Standing Order Governing Criminal Pretrial & Trial Procedures
This Standing Order applies to all criminal pretrial and trial procedures. The
purpose of these requirements is to promote a fair and expeditious trial. The Court
will set a deadline for the filing of the pretrial filings described below.
A proposed pretrial order must be filed electronically on the docket using
CM/ECF (no need for courtesy copies). To file it, select the appropriate CM/ECF
event, “Other Filings” and then “Other Documents,” and choose the Proposed
Pretrial Order event. Also email it to
[email protected] in
Microsoft Word format.
1. Joint Pretrial Statement. The parties should agree on a Joint Pretrial
Statement with the following items:
a. Case Statement. The parties shall confer and provide a concise
agreed statement of the case to be read by the Court to the jury pool during
jury selection. This is a neutral description of the case, with just enough
information to introduce the case to the jury and to ask potential jurors
whether they happen to know anything about the case. After reading the
case statement, Judge Jenkins also ordinarily reads the third paragraph of
Pattern Instruction 1.02: “The indictment is simply the formal way of telling
the defendant what crimes he is accused of committing. It is not evidence
that the defendant is guilty. It does not even raise a suspicion of guilt.”
b. Trial Length / Number of Jurors. State the estimated number of
trial days, including jury selection and deliberations, premised on six-hour
trial-testimony days (the six hours already accounts for lunch and breaks).
Provided estimated sub-totals for the government’s case and the defense
case (if any is anticipated). Propose time limits for opening statements and
closing arguments, per side. Propose the number of alternate jurors.
c. Voir Dire Questions. Attached to this Standing Order is the juror
letter with standard background questions that the Court asks prospective
jurors during voir dire (the background letter is provided to the jurors when
they are in the Jury Department room). For additional questions, the parties
must file a list divided into (a) agreed-upon questions and (b) proposed
questions to which there is an objection. A short basis for any objection must
accompany the list. Each side is limited to 15 proposed disputed
questions, unless a motion is filed before the pretrial conference that
explains good cause for proposing more than the limit. Each side shall
provide the other with proposed voir dire questions 5 business days before the
due date of the Joint Pretrial Statement, and confer by 2 business days before
the due date in order to generate this section of the Statement.
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d. Stipulations and Uncontested Facts. In numbered paragraphs,
set forth any stipulations and uncontested facts. No later than 5 business
days before the pretrial conference, the parties must serve on each other
proposed stipulations. No later than 2 business days before the due date, the
parties must confer in good faith to arrive at as many stipulations and uncontested facts
as possible.
2. Witness Description Lists. Each party provide a list of witnesses,
including expert witnesses, divided into (a) witnesses who will be called; and (b)
witnesses who might be called. For each witness, provide a very concise (one or two
sentences) description of the witness and the witness’s role in the case. For example:
“Martha Washington is the case agent for the case. She also participated in
executing the search warrant.” Or: “George Washington is XYZ Corporation’s Chief
Operating Officer. He questioned the defendant about the allegedly fraudulent
accounting entries.” The names of witnesses on the lists will be read to the jury
during jury selection to ensure that potential jurors do not personally know any
witnesses.
3. Exhibit Lists and Proposed Exhibits at Pretrial Stage. The parties must
jointly submit an exhibit list that includes the Government’s exhibits and each
Defendant(s) exhibits using the template uploaded to the Court’s webpage. The
template requires the parties to provide the following information: (a) the exhibit
number; (b) the date of the document or exhibit, if applicable; (c) a concise, neutral
description of the exhibit; (d) a concise statement of the exhibit’s relevance; and (e)
whether there is an objection to the exhibit’s admission, and if so, a concise
explanation of the objection and the proponent’s theory of admissibility. The concise
explanation of objection and theory of admissibility must be complete (i.e., list each
distinct basis for admission or exclusion, such as Rules of Evidence or court
opinions) but need not be as exhaustive as a brief would be. If additional argument
on an issue will benefit the Court, it will ask the parties to brief the issue or address
it at the final pretrial conference. Grounds not listed may be waived, except for
foundation and authentication. Unless the parties stipulate to the admissibility
of an exhibit, the proponent must be prepared to properly lay foundation and
authenticate the document at trial. The parties shall, however, make a good faith
effort to stipulate to the authenticity of exhibits to the extent reasonable. In
addition to substantive exhibits and Rule 1006 summary exhibits, the list should
also include proposed demonstrative exhibits and any exhibits that are likely to be
referred to at trial even though not allowed into evidence.
No. Date Description Relevance Objection
1 02/02/23 2023 Performance Proves record of R. 402 relevance; R.
Review satisfactory job 403 confusion.
performance Plaintiff fired in
2020.
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Because of the need to work together to create the charts (because of the
objection column), the parties must exchange their respective proposed exhibit
charts 10 business days before the deadline for filing the pretrial order, and the
objecting side must return the chart with the objection column filled in 5 business
days before the deadline.
If, due to unforeseen circumstances during trial, a party wishes to introduce
an exhibit not previously listed, notice should be given as soon as possible to the
opposing side and to the Court so that any objections can be discussed. Absent
abuse of this process, an exhibit will not be deemed inadmissible simply because it
was not included on the original exhibit list, provided the exhibit/document was
earlier produced to the opposing side during discovery.
With regard to creating and naming the electronic versions of the exhibits,
the parties must use the exhibit-file format and exhibit-naming convention
for the Jury Evidence Recording System (JERS). Information on JERS is found on
the Court’s Standing Order page. 1 No later than 5 business days before the pre-
trial conference, the parties must submit to chambers all of the proposed exhibits
using a box.com link the Court will provide upon request. Unless the parties agree
otherwise, the party that is objecting to an exhibit is responsible for providing the
copy of the objected-to exhibit. During the pretrial conference, the parties should
raise any objections to exhibits that can be resolved before trial, in order to promote
an expeditious trial and to avoid sidebars.
4. Motions in Limine. In the Proposed Pretrial Order, each party must
provide a list that very briefly summarizes its motions in limine, e.g., “Motion to bar
reference to Witness A’s drug use.” Motions in limine must be separately filed on
the docket by the due date set by the Court. A party must consolidate separate
motions in limine into a single filing (meaning the same ECF entry). The parties
must also consolidate their responses to motions in limine into a single response
brief (meaning the same ECF entry). Separately filed motions or separately filed
responses to each motion are not permitted. Motions in limine are limited to 25
pages per side absent leave of Court. The Court’s goal is to be in a position to decide
as many of the motions in limine before the pretrial conference by relying on the
briefs; any remaining motions in limine will be decided at the pre-trial conference,
if at all possible. Unless set separately, the deadline on motions in limine includes
Santiago motions by the government to allow co-conspirator statements. Santiago
motions must be specific in identifying the offered statements, so that the parties
may brief, and the Court may analyze, the propriety of each statement.
5. Jury Instructions / Verdict Forms. The parties must confer in order to
attempt to agree on as many jury instructions as possible, as well as the verdict
form. Where applicable, the Court generally prefers the Seventh Circuit’s Pattern
1 Ideally, any exhibit in .pdf format will have undergone Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
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Instructions, but of course the parties may propose modifications to the Pattern and
may propose additional, non-Pattern Instructions. The proposed jury instructions
must state, on an instruction-by-instruction basis, the following information: the
proponent of the instruction, the legal authority for the instruction, and whether
there is an objection to the instruction. If an instruction is disputed, the proponent
of the instruction should concisely explain the basis for the instruction, if more
explanation is required beyond the identified legal authority (often citing to the
Pattern or to a case will be explanation enough). Moreover, if an instruction is
disputed, the objecting party must concisely state—immediately below the proposed
instruction—the grounds for the objection, as well as any proposed modification or
alternative. The same principles apply to proposed verdict forms. The jury-
instructions filing also must be emailed to Judge Jenkins’s Proposed Order email
account in Word format along with the proposed final pretrial order.
6. Jury Selection. As noted above, in the Jury Department, jurors are
provided with a letter stating the general background questions each juror will
answer during voir dire. Jurors will be seated in the jury box and in the gallery
according to the random-order list. The Court will ask the background questions of
all jurors. After each juror answers, the Court will ask the additional questions
approved, during the pre-trial conference, for voir dire. After that questioning,
counsel will have a chance to propose follow-up questions at a side-bar (though the
Court will ask the questions). After that last round of questioning, counsel will
exercise for-cause challenges. That will leave the qualified pool on which
peremptory strikes will be made (double-strikes count against both sides). The first
12 non-struck jurors on the random-order jury list will comprise the jury. Then the
parties will exercise their peremptory (or peremptories, if more than one) challenge
for the alternate (or alternates, if more than one).
7. Exhibits at Trial Stage. Just as at the pretrial stage, when preparing
exhibits for the trial itself, use the JERS exhibit format and naming
convention. The Court does not require exhibit binders, but if a binder is prepared,
it should separate the exhibits with tabs that correspond to the exhibit number.
8. Displaying Exhibits on the Video Monitors. If you need instruction on
the courtroom display technology equipment, please call the Systems Department
(312.435.6045) within the Clerk’s Office. Please note that the courtroom’s evidence-
display technology has separate controls for the counsel-table video monitors, the
witness’s monitor, and the jury’s monitors. The judge will leave the counsel-table
monitors set to display during the entire trial. Generally, the judge also will leave
the witness’s monitor set to display during the entire trial, because usually the
other side does not have an objection to the witness being shown the proposed
exhibit. But in order to give the other side time to object to even that step, the
offering party should state something to the effect of, “I’d like to show Government’s
Exhibit 1 to the witness.” If the opposing party objects to even showing the witness
the exhibit, that is the time to object. Otherwise, the offering party may display the
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exhibit to the witness via the offering party’s laptop or the document camera.
To publish the exhibit to the jury, preface your request with something to the
effect of, “May we publish Government’s Exhibit 1 to the jury?” The Court will ask
whether there is an objection, and then if publication is allowed, the Court will turn
on the jury’s video monitors. When done with that exhibit, say something to the
effect of, “Your Honor, we’re done with that exhibit,” and the Court will turn off the
jury’s video monitors (and that also will be a signal to your co- counsel or assistant if
you have someone putting on and off an exhibit via a laptop).
As we get deeper into the trial, we might be able to avoid turning off the jury
monitors at certain points. For example, if you’re asking a witness about an exhibit
or set of exhibits already allowed into evidence and already published, you may
signal that you’re going to move onto an exhibit that’s already been published (e.g.,
“Your Honor, we’re done with that exhibit, and I’d now like to show Government’s
Exhibit 1, which has already been published.” The Court will ask whether there’s
any objection, and if not, the jury monitors will remain on.
9. Witness Examinations / Jury Addresses. In order to respect the jury’s
time, always have enough witnesses available so that we make use of the full trial
day. All witness examinations must be conducted from the podium unless otherwise
allowed by the Court. The only alternative site is the end of the jury box, but you
must speak loudly enough for the witness, judge, jury, and court reporter to easily
hear you, and speak into the microphone at the end of the jury box so that the
audio-recording system can record you. Jury addresses must take place at the
podium as well: even if you speak loudly for us to hear you, again the audio-
recording system relies on the microphones to record what you say, and the
recording is necessary for transcript preparation or to resolve a dispute over what a
transcript says.
10. Objections. When you object, you must stand so that the Court and the
witness are on alert that an objection will be made. Before trial, counsel should
instruct their witnesses not to answer a question when they see the opposing lawyer
stand and while an objection is pending. You must state a short, non-argumentative
basis for the objection (e.g., relevance, hearsay), and responses must be similarly
short and non-argumentative. Ideally, there will be little or no need for a side-bar if
objections and responses are succinct.
Revised: February 5, 2025
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