Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton
Courtroom 3, 3rd Floor
Kelly Collins, Courtroom Deputy
(510) 637-1296
CIVIL PRETRIAL INSTRUCTIONS
A. PRETRIAL MOTIONS
1. All dispositive motions are heard no later than 120 days before trial, unless
leave of court is obtained for another deadline.
2. Only one summary judgment motion may be filed by each side, absent leave
of court. Leave of court may be sought if multiple parties comprise one or both sides.
Leave of court may be obtained by filing a motion for administrative relief pursuant to
Civ. L. R. 7-11, or by requesting a case management conference or informal telephone
conference.
3. Separate statements of undisputed facts in support of or in opposition to
motions for summary judgment shall NOT be filed. See Civil L. R. 56-2. The parties
may file a truly joint statement of undisputed facts only if all parties agree that the facts
are undisputed.
4. Objections to evidence may no longer be filed separately but must be
contained within the opposition or reply brief or memorandum. Civil L. R. 7-3.
5. Each party filing or opposing a motion shall also serve and file a proposed
order which sets forth the relief or action sought and a short statement of the rationale
of decision, including citation of authority that the party requests the court to adopt.
6. Footnotes in briefs appearing in smaller than the 12-point font required for
the text, will be stricken, see Civil L. R. 3-4(c)(2), as will footnotes that are so numerous
as to be clearly designed to defeat the page limits found at Civil L. R. 7-2 - 7-4. Any
brief must separate sentences by 2 spaces after each sentence.
7. Motions pursuant to Daubert v. Merrill Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S.
579 (1993), challenging the reliability of expert testimony, may be noticed for hearing on
the date dispositive motions will be heard or on any available hearing date up to and
including the date of the final pretrial conference. Irrespective of the hearing date, the
briefs shall be filed in accordance with Civil L. R. 7-2 - 7-5, on a 35-day briefing
schedule.
8. Motions in limine are limited to motions to exclude specific items of evidence
on a ground and upon such authority as would be sufficient to sustain an objection to
such evidence at trial. The court will not generally consider a motion presenting a
purely legal issue in the guise of a motion in limine.
9. Discovery motions will be referred to a Magistrate Judge for resolution. The
words "Discovery Matter" shall appear in the caption of all documents relating to
discovery to insure proper routing.
10. Confidential and/or sealed documents shall be handled in accordance
with this court's standing order and Civil L.R. 79-5, both of which the parties shall
consult before moving for a protective order or requesting a sealing order. Requests to
seal documents used in conjunction with dispositive motions are rarely granted and then
only upon a showing of the most compelling of reasons.
B. FINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE
1. Each party shall attend personally or by counsel who will try the case.
2. Not less 35 days prior to the pretrial conference, all counsel and/or parties
shall meet and confer regarding preparation of the joint pretrial statement.
3. Not less than 28 days prior to the pretrial conference, counsel and/or parties
shall:
a. Serve and file a joint pretrial statement. (Separately filed
statements will not be accepted by the court and monetary
sanctions will be imposed upon the party failing to cooperate in the
preparation of a joint statement).
The pretrial statement shall include the following:
(i) A brief description of the substance of the claims and
defenses which remain to be decided.
(ii) A detailed statement of all relief sought, itemizing all
elements of damages claimed.
(iii) A statement of all relevant undisputed facts to which the
parties will stipulate for incorporation into the trial record
without the necessity of supporting testimony or exhibits.
(iv) A statement of all relevant disputed facts which remain to be
decided.
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(v) A statement of stipulations requested or proposed.
(vi) A brief statement of disputed points of law concerning
liability and relief. Legal argument on these points shall be
reserved for the trial briefs.
(vii) A statement of whether bifurcation or a separate trial of
specific issues is feasible and desired.
(viii) A statement summarizing the status of settlement
negotiations and indicating whether further negotiations are
likely to be productive.
b. Serve and file trial briefs (not to exceed 25 pages), which shall
specify each cause of action and defense remaining to be tried
along with a statement of the applicable legal standard (no
opposition shall be filed);
c. Serve and file no more than ten motions in limine, which shall be
filed in one document not to exceed 25 pages;
d. Serve and file a list of deposition excerpts for witnesses who will
not testify in person, (specifying the witness, page and line
references) and other discovery responses that will be offered at
trial;
e. Serve and file a list of all witnesses to be called at trial, in person or
by deposition, other than solely for impeachment or rebuttal, with a
brief statement describing the substance of the testimony to be
given;
f. Serve and file a numerical list of exhibits that will be offered as
evidence in a party's case in chief in support of a claim or defense,
with a brief statement describing the substance and purpose of
each exhibit and the name of the sponsoring witness;
g. Exchange exhibits which shall be premarked with an exhibit sticker
tabbed and in binders. Plaintiff shall use numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) and
defendant shall use numbers preceded by a letter (A-1, A-2, A-3,
etc.). Additional parties shall also use a letter preceding numbers
(B-1, B-2, B-3, or C-1, C-2, C-3, etc.).
h. Submit two sets for jury trials and three sets for court trials of all
premarked exhibits to the Clerk's Office (exhibits are not filed);
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i. Serve and file any request regarding the treatment of confidential or
sealed documents.
j. Serve and file proposed joint voir dire questions and joint jury
instructions for cases to be tried by jury;
k. Serve and file proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law for
cases or claims to be tried by the court.
l. Serve and file a proposed verdict form which contains no reference
to submitting party.
4. No party shall be permitted to call any witness or offer any exhibit in its case
in chief that is not disclosed in these pretrial filings without leave of court and for good
cause.
5. Not less than 14 days prior to the pretrial conference, counsel and/or parties
shall serve and file any opposition to a motion in limine and any counter deposition
designations. No replies shall be filed. All motions shall be heard at the pretrial
conference unless otherwise ordered. The parties shall not file separate objections,
apart from those contained in the motions in limine, to the opposing party's witness list,
exhibit list or discovery designations. A courtesy copy of any opposition brief must
be delivered to the Clerk's Office no later than noon the day following the filing.
6. In advance of the pretrial conference, counsel and/or parties shall review the
court-approved video entitled Understanding the Effects of Unconscious Bias, available
at https://cand.uscourts.gov/attorneys/jury-video, which is designed to educate potential
jurors about the role of unconscious bias in the work of juries. Counsel and/or parties
shall be prepared at the pretrial conference to discuss any objections to showing this
video to potential jurors before the jury selection process. Any objections to the video
that are not raised at the pretrial conference will be deemed waived.
7. If counsel, parties and/or witnesses will require any special accommodations
during trial, such requests shall be raised at the pretrial conference.
C. JURY TRIAL
Jury Selection shall proceed as follows: The Jury Commissioner will summon 20
to 25 prospective jurors. The Courtroom Deputy will select their names at random and
seat them in the courtroom in the order in which their names are called. Voir dire will be
conducted of sufficient venire members so that six to eight will remain after all
peremptory challenges and an anticipated number of hardship dismissals and cause
challenges have been made.
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The court will then take cause challenges and discuss hardship claims at side
bar. The court will inform counsel which hardship claims and cause challenges will be
granted, but will not announce those dismissals until the selection process is completed.
Peremptory challenges will be made in writing. The court will strike at one time those
with meritorious hardship claims, those excused for cause, and those challenged
peremptorily, and then seat the first six to eight people remaining in numerical order.
The attached voir dire questionnaire shall be given to the venire members and
copies of the responses will be made available to counsel at the beginning of voir dire.
Counsel shall submit a joint set of additional voir dire questions to be posed by the
court. Any voir dire questions on which counsel cannot agree may be submitted
separately. Counsel will be permitted brief follow-up voir dire after the court's
questioning.
The following jury instructions from the Ninth Circuit Manual of Model Jury
Instructions Civil (2017 Edition) shall be given absent objection: 1.3 - 1.7, 1.9 - 1.18,
1.20 - 1.21, 3.1 - 3.3, and 3.5. Counsel shall submit a joint set of these instructions
along with a joint set of case specific instructions using the Ninth Circuit Manual where
appropriate. Any instructions on which counsel cannot agree may be submitted
separately. Each instruction shall be typed in full on a separate page with citations to
the authority upon which it is based and a reference to the party submitting it. A second
blind copy of each instruction shall also be submitted omitting the citation to authority
and the reference to the submitting party, but retaining the title of the instruction. An
electronic version of the proposed instructions in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx)
must be emailed to the court’s proposed order mailbox:
[email protected].
D. TRIAL SCHEDULE
The court's trial schedule is 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with two fifteen-minute breaks,
on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
Revised 5-12-21
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CONFIDENTIAL
JUROR QUESTIONNAIRE
Please fill out this form as completely as possible and print clearly. This will assist the
judge and the lawyers in selecting a jury and will save time for them and for you.
Because copies will be made for the attorneys and the judge, do not write on the back
of any page. If you need more room, continue at the bottom of the page. Thank you for
your cooperation.
1. Your name:
2. Your age:
3. City in which you reside:
4. If you have lived there for fewer than five years, where did you live before:
5. Your place of birth:
6. Do you own or rent your home? [ ] own [ ] rent
7. Your marital status:
[ ] Live with
[ ] Single [ ] Married [ ] Separated [ ] Divorced [ ] Widowed Partner
8. What is your occupation and how long have you worked in it?
(If you are retired, please describe your main occupation when you were
working).
9. Who is (or was) your employer?
10. If you have held this job for fewer than five years, describe your previous job:
11. Please list the occupations of any adults with whom you live:
12. If you have children, please list their ages and genders and, if they are
employed, please give their occupations.
13. Please describe your educational background:Highest grade completed:
College and/or vocational schools you have attended:
Major areas of study:
14. Have you served in the military?
15. Have you ever had jury experience? No. of times?
If yes: State/County Court Federal Court
When?
Was it a civil or criminal case?
Did any of the juries reach a verdict?
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA
Case #: Case #: Case #:
Plntf Exhibit Plntf Exhibit Plntf Exhibit
No. No. No.
Date Date Date
Admitted: Admitted: Admitted:
By: By: By:
Kelly Collins, Deputy Clerk Kelly Collins, Deputy Clerk Kelly Collins, Deputy Clerk
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA
Case #: Case #: Case #:
Plntf Exhibit Plntf Exhibit Plntf Exhibit
No. No. No.
Date Date Date
Admitted: Admitted: Admitted:
By: By: By:
Kelly Collins, Deputy Clerk Kelly Collins, Deputy Clerk Kelly Collins, Deputy Clerk
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA
Case #: Case #: Case #:
Plntf Exhibit Plntf Exhibit Plntf Exhibit
No. No. No.
Date Date Date
Admitted: Admitted: Admitted:
By: By: By:
Kelly Collins, Deputy Clerk Kelly Collins, Deputy Clerk Kelly Collins, Deputy Clerk
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA
Case #: Case #: Case #:
Deft Exhibit Deft Exhibit Deft Exhibit
Letter-No. Letter-No. Letter-No.
Date Date Date
Admitted: Admitted: Admitted:
By: By: By:
Kelly Collins, Deputy Clerk Kelly Collins, Deputy Clerk Kelly Collins, Deputy Clerk
