case or cases to the Judge deciding
the motion and to whom the lowest-numbered case is assigned.
(d) Scope of Reassignment Order. An order under this Rule reassigning
cases as related does not constitute a joinder order under Fed. R. Crim. P. 13.
