UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v. CASE NO: 8:
FINAL CRIMINAL PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER
The Court enters this Final Criminal Pretrial Scheduling Order for the
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above-captioned case:
1. Trial. The jury trial will start on ________ at 9:00 AM in
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Courtroom 9B of the United States Courthouse and Federal Building in
Tampa, Florida. All counsel and the Defendant(s) must be present at
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8:30 AM to discuss any final pretrial matters.
2. Stipulations. The parties must make every reasonable effort to
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(a) stipulate to as many trial-related matters as possible, including joint
proposed jury instructions, joint exhibit lists, stipulations as to the
admissibility of evidence; and (b) limit, narrow, and simplify the issues of fact
and law that remain contested for trial.
3. Conferral of the Parties. As required by the Local Rules, all
motions shall be accompanied by a written statement certifying that counsel
for the moving party has conferred with opposing counsel in a good faith effort
to resolve by agreement the subject matter of the motion. E-mail
communications shall not be sufficient to constitute conferral. Counsel must
actually speak to one another, either in person or over the phone, in a good
faith effort to resolve their disputes prior to the filing of any motion.
4. Final Pretrial Conference. The Court will notify the parties if
a Final Pretrial Conference will be held prior to the first day of trial. The Court
typically addresses any pre-trial matters via written motion/joint stipulation
at 8:30 AM on the first day of trial before the commencement of jury selection
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or trial. If there is a procedural or sensitive matter requiring the Court’s
attention, please contact the undersigned’s Courtroom Deputy Clerk, Bettye
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Samuel, at 813-301-5136 or via email.
5. Jury Instructions and Verdict Form(s). The Court requires
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that counsel confer and file joint proposed jury instructions and verdict form(s).
This does not mean that the parties necessarily agree on each proposed
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instruction. Where parties do not agree on a proposed instruction, that
instruction shall be outlined in bold type. Any instruction proposed only
by the Government shall be underlined. Instructions proposed only by the
defense shall be italicized. A citation to authority must support every
instruction. They shall be filed via CM/ECF seven (7) calendar days from the
commencement of trial. Additionally, counsel shall email the joint instructions
and verdict forms in Microsoft Word® (.doc) format to Judge Badalamenti’s
Chambers' inbox and to Courtroom Deputy Bettye Samuel. Please include the
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case number and case name in the email subject line. The proposed jury
instructions shall be based on the United States Court of Appeals for the
Eleventh Circuit’s Pattern Jury Instructions. If a pattern instruction is not
available for a certain type of instruction, counsel must submit a proposed
instruction, citing to case law that supports the requested non-pattern
instruction.
Any party unable to comply with this requirement must immediately
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contact Courtroom Deputy Clerk Bettye Samuel at 813-301-5859 or email to
make other arrangements. PL
6. Federal Rule Criminal Procedure 404(b) Evidence. Any
notice submitted pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b) must include a
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specific factual basis for the evidence sought to be introduced.
7. All Other Motions, Including Motions In Limine. No later
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than fourteen (14) calendar days prior to the commencement of trial, counsel
for each party must file and serve all other motions, including motions in
limine. Each party shall be limited to the filing of one (1) motion in limine,
and if there is more than one defendant, the defendants shall file one (1)
combined motion in limine. Motions in limine may not, without leave of the
Court, exceed the page limits allowed by the Local Rules. The non-moving
party's response(s) to any motion are due within seven (7) calendar days
after being served with such motion. Again, the moving party shall confer
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with opposing counsel in an attempt to resolve disputed matters prior
to filing the motion(s). And should the parties amicably resolve the subject
of a pending motion in limine, the parties shall promptly notify the Court that
the motion in limine has been resolved.
8. Writs ad Testificandum. All requests for writs ad testificandum
must be filed no later than fourteen (14) business days prior to the
commencement of trial.
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9. Voir Dire Questions. Five (5) calendar days prior to the
commencement of a jury trial, counsel for each party must file and serve
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proposed voir dire questions specific to the case. No more than five (5)
questions, including all subparts, may be submitted by each party. The Court
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will conduct voir dire, giving due consideration to the parties’ proposed case-
specific questions. The Court may, in its discretion, provide the parties an
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opportunity to ask follow-up questions. Thus, the parties must be prepared to
conduct limited voir dire should the Court provide such leave during jury
selection. Counsel must also email any proposed voir dire questions in
Microsoft Word® format to the Chambers' inbox and cc the same to Courtroom
Deputy Bettye Samuel. Please include the case number and case name in the
email subject line. Any party unable to comply with this requirement must
contact Courtroom Deputy Bettye Samuel to make other arrangements.
Additionally, the Court does not permit backstriking.
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10. Witness Lists. No later than seven (7) business days prior to
commencement of trial, each party must send a confidential email attaching a
list of witnesses who may be called at trial – for the Court’s use only – to
Chambers’ inbox and to Courtroom Deputy Bettye Samuel. No later than three
(3) business days prior to the commencement of trial, counsel must file in
CM/ECF and exchange their final witness lists. Counsel must use the
Criminal Witness List form found on the undersigned’s website. When
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completing the required Witness List form, counsel may ignore the column
titled, “Date(s) Testified,” as that column is reserved for the Court. Absent
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good cause, the Court may not permit the testimony of unlisted witnesses at
trial over objection. This restriction does not apply to true rebuttal witnesses,
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i.e., witnesses whose testimony could not have been reasonably foreseen as
necessary. Three copies of those lists shall be provided to the Courtroom
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Deputy Clerk prior to jury selection on the first day of trial.
11. Exhibit Lists. No later than seven (7) business days prior to the
commencement of trial, counsel for each party must file and exchange a list of
exhibits that may be introduced at trial. Counsel must use the Exhibit List
form found on the undersigned's website. In completing the Exhibit List form,
counsel must provide a descriptive notation sufficient to identify each exhibit.
In addition, no later than three (3) days prior to the commencement of trial,
counsel must email their respective exhibit lists in Microsoft Word® format to
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the Chambers' inbox and Courtroom Deputy Bettye Samuel. Please include
the case number and case name in the email subject line. Any party unable to
comply with this requirement must contact the Courtroom Deputy Clerk,
Bettye Samuel, at 813-301-5136 or via email to make other arrangements.
Three copies of those lists shall be provided to the Courtroom Deputy Clerk
prior to jury selection on the first day of trial. Counsel are directed not to file
amended exhibit lists throughout the trial.
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To avoid duplicate exhibits and confusion in the record, counsel must
submit all stipulated exhibits as joint exhibits. Counsel must identify joint
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exhibits on a single exhibit list rather than separately list the joint exhibits on
their individual exhibit lists. For example, if a photograph or medical record
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is being stipulated into evidence, it should be marked as a joint exhibit and not
listed separately on both (all) parties' witness lists. Each party's individual
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exhibit list should include only additional exhibits to which objections have
been asserted.
12. Marking Exhibits. In advance of trial, counsel for each party
must mark exhibits using the exhibit tags found on the undersigned's website.
Counsel must staple the appropriate-colored, party-specific exhibit tag to the
upper-right corner of the first page. In completing the exhibit tags, the
Government and Defendant(s) must use consecutive numbers to mark
exhibits. For example:
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Type of Exhibit Examples and Instructions
Government Gov. 1, Gov. 2, Gov. 3, etc.
Defendant Def. 1, Def. 2, Def. 3, etc.
Multiple Number exhibits in the same order as the defendant's
Defendants name appears on the indictment: D-1 Ex. 1, D-2 Ex. 1,
etc.
Joint Exhibits Joint 1, Joint 2, Joint 3, etc.
Composite Mark each exhibit in the And, identify each exhibit
Exhibits composite separately in the composite on a
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using a number and lower separate line in the exhibit
case letter, e.g., Gov. 1a, list.
Gov. 1b, Gov. 1c, etc.
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Please direct questions regarding the exhibit lists and the exhibit tags to
Courtroom Deputy Bettye Samuel, at 813-301-5136 or via email.
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13. Witness Availability. Unless otherwise approved by the Court,
all witnesses shall be available for all days of the trial. Furthermore, the Court
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may, in the interests of judicial economy and limited resources, request the
parties to call witnesses out of order. Please direct questions regarding witness
availability to Courtroom Deputy Bettye Samuel, at 813-301-5136 or via email.
14. Electronic Exhibit Binder. No later than one (1) business day
before the commencement of trial, counsel for each party must provide the
undersigned an electronic exhibit binder that contains all individual exhibits
and joint exhibits each party intends to introduce at trial. The electronic
exhibit binder is for the undersigned's use only and replaces a hardcopy exhibit
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binder traditionally submitted to the Court. Because the electronic exhibit
binder is for the undersigned to use during a trial or hearing, counsel must still
bring paper copies of all individual and joint exhibits that may be introduced
at trial for the Courtroom Deputy Clerk.
Each separate exhibit must be saved as a PDF document and then
combined with the other exhibits into a single PDF file. The single PDF file is
the electronic exhibit binder. Within the single PDF file, counsel must identify
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each exhibit separately using PDF bookmarks. 1 When possible, counsel should
scan an exhibit for the electronic exhibit binder with Optical Character
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Recognition (OCR). See "Electronic Case Filing Requirements" on the
undersigned's website.
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The electronic exhibit binder must be emailed to the Chambers' inbox
and to Courtroom Deputy Bettye Samuel. Include the case number and case
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name in the email subject line. If the file containing the electronic exhibit
binder is too large to email, counsel should provide the Court with a USB drive.
15. Courtroom Technology. The Court mandates that counsel use
the technology and equipment available in the courtroom and expects counsel
1 If an exhibit is physical evidence (e.g., drugs, ammunition, firearm), counsel should insert
a placeholder exhibit that states, "Exhibit [Number] is [description of exhibit]." If an
exhibit contains child pornographic images, counsel should either (a) provide a redacted
version of the exhibit, or (b) insert a placeholder exhibit that states, "Exhibit [Number]
contains child pornographic images."
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to be familiar with them prior to any trial or hearing. At least seven (7)
business days prior to the commencement of trial, Counsel should contact
Courtroom Deputy Bettye Samuel at 813-301-5136 or via email to arrange a
time for the parties to familiarize themselves with the Court’s electronic
equipment and perform any testing and/or be trained on the equipment well in
advance of trial. Failure to do so may result in the equipment not being
available for use.
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16. Defendants in Custody. Arrangements for appropriate clothing
for Defendant(s) in custody must be made with the U.S. Marshal’s Office no
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later than seven (7) days prior to the scheduled trial date.
17. Sanctions. A party that does not comply with the preceding
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paragraphs may be subject to sanctions, including, but not limited to, the
preclusion of exhibits and witnesses at trial.
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DONE AND ORDERED in Tampa, Florida on _______________.
Copies: All Parties of Record
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