UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
OAKLAND DIVISION
PRETRIAL AND TRIAL STANDING ORDER
FOR MAGISTRATE JUDGE AJAY S. KRISHNAN
Updated April 7, 2026
I. Trial
Jury trial will be held in the Oakland Federal Courthouse, 1301 Clay Street, Oakland,
California. Trial will be conducted from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., depending on the availability of
witnesses, Monday through Friday. Counsel must arrive by 8:00 a.m., or earlier as needed, for
any matters to be heard outside the presence of the jury. The jury will be called at 8:30 a.m.
The Court will advise the parties of the courtroom to be used for trial at the Final Pretrial
Conference.
II. Pretrial Conference
The Court typically holds in-person Civil Pretrial Conferences on the second and fourth
Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. The parties shall consult Judge Krishnan’s calendar on the morning of the
scheduled Conference to determine the courtroom. Lead trial counsel for each party shall attend.
At least seven days prior to the date of the Final Pretrial Conference the parties shall do
the following:
1. In lieu of preparing a Joint Pretrial Conference Statement, the parties shall meet
and confer, and then prepare and file a jointly signed Proposed Final Pretrial
Order that contains:
a. a brief description of the substance of claims and defenses which remain to
be decided;
b. a statement of all relief sought;
c. all stipulated facts;
d. a joint exhibit list in numerical order, including a brief description of the
exhibit and Bates numbers, the anticipated sponsoring witness or witnesses,
a blank column for when it will be offered into evidence, a blank column for
when it may be received into evidence, and a blank column for any
limitations on its use; and
e. each party’s separate witness list for its case-in-chief witnesses (including
those appearing by deposition), including, for all such witnesses, a short
statement of the substance of his/her testimony and, separately, what, if any,
non-cumulative testimony the witness will offer. For each witness, all
parties should state an hour/minute time estimate for examination (e.g.,
defense counsel should also provide time estimates for plaintiff’s case-in-
chief witnesses). Items (d) and (e) should be submitted as appendices to the
proposed order. The proposed order should also state which issues, if any,
are for the Court to decide, rather than the jury. The Court will identify the
amount of time each side will have for jury presentation at the Final Pretrial
Conference.
2. File a joint set of proposed instructions on substantive issues of law arranged in a
logical sequence. If undisputed, an instruction shall be identified as “Stipulated
Instruction No. ____ Re ___________,” with the blanks filled in as appropriate. If
disputed, each version of the instruction shall be inserted together, back-to-back,
in their logical place in the overall sequence. Each such disputed instruction shall
be identified as, for example, “Disputed Instruction No. ____ Re ____________
Offered by _________________,” with the blanks filled in as appropriate. All
disputed versions of the same basic instruction shall bear the same number. For
each disputed instruction, the parties shall highlight the differences of the versions
presented and provide brief argument—not to exceed one (1) page—in support of
their preferred version. Any modifications to a form instruction are discouraged
and must be plainly identified (preferably, if the modifications are limited, by
redline in the text of the proposed instruction itself, accompanied by a note in the
argument section so explaining). If a party does not have a counter version and
simply contends that no such instruction in any version should be given, then that
party should so state (and explain why) on a separate page inserted in lieu of an
alternate version. With respect to form preliminary instructions, general
instructions, or concluding instructions, please simply cite to the numbers of the
requested instructions in the current edition of the Ninth Circuit Model Jury
Instructions. Other than citing the numbers, the parties shall not include
preliminary, general, or concluding instructions in the packet.
3. File trial briefs not to exceed ten (10) pages that shall address controlling issues of
law and any other issues that may arise during trial.
4. File proposed verdict forms, joint or separate.
5. File and serve any objections to exhibits.
6. File a joint simplified Statement of the Case to be read to the jury during voir dire
as part of the proposed jury instructions. Unless the case is extremely complex,
this statement should not exceed one (1) page.
III. Motions In Limine
Any motions in limine shall be submitted as follows: Opening papers shall be filed at
least 20 calendar days before the conference; opposition papers will be filed at least seven
calendar days before the conference. There will be no reply. No such brief may exceed ten pages.
All of a party’s in limine motions must be included in its opening brief, and each motion should
address a single, separate topic. Each individual motion and opposition should be properly
identified, for example, “Plaintiff’s Motion In Limine No. 1 to Exclude . . . .” The parties are
encouraged to stipulate where possible, for example, as to the exclusion of witnesses from the
courtroom. The Court may modify the limits on the number of motions and pages on a case-by-
case basis.
Hard-copy courtesy copies of the above documents shall be delivered by NOON the day
after filing. The Joint Proposed Final Pretrial Order, jury instructions, and verdict form shall also
be submitted via e-mail as Word attachments to
[email protected]. The Court requests
that all hard-copy submissions be three-hole-punched.
IV. Pretrial Arrangements
Should a daily transcript and/or real-time reporting be desired, the parties shall make
arrangements with the Supervisor of the Court Reporting Services, at (415) 522-2079 or
[email protected], at least ten calendar days prior to the trial date.
The courtroom is equipped with monitors and a sound system. Should the parties wish to
utilize additional technology, the United States Marshals Service requires a court order to allow
equipment into the Courthouse. The parties must file a written request and proposed order no
later than seven days prior to the beginning of trial if they wish to bring any such technology into
the Courthouse. Parties should be prepared to fix any equipment, if necessary. For electronic
equipment, parties should be prepared to maintain the equipment or have a technician handy at
all times. The parties shall tape extension cords to the carpet for safety. The parties may work
with the deputy clerk, Kim Means (510-637-1296), on all courtroom-layout issues.
V. The Jury
The Jury Office asks prospective jurors to complete an online jury questionnaire in
advance of their summons date. The standard questionnaire is available on the Northern
District’s website at https://cand.uscourts.gov/wp-
content/uploads/Jury_StandardCivilTrial_SurveyMonkey2025.pdf. The parties are allowed to
add ten case specific questions to the questionnaire. The parties shall meet and confer and, to the
extent possible, file a joint list of proposed questions to add to the questionnaire. To the extent
that the parties cannot agree, they may submit separate proposed questions from which the Court
will choose ten. The parties joint or separate submissions are due 21 days before trial. The Court
will provide the parties with the survey responses the Friday before trial.
VI. Witnesses & Objections
To ensure the orderly conduct of trial and resolution of minor evidentiary disputes that
arise during trial and that may consume significant jury time, require argument outside the
presence of the jury, or benefit from briefing or preview, the parties shall adhere to the following
schedule. (Major evidentiary disputes, however, should be addressed via motion in limine.)
1. Two days before a witness testifies:
a. At 5:00 p.m. of each trial day and the two calendar days preceding trial, all
counsel potentially calling witnesses shall exchange, in writing, a list of (a)
witnesses (other than for impeachment) for the next two full court days, (b)
the exhibits that will be used during direct examination (other than for
impeachment of an adverse witness).
b. By 8:00 p.m. that evening, all other counsel shall provide, in writing,
objections to the identified witnesses or direct examination exhibits that the
party intends to raise in court.
c. Later that evening, the parties shall meet and confer in an effort to resolve
all disputes. If disputes remain, the parties shall, during the meet-and-confer,
identify objections/issues to be briefed with the Court, and agree on the
ordering and numbering of the objections/issues so that the briefs
correspond.
2. One day before a witness testifies:
a. By no later than 6:00 p.m. on the day before a witness testifies, each party
may submit up to five (5) pages of briefing on all issues left unresolved after
the preceding evening’s meet and confer.
3. The day a witness testifies:
a. The Court will address the parties’ five-page submissions starting at 8:15
a.m. on the day a witness is expected to testify.
While counsel are not expected to anticipate every issue, abuse of these rules—including
by disclosing a significant number of exhibits that are not offered with the designated witness, by
raising a significant number of objections that are later withdrawn, or by raising for the first time
in front of the jury an objection that requires significant argument when the objection could have
reasonably been raised by the above procedure—may result in restrictions on a party’s use of the
above procedure or in a docking of a party’s time for jury presentation. Other than the above
briefs, no other motions may be filed during trial without advance permission from the Court;
any such permission shall be sought outside the presence of the jury (e.g., at the beginning or at
the end of a court day).
At the beginning of every direct examination and cross-examination, the questioning
attorney will provide the witness a binder of all exhibits to be used during the examination, with
tabs that indicate the exhibit number. Two copies of the binder will be provided to the Court and
one to opposing counsel. Cross-examination binders need not include documents used solely for
impeachment; and cross-examining attorneys may question a witness on exhibits from the direct
examination binder.
VII. Exhibits
The parties may jointly prepare and present a Joint Exhibit List containing no more than
75 exhibits that have been agreed upon by both parties as being pre-admitted exhibits at trial.
Each individual party may also serve and present its own Party Exhibit List of no more than 75
additional exhibits. Absent prior Court approval—which must typically be sought via a motion in
limine or via the joint Proposed Final Pretrial Order—exhibits may only be introduced through a
sponsoring witness with personal knowledge.
Prior to the Final Pretrial Conference, counsel must meet and confer in person to consider
all exhibit numbers and objections and to eliminate duplicate exhibits and confusion over the
precise exhibit. The parties shall use numbers only, not letters, for exhibits, preferably the same
numbers as were used in depositions. Blocks of numbers should be assigned to fit the need of the
case (e.g., Joint Exhibits are 1 to 75, Plaintiff has 76 to 150, Defendant A has 151 to 225,
Defendant B has 226 to 300, etc.). A single exhibit should be marked only once. If the plaintiff
has marked an exhibit, then the defendant should not re-mark the exact document with another
number. Different versions of the same document, e.g., a copy with additional handwriting, must
be treated as different exhibits with different numbers. To avoid any party claiming “ownership”
of an exhibit, all exhibits shall be marked and referred to as “Trial Exhibit No. _____,” not as
“Plaintiff’s Exhibit” or “Defendant’s Exhibit.” Exhibits tags: Exhibits must be labeled in the
lower right-hand corner with the exhibit number in a prominent, bold typeface.
The parties shall provide the Court with one official set of the record exhibits seven days
before the Pretrial Conference. Each exhibit must be separated with a label divider identifying
the exhibit number. Spine labels should indicate the numbers of the exhibits that are in the
binders. At trial, the parties shall provide individual witness exhibit binders which contain all the
exhibits the parties expect to use with the witness. The parties shall provide two copies of each
witness binder: one for the witness and one for the Court.
Exhibit notebooks for the jury will not be permitted without prior permission from the
Court. Publication must be by poster blow-up, overhead projection, or such other method as is
allowed in the circumstances. It is permissible to highlight, circle or underscore in the
enlargements as long as it is clear that such markings were not on the original.
Counsel must consult with each other and with the deputy clerk at the end of each trial
day and compare notes as to which exhibits are in evidence and any limitations thereon. If there
are any differences, counsel should bring them promptly to the Court’s attention. Before closing
arguments, counsel must confer with the deputy clerk to make sure the exhibits in evidence are
in good order.
VIII. Charging Conference
As the trial progresses and the evidence is heard, the Court will fashion a comprehensive
set of jury instructions to cover all issues actually being tried. Prior to the close of the evidence,
the Court will provide a draft final charge to the parties. After a reasonable period for review,
one or more charging conferences will be held at which each party may object to any passage,
ask for modifications, or ask for additions. Any instruction request must be renewed specifically
at the conference or it will be deemed waived, whether or not it was requested prior to trial. If,
however, a party still wishes to request an omitted instruction after reviewing the Court’s draft,
then it must affirmatively re-request it at the charging conference in order to give the Court a fair
opportunity to correct any error. Otherwise, as stated, the request will be deemed abandoned or
waived.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: April 7, 2026
______________________________________
AJAY KRISHNAN
United States Magistrate Judge
