Rev. (09/25)
1 JUDGE ILLSTON’S STANDING ORDER
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3 1. Scheduling Days:
4 Civil Law and Motion Calendar is conducted on Fridays at 10:00 a.m.
5 Criminal Law and Motion Calendar is conducted on Fridays at 11:00 a.m.
6 Civil Case Management Conferences are generally conducted on Fridays at 2:30 p.m., with the
7 order of call determined by the Court. Initial and further CMCs will take place over Zoom. A
8 clerk’s notice will be issued with the login and registration information within a week of the CMC.
9 Parties shall consult the Court calendar several days prior to the CMC, as the Court may move the
10 CMC calendar to earlier in the day on Friday if scheduling allows.
11 Pretrial Conferences are generally conducted on Tuesday afternoons at 3:30 p.m.
12 Counsel need not reserve motion hearing dates but may call the Courtroom Deputy to obtain
Northern District of California
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13 the next available law and motion calendar. Motions may be reset as the Court’s calendar requires.
14 All parties are directed to comply with the Civil Local Rules except as identified in this Order.
15 Parties MUST NOT set hearing dates on days where the Court has indicated dates are
16 closed for further settings. Before setting a hearing, parties MUST check the Court’s
17 scheduling notes where dates closed for further settings are listed.
18 (https://apps.cand.uscourts.gov/CEO/cfd.aspx?7133#Notes)
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20 2. Sentencing Memorandum and/or Request to Continue Sentencing:
21 Counsel must comply with Crim. L.R. 32-5 (b) and (c). The sentencing memorandum must
22 be filed no later than 7 days prior to the date set for sentencing and any response must be filed
23 no later than 3 days prior to the date set for sentencing. In the event counsel determines that no
24 sentencing memorandum is necessary, a notice indicating such must be filed no later than 7 days
25 prior to the date set for sentencing. Any request to continue a date set for sentencing must be
26 filed no later than 7 days prior to the scheduled date.
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1 3. Discovery Disputes:
2 The parties shall meet and confer in person, or, if counsel are located outside the Bay Area, by
3 telephone or videoconference, to attempt to resolve their dispute informally. A mere exchange of
4 letters, e-mails, voicemails, text messages, etc. does not satisfy the requirement to meet and
5 confer. If, after a good faith effort, the parties have not resolved their dispute, they shall prepare a
6 concise joint statement of 5 pages or less, stating the nature and status of their dispute. Absent an
7 order of this Court, parties shall not file affidavits or exhibits, other than copies of the written
8 requests for discovery and the answers or objections thereto. If a joint statement is not possible,
9 each side may submit a brief individual statement of 2 pages or less. The first paragraph of the
10 joint statement or individual statement must describe the parties’ meet and confer efforts,
11 including when the parties met and conferred and by what means (i.e., in person, by
12 videoconference, by phone).
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13 The joint statement or individual statements shall be filed or e-filed, if in an e-filing case, and
14 courtesy copies submitted as provided in this Standing Order.
15 The Court will advise the parties regarding the need, if any, for more formal briefing or a
16 hearing, pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7-1(b).
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18 4. Paper Courtesy Copies: This requirement does not apply to self-represented litigants. If
19 you are representing yourself, you do not need to mail paper courtesy copies to the Court.
20 Notwithstanding Civil Local Rule 5-1(d)(7), one set of paper courtesy copies (“chambers
21 copies”) is required for any filing exceeding ten pages in length. This includes—but is not limited
22 to— copies of complaints, briefing on motions (civil or criminal), sentencing documents
23 (criminal), and case management statements (civil). For pretrial conference filings, two sets of
24 paper courtesy copies are required, regardless of page length.
25 Courtesy copies must be unstapled and three-hole punched at the left margin (not in binders).
26 All courtesy copies must bear the ECF stamp (case number, document number, date and page
27 number) on the top of each page. Courtesy copies shall be delivered to the Clerk’s Office no later
28 than noon 2 days after filing of the document. (E.g., courtesy copies due at noon on Tuesday for
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1 papers filed the Friday prior.)
2 For motions to seal, the parties shall refer to the specific instructions regarding courtesy copies
3 contained in Section 9(c) of Judge Illston’s Standing Order.
4 Please direct any questions regarding courtesy copies to
[email protected].
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5. Summary Judgment Motions:
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Parties are limited to filing one motion for summary judgment. Any party wishing to exceed
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this limit must request leave of Court.
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6. Courtroom Technology Information:
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All parties are instructed to review the information regarding the use of courtroom technology
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and electronic evidence presentation (EEPS) which is provided on the Court’s web site at
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Northern District of California
http://cand.uscourts.gov/courtroomtech, and to prepare accordingly. Questions and/or requests to
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pre-test equipment should be sent to the Courtroom Deputy.
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7. Requests to Appear Telephonically:
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Telephonic Appearances for court hearings are permitted without the need of filing a formal
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request or motion. Counsel shall contact the Courtroom Deputy at
[email protected] or
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(415) 522-2028 to obtain further instructions.
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8. Skills Development:
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The Court welcomes and encourages oral argument by less-experienced attorneys on any
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matters argued before the Court.
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9. Filing Documents Under Seal in Civil Cases:
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Motions to seal shall be filed in accordance with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Failure to follow the
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local rules may result in summary denial of the motion. (See following page for further
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instructions.)
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1 a. Designating Information as Confidential:
2 Before designating any specific information “Confidential” or “Confidential-Attorneys’
3 Eyes Only,” the designating party’s counsel shall make a good faith determination that the
4 information warrants protection under Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The
5 burden of establishing confidentiality shall be on the designating party.
6 Before seeking to file under seal a document or portion of a document that another party
7 has designated as “Confidential” or “Confidential-Attorneys’ Eyes Only,” counsel shall review the
8 document. If in counsel’s good faith judgment portions or all of the document have been
9 unnecessarily designated as confidential or no longer require confidential treatment, counsel shall
10 meet and confer with counsel for the designating party to attempt to resolve the issue.
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b. Declarations in Support:
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Northern District of California
The declaration in support of sealing or in support of redaction must make a specific
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showing explaining why the document or excerpt sought to be sealed may justifiably be sealed,
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rather than making a blanket statement about the grounds for sealing or redaction. The declaration
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must state whether the “compelling reasons” or “good cause” standard applies and why. See Ctr.
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for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1099, 1101 (9th Cir. 2016).
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18 c. Courtesy Copies:
19 For documents submitted in connection with administrative motions to seal, parties shall
20 provide courtesy copies of the unredacted documents with proposed redacted material highlighted,
21 as required by Civil Local Rule 79-5(d)(2). Do not submit courtesy copies of the redacted versions
22 of documents sought to be sealed.
23 To the extent that filings include both sealed and non-sealed materials, courtesy copies
24 should include all material, including the unredacted version of proposed sealed material
25 integrated with the non-sealed material. For instance, a courtesy copy of a declaration in which the
26 parties sought to seal Exhibit 2 would contain: the declaration; Exhibit 1; unredacted version of
27 Exhibit 2 with proposed redacted material highlighted; Exhibit 3; etc.
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1 d. Proposed Orders:
2 Proposed Orders on administrative motions to seal must conform to the following format:
Document or Portion of Evidence Offered in Support Order
3 Document Sought to Be of Sealing
4 Sealed
Motion at page 2, Lines 10 – Jones Declaration ¶ 1
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Motion at page 5, Lines 4-7 Jones Declaration ¶ 2
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When a designating party files a declaration in support of another party’s motion to seal,
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and the designating party narrows the submitting party’s original sealing request, the designating
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party shall submit a new proposed order consistent with the narrowed request.
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10. Class Actions:
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Parties MUST comply with the Northern District’s Guidelines for Procedural Guidance for
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Northern District of California
Class Action Settlements.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: September 23, 2025
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17 SUSAN ILLSTON
18 United States District Judge
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