STANDING ORDER GOVERNING PROPOSED PRETRIAL ORDERS
This Standing Order sets forth the requirements that the parties must meet in
submitting a Proposed Pretrial Order for the Court’s consideration.
Proposed pretrial orders must be filed electronically 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. Jurisdiction. State the jurisdictional basis for each claim. If the parties
rely on either diversity jurisdiction or another jurisdictional basis that requires a
threshold amount, then state whether the parties agree that the amount in
controversy exceeds the amount, and include a concise explanation of how the
evidence supports that statement.
2. Trial Attorneys. List all of the attorneys trying the case, as well as
contact information (business address, telephone number, and e-mail address).
3. Case Statement. Provide a concise agreed statement of the case to be
read by the Court to the jury pool during jury selection. The statement must describe
the nature of the case, claims, and defenses. 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.
4. 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). Propose estimated time
limits for (a) opening statements per side; (b) closing arguments per side (including
an initial close and rebuttal for the plaintiff); and (c) the total number of hours of
witness examination per side. Also, state the number of jurors that the parties
recommend (subject to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 48(a)).
5. Stipulations and Uncontested Facts. In numbered paragraphs, state any
stipulations and uncontested facts. No later than 10 business days before the
Proposed Pretrial Order’s due date, the parties must serve on each other proposed
stipulations and uncontested facts. No later than 5 business days before the due date,
the parties must confer in good faith to arrive at as many stipulations and
uncontested facts as possible.
6. Witness Description Lists. Each party shall provide a list of witnesses,
including expert witnesses, divided into (a) witnesses who will be called; and (b)
witnesses who might be called. The lists should include even those witnesses whose
testimony will not be presented in-court (e.g., a video deposition). For each witness,
provide a very concise (2 or 3 sentences) description of the witness and the witness’s
role in the case. For example: “George Washington is Plaintiff’s cousin. Washington
witnessed the arrest of Plaintiff where Defendants allegedly used excessive force.”
Or: “John Adams is Defendant’s Chief Operating Officer. Adams made promises
concerning the timing of payments under the contract.” Witnesses who are not on the
lists are barred from testifying unless the proponent shows good cause for the failure
to disclose the witness. 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.
7. Exhibits and Exhibit Charts. The parties must submit an exhibit chart,
one each for Plaintiff’s exhibits and Defendant’s exhibits. The charts must state the
following: (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. The chart’s format shall be substantially
similar to the example below (landscape orientation is encouraged).
No. Date Description Relevance Objection
1 02/15/06 2005 Performance Proves record of R. 402 relevance; R.
Review satisfactory job 403 confusion.
performance Plaintiff fired in
2011.
In addition to substantive exhibits and Rule 1006 summary exhibits, the chart
should also include proposed demonstrative exhibits and any exhibits that are
likely to be referred to at trial even though not allowed into evidence. For example,
deposition transcripts of witnesses likely to be impeached, or documents likely to be
used to refresh memory, should be included on the chart (and assigned an exhibit
number and description).
Any substantive exhibit not objected-to shall be deemed admissible into
evidence by this Order (note: for the exhibit to be actually entered into the record
for the jury’s consideration, the exhibit still must be referred-to during trial testimony
or otherwise published to the jury). Do not over-designate exhibits, because we will
examine exhibits one-by-one during the pretrial conference, and plainly inadmissible
exhibits will needlessly consume time. By the same token, the parties must limit the
objections to only good-faith objections. Frivolous and boilerplate objections will
waste time, because in preparation for the pre-trial conference, the Court will review,
as much as possible, the exhibits and the objections. The parties shall stipulate to the
authenticity of exhibits whenever possible. If a foundation objection is asserted and
the offering party proffers a foundation that the Court believes overcomes the
objection, the offering party still must lay the foundation at trial.
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As noted above, non-objected-to exhibits will be admissible into evidence by
operation of this Order, without any need for further foundation testimony
(remember, however, that the exhibit must still be referred-to during trial testimony
or otherwise published to the jury in order for the exhibit to be considered by the
jury). But during the trial, for the jury’s sake and for the clarity of the record, still
move the exhibit into evidence before publishing it to the jury. The Court will ask
whether there is any “further” objection, so any pretrial objection is preserved.
At least 5 business days before the pre-trial conference, the parties must
submit to chambers a USB storage device, DVD, or CD with all of the proposed
exhibits. The parties must use the exhibit-naming convention for the Jury
Evidence Recording System (JERS); the Court will provide the parties with an
instruction memorandum on how to use JERS and name exhibits.1 In addition to the
disc, the parties also must supply 2 sets of exhibit binders containing copies of
objected-to exhibits only. The party that is objecting to an exhibit is responsible
for providing the copy of the objected-to exhibit. (After the pretrial conference and
rulings on exhibits, no later than 5 business days before trial, the parties must submit
the final trial exhibits on a disc or drive and provide one paper copy of the exhibits,
double-sided in three-ring binders.)
8. Deposition Designations. If a party proposes to introduce a witness’s
testimony via a deposition rather than live testimony, then the offering party must
serve the page/line designations of the deposition transcript on the opposing party 10
business days in advance of the pretrial order’s due date. The opposing party must
serve objections to designations (including a concise basis for the objection, like the
Exhibit Chart) and also state the opposing party’s counter-designations (including
counter-designations conditioned on an objection being overruled) 5 business days in
advance of the pretrial order’s due date. The parties shall generate a joint chart, in
page order, that sets forth the designation, objection, counter-designation if objection
overruled, any counter-designations, and any objections to the counter-designations
(again, with a concise basis for the objection, like the Exhibit Chart).
9. Damages Itemization. Plaintiff (and counter/cross-claimants, if any)
shall itemize damages and other relief sought, and provide a concise explanation of
the evidentiary basis for each itemization.
10. 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.” The motions themselves must be filed the earlier
of (a) the due date of the Proposed Pretrial Order or (b) 3 weeks before trial. The
parties must confer on all motions in limine before filing them. If there is no
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Ideally, any exhibit in .pdf format will have undergone Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
and be text-searchable.
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objection to a motion, but the movant wishes to file a motion memorializing the non-
objection, then the motion must state that there is no objection. To the extent
reasonable, file multiple motions in one filing (or a few consolidated filings) to reduce
the number of filings. Unless otherwise ordered, responses are due 5 business days
after the motion’s filing, and replies are due 3 business days after the responses;
again, consolidate as much as reasonable. The goal is to be in a position to rule on all
of the motions in limine at the pre-trial conference.
11. Voir Dire Questions. The parties should check Judge Chang’s website for
the standard background questions that the Court asks prospective jurors during voir
dire. 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 12 proposed disputed
questions, unless a motion is filed before the pretrial conference that explains good
cause for proposing more than the limit.
12. Jury Instructions / Verdict Forms. The parties must meet and confer in
order to attempt to agree on as many jury instructions and verdict forms as possible.
Where applicable, the Court generally prefers the Seventh Circuit’s 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. Moreover, if an instruction is disputed, the objecting
party must concisely state—on the page immediately following the instruction—
the grounds for the objection, as well as any proposed modification or alternative. The
same principles apply to proposed verdict forms.
13. Signature. The Proposed Pretrial Order must be signed (electronically)
by counsel for each party.
ENTERED:
_______________________
EDMOND E. CHANG
United States District Judge
Revised: August 24, 2021
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