1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
2 FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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4 GENERAL STANDING ORDER FOR CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CASES BEFORE
5 JUDGE CHARLES R. BREYER
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7 I. RULES APPLICABLE TO ALL CASES
8 A. Conformity to rules. Parties shall follow the Federal Rules, the Local
9 Rules, and the General Orders of the Northern District of California, except
10 as superseded by this Court's Standing Orders.
11 B. Scheduling
12 1. Criminal calendar is generally conducted on Wednesdays at 10:00
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13 a.m. for sentencing and 1:30 p.m. for all other matters.
14 2. Civil law and motion calendar is generally conducted on Fridays at
15 10:00 a.m.
16 3. Case management conferences are generally conducted on Fridays
17 at 8:30 a.m.
18 4. Pretrial conferences are generally conducted at 2:00 p.m. on days
19 determined by the Court.
20 5. For all hearing and conferences, order of call is determined by the
21 Court.
22 6. Counsel need not reserve a hearing date for motions. However,
23 counsel is advised to check the Court website scheduling notes for
24 unavailable dates. Noticed dates may be reset as the Court’s calendar
25 requires.
26 7. No changes in the Court’s schedule shall be made except by signed
27 order of the Court and upon a showing of good cause. Parties seeking
28 to continue hearings, request special status conferences, modify
1 briefing schedules, or make other procedural changes shall submit a
2 signed stipulation and proposed order, or, if stipulation is not possible,
3 an ex parte application in writing.
4 C. Motion practice. Briefs or Memoranda of Points and Authorities in support
5 of, or in opposition to, any motions filed in an action must be typed on 28-
6 line, double-spaced pleading paper and, except for summary judgment
7 motions, may not exceed 15 pages in length, exclusive of title pages, indexes
8 of cases, table of contents, exhibits, affidavits and summaries of argument, if
9 required. Briefs exceeding10 pages in length must contain an additional
10 summary of argument, including reference to any important cases cited.
11 Summary judgment memoranda may not exceed 25 pages. Each party is
12 limited to filing one summary judgment motion. Any party wishing to
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United States District Court
13 exceed this limit must request leave of the Court and must show good cause.
14 Counsel shall submit a proposed form of order with all motion and
15 opposition papers.
16 D. Less-experienced attorneys and attorneys from underrepresented
17 groups. Junior lawyers and lawyers from groups that have been historically
18 underrepresented in the legal profession are invited to argue motions they
19 have helped prepare and to question witnesses with whom they have worked.
20 Opportunities to train young attorneys and attorneys from underrepresented
21 groups in oral advocacy are rare because of the decline of trials. Where such
22 lawyers are familiar with the matter under consideration, but have little
23 experience arguing before a court, they should be encouraged to speak by the
24 law firms involved in the case. This Court is amenable to permitting a
25 number of lawyers to argue for one party if this creates an opportunity for a
26 junior lawyer or lawyers from underrepresented groups to participate. Of
27 course, the ultimate decision of who speaks on behalf of the client is for the
28 lawyer in charge of the case, not for the Court.
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1 E. Courtesy copies. Parties must file a single (no duplicates) courtesy
2 chambers copy of all filings. The courtesy copy must be delivered to the
3 Clerk's Office no later than noon on the court day following the day that the
4 document was electronically filed. (Note: This deadline differs from those
5 in Civil Local Rule 5-1(e)(7)(A).) All chambers copies should be three-hole
6 punched along the left side of the page, and should bear the ECF filing
7 “stamp” (case number, docket number, date, and ECF page number) along
8 the top of the page. All exhibits shall be clearly delineated with tabs along
9 the right side (e.g., “1”, “2”, “3”). If the filing includes exhibits over three
10 inches thick, the parties shall place the chambers copy in a binder. The
11 Court prefers double-sided printing for voluminous chambers copies of
12 exhibits, if possible.
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13 F. Filing under seal. Parties are reminded that court proceedings are
14 presumptively public, and no document shall be filed under seal without
15 request for a court order that is narrowly tailored to cover only the document,
16 the particular portion of the document, or category of documents which meet
17 the applicable legal standard for sealing. To the extent that filings include
18 under seal materials, chambers copies should include all material—both
19 redacted and unredacted—so that the chambers staff does not have to re-
20 assemble the whole brief or declaration, although chambers copies should
21 clearly delineate which portions are confidential (via highlighting).
22 G. Protective orders. If parties believe that a protective order is necessary,
23 they shall, where practicable, use one of the model stipulated protective
24 orders (available at http://cand.uscourts.gov/stipprotectorder). If the parties’
25 proposed protective offer differs materially from the model protective order,
26 the parties shall file a statement explaining each modification to the model
27 order, along with a redline version comparing the proposed protective order
28 with the model order.
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2 II. RULES APPLICABLE ONLY TO CIVIL CASES
3 A. Motions to compel discovery are referred to a Magistrate Judge for
4 assignment. Therefore, counsel are required to file a notice of discovery
5 disputes to initiate a referral in lieu of filing discovery motions before this
6 Court.
7 B. Amended pleadings. If a party files an amended pleading, it shall
8 concurrently file a redlined version comparing the amended pleading to the
9 prior operative pleading.
10 C. Unrepresented (pro se) parties. Parties representing themselves should
11 visit https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/pro-se. The page discusses the Court’s
12 “Legal Help Center,” which provides free assistance at the San Francisco,
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United States District Court
13 Oakland, and San Jose courthouses for unrepresented parties. It also links to
14 the Court’s Pro Se Handbook. Parties may visit the Legal Help Centers at
15 the San Francisco and Oakland courthouses, or call (415)-782-8982 to make
16 an appointment.
17 D. Case management conferences. The attorney appearing at a case
18 management conference need not be lead counsel, but must have full
19 authority to make decisions about any issue that may come up during the
20 conference, including trial dates.
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22 III. SPECIAL RULES FOR 11(C)(1)(B) PLEA AGREEMENTS
23 Plea agreements pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(c)(1)(B) must
24 include the following:
25 1. If the agreement includes a Sentencing Guidelines calculation, then it must
26 also state that the parties agree that the adjusted offense level results in a Guidelines range
27 of ___ to ___ months depending on the defendant’s Criminal History Category.
28 2. If the agreement includes a waiver of appellate rights, it must also reserve the
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1 defendant’s right to appeal the judgment of the Court as it pertains to any alleged error in
2 sentencing as well as any claim to ineffective assistance of counsel.
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4 IT IS SO ORDERED.
5 Dated: July 17, 2025 /s/
CHARLES R. BREYER
6 United States District Judge
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