UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
Plaintiff(s)
V. CIVIL ACTION NO.
Defendant(s)
ORDER SETTING CIVIL CASE FOR JURY TRIAL
STEARNS, DJ.
THE ABOVE-CAPTIONED ACTION IS HEREBY SET FOR JURY
TRIAL ON , 2021 at 9:00 AM IN COURTROOM # 21, JOHN
JOSEPH MOAKLEY UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE, BOSTON, MA.
ON OR BEFORE , 2021, COUNSEL SHALL FILE
ELECTRONICALLY THE FOLLOWING MATERIALS WITH THE COURT:
1. Any stipulated or admitted facts in a form suitable for presentation
to the Court or jury;
2. A list of prospective witnesses, including names, city or town of
residence, or business institutional address;
3. The parties shall designate deposition testimony and/or discovery
responses to be offered at trial, as follows:
A. Each party shall designate any portions of depositions or
interrogatory responses to be offered at trial and shall identify
the testimony, by inclusive page and line, in YELLOW
HIGHLIGHTER. The parties shall include the cover page for
each designation (identifying date, name of witness, and type of
submission.
B. On or before , 2021 the parties shall exchange
hard copies of such identifications.
C. Each party shall then identify any objections to be offered
testimony and shall mark the objected-to portions, by inclusive
page and line, in PINK HIGHLIGHTER, indicating the basis for
each objection in the margin next to each objected-to portion.
D. On or before , 2021, each party shall submit a
hard copy to the court* containing the YELLOW
HIGHLIGHTED designations sent to the party by the opposing
side, along with PINK HIGHLIGHTED objections and margin
notations the party has made to the proposed testimony.
4. A "Joint List of Exhibits" as to which there is NO objection,
IDENTIFIED AND MARKED BY A SINGLE SEQUENCE OF
NUMBERS, regardless of which party is the proponent of an exhibit
(such exhibits are deemed ADMITTED and need NOT be
independently offered at trial;
5. A "List of Exhibits to be Offered at Trial", as to which a party
reserves the right to object, IDENTIFIED AND MARKED BY A
SINGLE SEQUENCE OF CAPITAL LETTERS, regardless of which
party is the proponent of an exhibit;
6. Motions in Limine or other requests regarding foreseeable
disputes concerning evidentiary issues, including authority for the
ruling requested;
7. A TRIAL MEMORANDUM addressing those items as to which
there are foreseeable disputes concerning issues of law;
8. An informed estimate of the probable length of the trial, based on a
trial schedule of 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. on the day of impanelment
and 9:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. thereafter, until closings.
Each side is taxed for the time it spends on cross-examination of
witnesses.
The time allotted by the court for opening statements and closing
arguments is not included in the total. In any case exceeding one
week's duration, the Court will impose time limits on the parties which
will be STRICTLY ENFORCED;
9. In cases to be tried by a jury:
A. REQUESTS FOR SUBSTANTIVE INSTRUCTIONS WITH
CITATION TO SUPPORTING AUTHORITY; **
B. ANY PROPOSED OR SPECIAL VERDICT QUESTIONS;
C. ANY PROPOSED QUESTIONS FOR THE VOIR DIRE
EXAMINATION;
D. A SUCCINCT AND NEUTRAL STATEMENT
SUMMARIZING THE PRINCIPAL CLAIMS AND DEFENSES
OF THE PARTIES TO BE READ TO THE VENIRE DURING
EMPANELMENT.
10. All trial exhibits must be reclaimed by the end of the first business
day following the day of the verdict. This policy is strictly enforced by
the Court as there is no space at the Courthouse to store exhibits after
a trial has ended. Exhibits not reclaimed by counsel will be discarded.
11. In all civil trials until further notice, the court will permit witness
testimony by Zoom (or other live video link): (1) by agreement of the
parties; (2) on a showing by a party that travel to the court entails undue
expense or poses personal hardship or health risks for the witness; or
(3) if for reasons of convenience the court so orders.
*To the attention of the Courtroom Clerk.
**Counsel need not submit boilerplate instructions; see model Civil and
Criminal Pattern Instructions on Court's website
SO ORDERED.
RICHARD G. STEARNS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
BY:
/s/ Timothy R. Maynard
Deputy Clerk
DATE: 2021
