Effective: December 31, 20254
JUDGE REGINA RODRIGUEZ
PRACTICE STANDARDS
CRIMINAL ACTIONS
TO: Counsel and Parties
FROM: Judge Regina M. Rodriguez
RE: Practice Standards Criminal Actions
I. GENERAL PROCEDURES
A. Applicable Rules
Those appearing in the District Court must know and follow:
1. The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure;
2. The Federal Rules of Evidence;
3. The Local Rules of Practice of the United States District Court for the
District of Colorado;
4. The Electronic Case Filing Procedures (Criminal Version 3.0 or the most
current version); and
5. These Practice Standards.
B. Communications with Chambers
1. Chambers staff is not authorized to give legal advice or grant oral requests
over the telephone, so please do not contact Chambers about substantive
matters. For procedural information or assistance regarding a case,
including scheduling of hearings or trials, please contact the Judge’s
chambers at
[email protected].
2. All emails to chambers should include the case name and number in the
subject line of the email.
3. For information about courtroom technology, trial preparation, or
submission of trial exhibits, please contact my Courtroom Deputy, Kally
Myhaver,
[email protected].
4. Please do not contact the law clerks about procedural or scheduling
matters.
C. Proposed Orders
1. You may be directed to transmit proposed orders or other pleadings or
papers by e-mail to
[email protected]. The
proposed order or document should be submitted as an attachment to the
e-mail in Word format unless otherwise specified. The e-mail message
should identify the case number and document attached. Please do not
send documents directly to chambers by facsimile or e-mail unless
requested or ordered to do so by the court.
D. Citations
1. Citations shall be made pursuant to the most current edition of THE
BLUEBOOK: A UNIFORM SYSTEM OF CITATION.
2. General references to cases, pleadings, depositions, or documents are
insufficient if the document is more than one page in length. Whenever
possible, specific references in the form of pinpoint citations should be used
to identify relevant excerpts from cases, pleadings, depositions, or
documents.
3. Whenever practicable a citation to an unpublished opinion should include its
Westlaw® citation. If a Westlaw® citation does not exist, include the caselaw
as an attachment.
E. Motions to Continue
1. Motions to continue (including motions to vacate or reset) hearings and
trials will be determined pursuant to United States v. West, 828 F.2d 1468,
1469-70 (10th Cir. 1987) unless a party seeks to continue a hearing or trial
outside the Speedy Trial Act deadlines, in which case it will be decided
pursuant to the Speedy Trial Act. Oral or written motions to continue should
not be made at the time of a hearing or trial. Stipulations for continuance
are not effective unless approved by the Court. When a motion to continue
is granted, all parties will be notified as soon as practicable.
F. Motions for Extensions of Time
1. Motions for extension of time require a showing of good cause, which must
be established with particularity. The following reasons do not constitute
good cause: agreement of counsel, inconvenience to counsel or to the
parties; the press of business; conflicts in scheduling; or practice as a sole
practitioner.
II. COURTROOM PROCEDURES
A. Courtroom Protocol
1. Please observe traditional courtroom decorum: stand when addressing
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the Court, address the Court as “Your Honor,” and request permission to
approach the bench. It will not normally be necessary for counsel to
approach a witness on the stand. The Courtroom Deputy, upon request
of counsel, will hand a witness an exhibit.
2. If you have a question about courtroom protocol, please contact my
Courtroom Deputy, Kally Myhaver, at kally
[email protected].
B. Recording of Proceedings
1. The realtime reporter assigned to the court is Jessica AndersonSadie
Herbert. Transcripts of proceedings may be ordered from Ms.
AndersonHerbert at jessica@
[email protected].
[email protected]. Requests for daily transcripts should
be made at least thirty (30) days before the trial or hearing. Requests
for realtime transcription should be made no later than seven (7) days
prior to the trial or hearing. If there are any further questions, please
contact Ms. Anderson for details. Further details can be obtained from
Ms. Herbert.
C. Exhibits
1. Motions Hearings:
a. For motions hearings, each party must provide a copy of its
exhibit list and each exhibit to opposing counsel or any pro se
party threetwo business days before the hearing.
2. Trial
a. For trial, the Government must provide a copy of its exhibits to
Chambers no later than three two business days prior to
trial. This requirement applies to a defendant if he or she has
identified exhibits for trial.
3. Each party must pre-mark all exhibits that will be used or identified in a
hearing or trial. Exhibits not timely pre-marked or exchanged before a
hearing or trial may not be admitted.
4. Exhibits must be bound, e.g., in three-ring notebooks or folders, and the
notebook or folder labeled with the following information: (i) caption, (ii)
nature of proceeding, (iii) scheduled date and time, and (iv) “original” or
“copy.” If exhibits are not bound and labeled properly, the hearing or trial
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may be delayed or continued until they are.
5. Number of Sets of Exhibits
a. For hearings, separate sets of bound exhibits must be brought to
the hearing for (1) the court; (2) the law clerk; and (3) the witness
stand. A third copy may be provided electronically via a thumb drive.
b. For trials, the Trial Preparation Conference Order will specify the
number of sets of exhibits.
6. Before any hearing or trial, each party shall submit to the courtroom deputy
clerk an original and two copies of the Witness List and Exhibit List.
D. Witness Lists
1. Motions hearings:
a. For motions hearings, witness lists should be filed via CM-ECF
threewo business days before the hearing. For trials, see Section
IV.A. concerning the Trial Preparation Conference.
2. Format – Parties should use the form of witness list available on the
District Court website
III. MOTIONS PRACTICE
A. General
1. All requests for the Court to take distinct actions must be contained
in separate, written motions. In other words, different bases for the
same relief shall be filed in one motion, whereas requests for the
Court to take different or distinct actions shall be filed in separate
motions.
2. Parties should submit a proposed order with any stipulated, joint, or
unopposed motion.
3. Motions with separately filed briefs or memoranda in support are
discouraged. I prefer the motion itself and all supporting arguments to be
contained within a single document. In no event, however, will a separate
motion and brief in support thereof be accepted unless they are filed
contemporaneously.
4. Exhibits to a motion, response, or reply (when permitted pursuant to RMR
Criminal Practice Standard III.D.2) must be filed on the same calendar day
as the motion, response, or reply. Exhibits filed on a later day may be
summarily stricken. Where a motion is supported by exhibits, said motion
shall be accompanied by one consecutively numbered appendix,
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containing all exhibits and shall be referenced in the motion, response,
and reply by appendix page number and name, e.g., (Movant’s Appx., p.
30 – Smith Affidavit). Refer to Uniform Civil Practice Standards 7.1(a)(3).
5. If parties file what they deem to be an “emergency” motion, they should
also email chambers at
[email protected] at the time
the motion is filed.
B. Ends of Justice Continuances of Hearings and Trials.
1. All motions for an ends of justice continuance must:
a. Specify the number of days remaining on the speedy trial clock and
the date the requesting party believes the speedy trial clock expires;
b. Specify the number of days the party is seeking to exclude;
c. Identify which parties join in the motion and which parties object to
the motion.
d. If the ends of justice continuance is unopposed/joined by all
defendants each defendant shall sign the motion.
2. Any party who objects to the granting of an ends of justice continuance
must file their objection within 7 days of the filing of the motion.
C. Page Limitations
1. All motions, objections, responses, and briefs shall not exceed fifteen
pages. Replies (when permitted pursuant to RMR Criminal Practice
Standard III.D.2) shall not exceed ten pages. Motions and briefs shall be
combined and will be considered one paper for purposes of computing
page limitations. These page limitations include the statement of facts,
procedural history, argument, authority, closing, signature block, and all
other matters, except the certificate of service. The body of the text and all
footnotes shall be no smaller than 12-point type.
2. Motions to exceed the page limitations set forth in these Practice
Standards will be granted only upon a showing of good cause. Any such
motion shall indicate the number of pages of the proposed document and
the reason why the additional pages are necessary.
D. Responses and Replies
1. A response shall clearly and completely identify by title, court CM/ECF
docket number, and date filed the antecedent motion or petition to which
response is made.
2. No replies shall be allowed unless specifically granted by the Court. If
permitted, a reply shall clearly and completely identify by title, court
CM/ECF docket number, and date filed the antecedent response to which
reply is made.
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3.
E. Trial Briefs
Trial briefs are encouraged, but not required absent specific court order. If
filed, trial briefs shall not exceed ten pages and shall be filed not later than
seven days before trial. Please flag evidentiary issues in a trial brief rather
than by motion in limine. A trial brief may not be used as a substitute for a
motion.
IV. TRIALS
A. Trial Preparation Conference/ Change of Plea Hearing
1. The court will set a date for either the Trial Preparation Conference or a
change of plea hearing approximately two weeks before trial. Counsel who
will try the case must attend.
2. Not later than one week prior to the Trial Preparation Conference, the
parties shall submit, via CM/ECF, the following:
a. Witness List. It should include the proposed order of witnesses, the
anticipated length of testimony, including cross examination, and the
expertise of any testifying experts. The parties shall also advise the
Court whether any witnesses will appear by video.
b. Exhibit List.
c. Deposition Designations/Objections. If any party objects to any
deposition designations, the parties shall jointly file with the court a single
marked-up transcript of their respectively designated deposition
testimony. Government’s designations shall be highlighted in yellow and
Defendant’s designations shall be highlighted in blue. The parties shall
also file a chart identifying the designation by page and line number and
any objections to that designation. Objections must state the rule and a
short statement of the basis for the objection
d. Proposed Jury Instructions. To the maximum extent possible, the
parties shall agree on one stipulated set of proposed jury instructions;
only true conflict or uncertainty in binding substantive law should prevent
such agreement.
i. Whenever practicable and appropriate, the parties shall use or
adapt for use the Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions prepared by
the Criminal Pattern Jury Instruction Committee of the United
States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. The pattern
instructions and updates may be found online at
(https://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/).
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ii. To the extent that counsel are unable to agree on proposed
instructions, they are to jointly submit a document identifying all
disputed instructions, with a brief statement of dispute and each
side’s proposed language.
e. Proposed Verdict Forms.
f. Proposed Voir Dire. Proposed voir dire should only include questions
counsel would like the Court to ask. The Court has stock questions it will
ask. The parties may obtain a copy of the Court’s stock questions from Ms.
Myhaver.
B. Trial Practice and Procedure
1. Counsel and pro se parties shall be present on the first day of trial at 8:30
a.m. Jury selection will begin at 9:00 a.m. Commencing the second day of
trial, the normal trial day will begin at 8:00 a.m. and continue until 3:00
p.m. The trial day will have a morning recess of approximately fifteen
minutes and a lunch break of approximately thirty minutes.
2. Unless otherwise ordered, each side shall be permitted voir dire
examination of fifteen minutes after voir dire examination by the Court.
V. PLEA AGREEMENTS
A. Treatment of Notice of Disposition
1. Any notice of disposition filed pursuant to D.C.COLO.LCrR 11.1A shall be
considered to be a pretrial motion within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. §
3161(h)(1)(D) for the purpose of computing time under the Speedy Trial Act
of 1974, 18 U.S.C. §§ 3161-74.
B. Plea Agreement Content Restriction
1. No plea agreement shall identify whether a defendant has agreed to
cooperate with the United States or other jurisdiction with respect to the
investigation or prosecution of others.
2. Consequently, no plea agreement shall contain any reference to any
cooperation agreement between the defendant and the government, to any
potential for a motion under 5K.1.1 of the United States Sentencing
Guidelines (“U.S.S.G.”), or to any other statutory or guideline calculation or
adjustment predicated on such cooperation.
C. Change of Plea Haring
1. The order setting the trial and pretrial dates also sets the change of plea
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hearing date on the same day as the Trial Preparation Conference. If a
notice of disposition is filed, the Change of Plea hearing will be held on the
date already scheduled for the trial preparation conference (in lieu of the
trial preparation conference).
2. The AUSA who negotiated the plea agreement and defense counsel who
reviewed the plea agreement with the defendant must be present in person
at the Change of Plea hearing.
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