MAGISTRATE JUDGE M. DAVID WEISMAN
219 South Dearborn Street
Courtroom 1300
Chambers 1318
Chicago, IL 60604
(312) 435-5656
PREPARATION OF FINAL PRETRIAL ORDER
FOR CIVIL CASES BEFORE JUDGE WEISMAN
The parties shall jointly prepare and submit a Final Pretrial Order on the date set
containing the following components, unless otherwise ordered by the Court. An original
and one copy of the Final Pretrial Order shall be delivered to chambers.
Contents of the Pretrial Order
1. Jurisdiction. A concise statement of the basis for federal subject matter
jurisdiction, and if jurisdiction is disputed, the nature and basis of the dispute.
2. Trial Attorneys. A list of the attorneys trying the case that includes their
business and cell phone numbers and email addresses.
3. Case Statement. A concise joint statement of the case that includes the nature
of the case; the claims, counterclaims and cross-claims; and the defenses
raised to those claims. In a jury case, this statement will be read to the jury
during voir dire.
4. Relief Sought. An itemization of the damages and other relief sought.
5. Witnesses. A list of names and addresses of all witnesses, including experts:
(a) who will be called; (b) who may be called; and (c) whose testimony will
be presented by deposition or other prior testimony (indicating whether the
presentation will be by transcript or video). In a jury trial, this list will be read
to the jury during voir dire. Any witness not listed in the Pretrial Order will
be precluded from testifying absent a showing of good cause, except that each
party reserves the right to call such rebuttal witnesses (who are not presently
identifiable as rebuttal witnesses) as may be necessary.
a. Objections. A statement of any objections to the calling of any witness,
including expert witnesses. Objections not made in the Pretrial Order
will be deemed waived absent a showing of good cause. If the
objection is the subject of a motion in limine, the Pretrial Order may
simply refer to the motion and need not repeat the grounds stated in the
motion.
b. Depositions and Other Prior Testimony. For witnesses who will be
presented by deposition or other prior testimony, the Pretrial Order
must include for each such witness a chart containing the following
information: (a) the testimony that each side seeks to present, by page
and line number; (b) a concise statement of objections to any testimony
and the basis for the objections with appropriate citations to evidentiary
rules or case law; and (c) a concise statement of the asserted basis of
admissibility with appropriate citations to evidentiary rules or case law.
Objections not made in the Pretrial Order will be deemed waived absent
a showing of good cause. If the Court will be asked to rule upon
objections, a copy of the deposition is to be provided with the Pretrial
Order.
6. Exhibits. A schedule of all exhibits a party may introduce at trial, as well as
any demonstrative exhibits or evidence, identified by trial exhibit number,
with a brief description of each exhibit. Joint exhibits should be denominated
“JX,” plaintiff’s exhibits, “PX,” and defendant’s exhibits, “DX.” Any exhibit
not listed in the Pretrial Order will be excluded from evidence absent a
showing of good cause.
a. Objections. A statement of any objections to each exhibit. Objections
not made in the Pretrial Order will be deemed waived absent a showing
of good cause. The parties should follow a similar format for
objections and asserted bases of admissibility to that outlined above for
deposition or other prior testimony designations.
b. Exhibits to Be Displayed to Jury. If an exhibit is to be displayed to the
jury, the party intending to display the exhibit must make sufficient
copies for all jurors or must use an enlargement or projection of the
exhibit.
c. Copies for Court. A bench book of each party’s exhibits is to be
delivered to the Court at or before the start of trial.
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7. Type and Length of Trial. A statement of whether the trial will be a bench
trial or jury trial, and a realistic estimate of the length of the trial.
8. Proposed Findings and Conclusions. For a bench trial, proposed findings of
fact and conclusions of law. The parties shall confer about proposed findings
of fact and law as to which they agree and submit those to the Court. Each
party also shall submit its separate proposed findings of fact and conclusions
of law. Proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law are to be in Word
and included both in the written Pretrial Order and in electronic form (emailed
to the Proposed Order box).
9. Proposed Voir Dire Questions. For a jury trial, proposed voir dire questions.
Judge Weisman often uses a written questionnaire as the initial basis for voir
dire. Counsel will be given copies of the completed questionnaires before
jury selection begins. Judge Weisman may also pose additional voir dire
questions in open court that are not suitable for the questionnaire. The parties
should include any particular voir dire questions they want asked in the
Pretrial Order. If any question proposed by an opposing party is objected to,
the objection should be noted in the Pretrial Order.
10. Proposed Jury Instructions. For a jury trial, proposed jury instructions are to
be in Word and included both in the written Pretrial Order and electronic form
(emailed to the Proposed Order Box). When there is a Seventh Circuit pattern
jury instruction on point, that instruction should be used absent a good reason
for not doing so.
a. Agreed Instructions. The parties are directed to confer and agree upon
jury instructions to the extent possible prior to the submission of the
jury instructions to the Court. Agreed proposed instructions should be
marked as such and shall be numbered consecutively.
b. Disputed Instructions. Proposed instructions that are not agreed shall
be numbered, shall identify the proponent of the instruction, and shall
include supporting authority. Objections to any proposed instructions
must be set forth in writing and shall include supporting authority.
11. Stipulations. A listing of any stipulations agreed to by the parties, including
stipulations regarding the presentation or admissibility of evidence.
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12. Settlement Status. A statement summarizing the current status of settlement
negotiations and whether the parties believe a pretrial settlement conference
would be productive.
13. Trial Briefs. Trial briefs are required as part of the Pretrial Order in bench
trials. Ordinarily, Judge Weisman will not accept trial briefs in a jury trial,
unless he has granted a prior motion to file such a brief or ordered the filing of
a trial brief sua sponte. Any trial briefs shall be limited to 15 pages without
leave of court.
Motions in Limine
The Court will set a schedule for the filing of motions in limine when it sets dates for the
filing of the Pretrial Order. These motions and responses should not be bound with the
Pretrial Order. They should be filed separately on the CM/ECF system. Two courtesy
copies of any motions in limine shall be delivered to chambers in accordance with the
Local Rules.
Judge Weisman discourages the filing of “boilerplate” motions in limine or motions that
address matters not in dispute. Any motion in limine filed by a party must be
accompanied by a statement that the party has conferred with the opposing party and has
determined that the matter upon which a ruling is sought is actually in dispute – that is,
that the opposing party intends to offer the evidence that the movant seeks to exclude. If
the meet-and-confer process results in agreement that certain matters are inadmissible,
that agreement should be memorialized in a stipulation to be provided to Judge Weisman
in the Pretrial Order (see paragraph 11 above) or at the final pretrial conference.
Daily/Expedited Transcript and Real-Time Reporting
Any requests for daily or other expedited transcripts and real-time reporting must be
made at least seven days prior to trial so that an appropriate court reporter can be
assigned to the trial.
Evidence Projection Systems
The Court has a limited number of evidence projection systems which may or may not be
available depending on how early a request is made. Any such request should be made to
Judge Weisman’s Courtroom Deputy. Parties will be permitted to use their own
projection systems (upon reasonable terms) if a request is made in advance of trial.
Instructions for Compiling Final Pretrial Order
Plaintiff’s counsel has the responsibility to prepare the initial draft of the Pretrial Order
and must provide a draft to defendant’s counsel no later than twenty-one days before the
date the Pretrial Order is due. Defendant’s counsel must respond in writing to
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plaintiff’s draft by no later than fourteen days before the Pretrial Order is due, including
any objections, changes, and additions to plaintiff’s draft, as well as defendant’s portions
of the draft Pretrial Order (e.g., defendant’s witness list, exhibit list, and objections to
exhibits and deposition or other prior testimony listed by plaintiff). The parties must
meet and confer by no later than seven days before the Pretrial Order is due to discuss
their respective drafts and to reach agreement to the extent possible. These dates may be
varied only by written agreement of the parties or by order of the Court.
Following the meet-and-confer process, it is the responsibility of plaintiff’s counsel, with
full cooperation from defendant’s counsel, to assemble the Pretrial Order for submission.
The Pretrial Order should be filed on the CM/ECF system with a cover page with the case
caption and the title FINAL PRETRIAL ORDER. The cover document must: (a) recite
that each of the foregoing categories of materials is included, (b) state that “This Order
will control the course of trial and may not be amended except by consent of the parties,
or by order of the Court to prevent manifest injustice,” and (c) provide spaces for the
signature of counsel for each of the parties and the Court.
Pretrial Conferences
Often, the Court will hold an initial pretrial conference with lead trial counsel to discuss
case theories, trial plan, anticipated motions in limine and other pretrial matters. The
purpose of this conference is to address issues that can be resolved easily and to provide
the Court with a better sense of the case, particularly when Judge Weisman was not
involved substantially in pretrial proceedings.
The Court will set a date for the final pretrial conference at least three weeks before trial.
The purpose of this conference is to avoid surprises and to simplify the trial. At the
conference, Judge Weisman will address (1) pending motions in limine, (2) objections to
witnesses and exhibits, (3) contested jury instructions, and (4) trial procedures and
scheduling. Lead trial counsel fully prepared and with authority to discuss all aspects of
the case must attend. The parties need not attend the pretrial conference unless settlement
will be discussed at the conference. The parties, however, are welcome to attend the
pretrial conference with their attorneys, if they wish to do so.
SO ORDERED.
M. David Weisman
United States Magistrate Judge
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