THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
ATLANTA DIVISION
IN RE
CRIMINAL CASES ASSIGNED TO
JUDGE VICTORIA M. CALVERT
STANDING ORDER:
GUIDELINES TO PARTIES AND
COUNSEL IN CRIMINAL CASES PROCEEDING BEFORE
THE HONORABLE VICTORIA M. CALVERT
This case has been assigned to Judge Victoria M. Calvert. These guidelines
are provided to inform the parties of the Court’s policies and procedures in
criminal cases. This order, in combination with the Local Rules of this Court and
the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, shall govern this case.
Table of Contents
I. CASE ADMINISTRATION ............................................................................................... 3
a. Contacting Chambers ................................................................................................... 3
b. Attorneys ........................................................................................................................ 3
i. Admission of Counsel Pro Hac Vice .................................................................... 3
ii. Electronic Registration for All Counsel ............................................................... 4
iii. Leaves of Absence ................................................................................................... 4
iv. Withdrawal or Substitution of Counsel ............................................................... 4
II. PROCEDURES AFTER CASE IS CERTIFIED READY FOR TRIAL ............................ 5
a. Scheduling ...................................................................................................................... 5
b. Continuances ................................................................................................................. 5
c. Sealing and Redacting Documents ............................................................................. 6
d. Change of Plea Hearings.............................................................................................. 6
e. Sentencings .................................................................................................................... 7
f. Courtroom Technology ................................................................................................ 8
III. TRIAL ................................................................................................................................... 9
a. Pretrial Conference and Motions in Limine .............................................................. 9
b. Voir Dire ....................................................................................................................... 10
c. Exhibits and Witness Lists ......................................................................................... 12
d. Jury Charges ................................................................................................................ 12
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I. CASE ADMINISTRATION
a. Contacting Chambers
Velma Shanks, Courtroom Deputy Clerk, is your principal point of contact
on matters related to this case. Where possible, communications with Ms. Shanks
should be via email (
[email protected]). Her telephone number
is 404-215-1394. Please note that Ms. Shanks is often in the courtroom, so telephone
messages may not be returned for 24 hours. Any mail, couriered, or hand-
delivered communications should be addressed as follows:
Velma Shanks
Courtroom Deputy Clerk
2125 United States Courthouse
75 Ted Turner Drive, SW
Atlanta, GA 30303-3309
If necessary, counsel or parties may also contact Chambers by telephone (404-215-
1390).
As a professional courtesy, counsel should contact Ms. Shanks or call
Chambers if running late for a Court hearing.
b. Attorneys
i. Admission of Counsel Pro Hac Vice
In the event that lead counsel had been admitted pro hac vice, local counsel
is required to be familiar with the case, and may be called upon to attend hearings
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or participate in conferences on behalf of the lead counsel. Local counsel will not
be allowed to withdraw unless another local counsel has entered an appearance.
ii. Electronic Registration for All Counsel
All counsel — including counsel admitted pro hac vice — must register and
participate in the Court’s electronic filing system, CM/ECF. (See this Court’s
Standing Order No. 04-01).
iii. Leaves of Absence
Counsel are encouraged to review their calendars and submit as early as
possible any requests for leave of absence. Leave requests shall comply with Civil
Local Rule 83.1, NDGa. All requests for, or notices of leaves of absence, must be
electronically filed. Counsel should not mail or hand-deliver paper copies to
chambers.
iv. Withdrawal or Substitution of Counsel
It is counsel’s responsibility to keep the Court informed of any change of its
status. Counsel should comply with Civil Local Rule 83.1, NDGa., when
substituting or withdrawing as counsel. Specifically, counsel should not file a
motion when a notice of withdrawal would suffice. See Civil LR 83.1(E)(4), NDGa.
Counsel who do not comply with Civil Local Rule 83.1 will not be allowed to
withdraw from the case until compliance is achieved. It is also possible that
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counsel will not be allowed to withdraw depending on the status of the case and
the particular reason for withdrawal.
II. PROCEDURES AFTER CASE IS CERTIFIED READY FOR TRIAL
a. Scheduling
After all defendants are certified ready for trial, the Court will schedule a
trial to occur within the time frame allotted by the Speedy Trial Act. See 18 U.S.C.
§ 3161. The Court will schedule the trial irrespective of any leaves of absences in
order to comply with the Speedy Trial Act. If the parties anticipate the case being
resolved with a plea hearing but need additional time, they are encouraged to
inform Ms. Shanks as soon as possible and the Court will enter an order to delay
the trial being scheduled. Alternatively, if the parties expect to go to trial but need
more time to prepare than the Speedy Trial Act allows, they are encouraged to
reach out to Ms. Shanks about specially setting the trial.
b. Continuances
If a trial has been scheduled, the party requesting a continuance should file
a motion at least one week prior to trial (absent unforeseen circumstances). That
motion should indicate whether the motion is joint, unopposed or with consent,
or opposed. The motion should also state the length of the requested continuance.
A proposed order should be filed along with the motion via CM/ECF. The motion
and proposed order should address the factors related to exclusion of time under
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the Speedy Trial Act. See 18 U.S.C. § 3161.
Absent unforeseen circumstances, requests for a continuance of a plea or
sentencing hearing should be made at least one week in advance. Requests that
are joint, unopposed, or with consent can be made via email to Ms. Shanks rather
than by formal motion.
c. Sealing and Redacting Documents
The parties are reminded of their obligation to omit or redact sensitive
information, such as full names of minor individuals, dates of birth, financial
account numbers, and home addresses. (See this Court’s Standing Order No. 04-
02).
A motion to seal must be filed (or orally made) to seal a document. If only a
portion of the document discusses sensitive information, the party must also file a
redacted version of the document as a separate filing contemporaneously with the
motion to seal. The parties are also reminded of their obligation to request that
transcripts be sealed when sensitive information is discussed in open court.
d. Change of Plea Hearings
Plea agreements must be emailed to Ms. Shanks at least three business days
prior to the change of plea hearing. If the parties are requesting that the Court
arraign the defendant on an information, the information should also be emailed
to Ms. Shanks.
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The Court does not have a policy against binding plea agreements.
However, the Court may need to obtain additional information from counsel or
review the presentence report before accepting a binding plea agreement.
If a defendant is pleading guilty to an offense that typically requires
mandatory bond revocation at the time of the plea, counsel for the Government
should alert defense counsel to this issue prior to the plea hearing. If there is a
dispute about this, the parties are directed to alert Ms. Shanks at least one day
before the plea hearing and should be prepared to address this issue at the change
of plea hearing.
e. Sentencings
To avoid a delay in sentencing, all objections to the Presentence
Investigation Report (PSR) must be sent to the probation officer in advance of
sentencing. See Fed. R. Crim. Pro. 32(f)(1).
The Court does not require sentencing memoranda, but strongly encourages
them when there are novel or technical legal arguments, or requests for a variance.
Sentencing memoranda should be filed at least three business days prior to the
sentencing hearing. Any responses should be filed at least one business day prior
to the sentencing hearing. Notwithstanding these deadlines, an extremely lengthy
sentencing memorandum (or voluminous exhibits) may lead to a continuance of
the sentencing hearing.
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Counsel are expected to be familiar with the Standard Conditions of
Supervision adopted by the Court as the Court will not read them individually at
the sentencing hearing. See https://www.gand.uscourts.gov/prisoner-forms. The
Court will read any special conditions of supervision it imposes at the sentencing
hearing. Any objections to the standard or special conditions should be raised at
the sentencing hearing.
f. Extensions of Voluntary Surrender Date
Any motions seeking an extension of the voluntary surrender date should
be made at least one week prior to the voluntary surrender date and note the
Government’s position on the motion. A proposed order should also be included.
g. Courtroom Technology
The courtroom has various electronic equipment for use by counsel at a
hearing or trial. For more information on the equipment, or to schedule an
opportunity to test the equipment, please contact Ms. Shanks. It is the parties’
responsibility to make sure they know how to use the equipment available, to have
the cables necessary to hook up their equipment, and to ensure that their
equipment will interface with the Court’s technology.
Any party or counsel without a blue attorney ID card issued through the
U.S. Marshals Service who would like to bring electronic equipment into the
courthouse, such as a laptop computer or cellphone with a camera, must file a
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proposed order in the case allowing the same. The proposed order should identify
the electronic equipment, specify the date(s) of the hearing or trial to which the
party or counsel desires to bring the equipment, and identify the courtroom to
which the equipment will be brought. This should be done not less than three
business days prior to the hearing or trial, to allow for proper notification to the
U.S. Marshals Service.
III. TRIAL
a. Pretrial Conference and Motions in Limine
The Court will normally conduct a final pretrial conference two weeks prior
to trial to discuss voir dire, motions in limine, and any other concerns the parties
have. However, if needed, the parties can request an earlier conference with the
Court to resolve discrete issues that are impacting counsel’s preparation for trial.
The defendant is required to appear at the pretrial conference unless a written and
signed waiver is filed on the docket three days prior to the pretrial conference. In
certain circumstances, the Court may require the defendant’s appearance even if a
waiver is filed.
Unless otherwise directed, motions in limine shall be filed at least 14 days
before the pretrial conference. Briefs in opposition to motions in limine should be
filed at least one week before the pretrial conference. The motions in limine and
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responses shall take the form of a consolidated pleading no longer than 25 pages
in length.
Pursuant to Rule 404(b), the Government must provide written notice of any
evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts that it intends to offer at trial and to
articulate the permitted purpose for which it it intends to offer the evidence and
the reasoning that supports the purpose. The Government should provide Rule
404(b) evidence to the defense as soon as practicable after the Government
determines it will use this evidence, subject to the following deadlines: if the Rule
404(b) evidence pertains to acts or conduct that allegedly occured within the
Northern District of Georgia, notice shall be provided no later than 14 days before
trial. If the alleged acts occurred outside the Northern District of Georgia, notice
shall be provided no later than 21 days before trial. In the event that the
Government provides notice to the defense on the deadline to file motions in
limine, the defense should file its opposition no later than seven days after
receiving notice. The Government’s notice and defense’s response in opposition
should be no longer than 15 pages.
b. Voir Dire
The parties must file their proposed voir dire questions at least seven (7)
days before the pretrial conference for approval by the Court. If appropriate, the
Government should also file a summary of the indictment that will be read to the
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panel during voir dire. Parties should be prepared to discuss any objections to
opposing counsel’s voir dire questions or the Government’s summary of the
indictment at the pretrial conference. As explained below, counsel can participate
in voir dire; therefore there is no need to file a motion to participate in voir dire.
At trial, the Court will ask the panel certain qualifying questions and then
the prospective jurors will individually answer the general background questions.
(See https://www.gand.uscourts.gov/DJdir/VMC). The Court will then permit
the attorneys to ask the voir dire questions it has approved. After all of the
prospective jurors have been questioned, the Court will hear any strikes for cause
and then let the parties know which jurors remain for peremptory challenges. The
parties will then be given a 15-minute break to review their notes. After the break
Ms. Shanks will pass a piece of paper between the parties until both sides have
exercised their peremptory challenges. See Fed. R. Crim. Pro. 24. The Court will
then hear motions or challenges to the jury selected before Ms. Shanks seats and
swears in the selected jurors.
Twelve jurors will be selected, along with two alternate jurors who will not
deliberate unless replacing a juror. If the parties believe additional alternate jurors
should be selected, they must make a request before jury selection begins.
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c. Exhibits and Witness Lists
The parties shall separately number each of their exhibits as to which a
separate foundation must be laid. Exhibits should be numbered sequentially (e.g.,
P-1, P-2, etc.); do not use, e.g., P-1a, P-1b, etc. for a group of exhibits. Exhibits must
be examined and marked before trial in compliance with Civil Local Rule
16.4(B)(19)(b), (e), NDGa. On the first day of trial, Government counsel should
deliver to Ms. Shanks a tabbed, indexed three-ringed binder with the marked trial
exhibits for the Court’s use during trial. Defense counsel should also provide its
documents to Ms. Shanks no later than at the time the documents are moved into
admission. Counsel should have copies of its exhibits for opposing counsel and
any witnesses. The exhibits that are used with witnesses will be provided to the
jury during deliberations.
The parties should also provide witness lists to the Court, Ms. Shanks, and
the court reporter prior to their witnesses being called.
d. Jury Charges
Proposed jury instructions must be filed and emailed to Ms. Shanks in
Microsoft Word no later than the Friday before trial begins. Each instruction must
be on a separate page and note if it is a pattern instruction. If it is not a pattern
instruction, the party should include a citation to legal authority that supports the
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instruction. Any requested differences from the Eleventh Circuit Pattern Jury
Instructions must be clearly identified.
The Court will give the parties a draft of its proposed instructions at least
one day before the charge conference. Counsel are expected to have reviewed the
Court’s draft before the charge conference.
The Court will charge the jury before closing arguments.
20th
So Order this ___________ day of March, 2026
_______________________________________
VICTORIA MARIE CALVERT
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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