CIVIL STANDING ORDER: CHIEF MAGISTRATE JUDGE NATHANAEL M. COUSINS
LOCATION
All matters will be heard in Courtroom 5, 4th Floor, San Jose Federal Courthouse.
SCHEDULING
Case Management Conferences,10:00 a.m. each Wednesday, held via Zoom Webinar
https://cand.uscourts.gov/judges/cousins-nathanael-nc/
Civil hearings, 11:00 a.m. each Wednesday in person.
Criminal hearings, 11:30 a.m. each Wednesday in person, except during duty months.
Criminal duty calendar is held weekdays at 1:00 p.m.
Pretrial Conferences, 11:30 a.m. each Wednesday in person.
Settlement Conferences are held at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, in person.
Requests for conference participation by Zoom or telephone must be made within 7 days
after a settlement conference referral.
Parties are not required to reserve a hearing date but should confirm the Court’s availability at
http://www.cand.uscourts.gov. For questions regarding scheduling, please contact courtroom
deputy Lili Harrell at 408.535.5343 or
[email protected].
CONSENT TO MAGISTRATE JUDGE JURISDICTION
In civil cases, each party must file written consent to the jurisdiction of a magistrate judge or a
written request for reassignment to a district judge as soon as possible but no later than the
deadlines specified in Civil Local Rule 73-1(a).
PROPOSED ORDERS
In addition to e-filing, the parties must email a copy of all stipulations and proposed orders in
Word format to
[email protected] on the same day they e-file these documents.
DISCOVERY
For all discovery disputes, the parties must meet and confer to attempt to resolve their dispute.
The meet and confer must be a direct conversation in person or by telephone or video. A mere
exchange of letters, emails, or messages does not satisfy the requirement to meet and confer. If
the parties are unable to reach a resolution, they must file a joint statement of five pages or less
that: (1) describes each unresolved issue; and (2) states each party’s final proposed compromise
with respect to each unresolved issue. The parties may not attach declarations, exhibits, or
proposed orders to the statement absent leave of Court. In the rare event that the parties are unable
to file a joint statement, each party may file a statement of two pages or less. The statement(s)
must be filed in ECF under the Civil Events category of Motions and Related Filings > Motions:
General > Discovery Letter Brief. Upon review of the statement(s), the Court will advise the
parties regarding the need for more briefing and a hearing.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
February 4, 2026 ______________________________
Nathanael M. Cousins
Chief United States Magistrate Judge
