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About the Judges
Richard Lazzara
Senior District Judge
Commission Date:
September 29, 1997
Division:
Tampa
Chambers:
17
Chambers Phone:
(813) 301-5350
Courtroom:
17
Judge Initials:
RAL
Judge Lazzara is currently not in the automatic case draw for civil and criminal cases. Cases assigned to Judge Lazzara are by transfer from other
judges
of the Court or by specific assignment with his consent. He no longer has
law clerks
or a judicial assistant. His courtroom deputy clerk, Kristin Carreon, may be reached at
(813) 301-5697
to provide further information.
Chambers Email:
[email protected]
Courtroom Deputy Clerk
Kristin Carreon
(813) 301-5697
Judge Tabs
Biography
Federal Judicial Service
District Judge, United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
Nominated by William Clinton on January 7, 1997, to a seat vacated by Judge John Moore.
Confirmed by the Senate on September 26, 1997, and received commission on September 29, 1997.
Assumed senior status on December 17, 2011.
Education
Loyola University New Orleans, B.A., 1967
University of Florida Levin College of Law, J.D., 1970
Professional Career
Law Clerk, Hillsborough County Solicitor's Office, 1970
Assistant County Solicitor, Hillsborough County, Florida, 1970
–
1972
Assistant State Attorney, Hillsborough County, Florida, 1973
Private Practice, Tampa, Florida, 1974
–
1986
Judge, Hillsborough County Court, Florida, 1987
Judge, Circuit Court of Florida, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, 1988
–
1993
Judge, Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District, 1993
–
1997
Forms
Civil Disclosure Statement – LR 3.03 and FRCP 7.1 (DOC)
Criminal Disclosure Statement – FRCrP 12.4 (DOC)
Uniform Case Management Report (DOC)
Bill of Costs (PDF)
Exhibit Labels and List (DOC)
Exhibit Labels and List (PDF)
Preferences
Civil
Case Management Report
In calculating deadlines for the report, keep in mind the court's goal is to try Track Two cases within two years and Track Three cases within three years. The court schedules pretrial conferences one month before the trial month. The motion-filing deadline should be two months before the pretrial conference date. The
discovery
deadline should be one month before the motion-filing deadline. The deadline to add parties or amend pleadings should be at least three months before the discovery deadline.
Download a blank case management report
as needed.
Civil Status Conferences
Judge Lazzara routinely holds status conferences on all civil cases scheduled for trial. This conference is separate from the pretrial conference scheduled before the
magistrate judge
and is generally scheduled at 9:30 a.m. on the second Thursday of the month preceding the scheduled trial term.
Consent to Proceed Before a Magistrate Judge
Should the parties in any civil case consent to proceed before the
magistrate judge
, all parties must sign and submit the
Notice, Consent, and Reference of a Civil Action to a Magistrate Judge (AO 85)
.
Jury Trials
Parties are provided a one-month trial calendar about two to three weeks before their trial month. The court generally will try cases in the order they are listed on the calendar, with criminal cases taking precedence. Counsel may contact the
lawyers
on the cases preceding theirs or consult with the courtroom deputy as to their position on the calendar.
Parties must file trial briefs, proposed voir dire questions, proposed jury instructions, and any special verdict forms five days before the trial term. Parties should provide special jury instructions and verdict forms should on a disk in WordPerfect 11 format (.wpd) or any earlier version.
On the date each trial begins, each party must give the courtroom deputy clerk the original and two copies of their respective exhibit and witness lists. All exhibits must be appropriately marked.
Exhibit instructions, lists, and tags
are available under the Forms tab.
Motion Practice
The court sometimes refers
discovery
matters to the assigned
magistrate judge
for disposition. Judge Lazzara disfavors motions in limine, which raise evidentiary issues more appropriately raised at trial.
Judge Lazzara does not routinely provide oral argument on dispositive motions.
Pretrial Conferences
The court refers all cases to the assigned
magistrate judge
to conduct the pretrial conference.
Proposed Orders
Parties should
email
proposed orders on substantive motions and should not docket them with the motion on
CM/ECF
.
Settlement
The court refers all cases to mediation four to six months before the trial term.
Criminal
Change of Plea
Judge Lazzara generally handles his own changes of plea. Call Courtroom Deputy Clerk Kristin Carreon at
(813) 301-5697
to schedule the change of plea. Pleas should be entered at least five days before the scheduled trial term.
Discovery
The court sometimes refers discovery matters to the assigned
magistrate judge
.
Jury Trials
Parties are provided a one-month trial calendar about two to three weeks before their trial month. The court generally will try cases in the order they are listed on the calendar, with criminal cases taking precedence. Counsel may contact the
lawyers
on the cases preceding theirs or consult with the courtroom deputy as to their position on the calendar.
Parties must file trial briefs, proposed voir dire questions, proposed jury instructions, and any special verdict forms five days before the trial term. Parties should provide special jury instructions and verdict forms on a disk in WordPerfect 11 format (.wpd) or any earlier version.
On the date each trial begins, each party must give the courtroom deputy the original and two copies of their respective exhibit and witness lists. All exhibits must be appropriately marked.
Exhibit instructions, lists, and tags
are available under the Forms tab above.
Motions to Continue
Any motions to continue sentencings, revocations hearings, or trials should contain the following information:
When was the matter originally scheduled in Judge Lazzara’s court?
When was the matter in conflict scheduled?
If the conflict is another court appearance, is the other matter civil or criminal?
Which case is oldest?
When did the conflict arise?
The court encourages counsel to file notices of unavailability when planning continuing legal education, seminars, and personal leave.
Proposed Orders
Parties should
email
proposed orders on substantive motions and should not docket them with the motion on
CM/ECF
.
Sentencing
Judge Lazzara schedules sentencing 70 to 90 days following the entry of the plea. Sentencings are set on Fridays at 9:00 a.m. Counsel and/or probation should
notify chambers
if sentencing is expected to exceed 30 minutes.
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