JUDGE JERRY W. BLACKWELL
PRACTICE POINTERS AND PREFERENCES
Contact with Chambers
• Judge Blackwell encourages you to contact his courtroom deputy at 651-848-1160 if
you have questions about his preferences and procedures.
• Please direct questions to Judge Blackwell’s courtroom deputy, not his law clerks. A law
clerk will initiate contact with the parties if appropriate.
• Ex parte communication on substantive matters is prohibited. Substantive matters must
be addressed either in a formal motion or a letter of no more than two pages filed on ECF.
No letter may be filed prior to receiving permission from chambers. Any requests for
permission must be made in writing. Except in an emergency, questions via telephone or
email should be limited to scheduling and to Judge Blackwell’s preferences and
procedures. Attorneys should review the ECF docket prior to contacting chambers with
questions regarding the docket and the scheduling of conferences.
• Do not call chambers to request an adjournment of a court date or for extensions of time
except in an emergency.
• All requests for adjournments of conferences or for extensions of time must be made in
writing, at least two business days in advance of the deadline or scheduled appearance,
must be filed on ECF, and must state (1) the original date; (2) the reason for the request;
(3) how much additional time is needed; (4) the number of previous requests for
adjournment or extension by either party and whether these previous requests were
granted or denied; (5) that the requesting party first conferred with all other parties to
discuss alternative, mutually agreeable dates; (6) whether the adversary consents and, if
not, the reasons given by the adversary for refusing to consent; and if so, (7) mutually
agreeable proposed alternative dates. If the requested adjournment or extension affects
any other scheduled dates, a proposed Amended Scheduling Order must be attached.
Motion Practice
• Any party choosing to file a motion instead of an answer under Rule 12 of the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure should be prepared to be heard on that motion 42 days after the
motion is filed or soon thereafter.
• Pursuant to Local Rule 7.1, before filing a dispositive motion, a party must contact the
district judge’s courtroom deputy. Judge Blackwell’s preference is for parties to contact
the courtroom deputy via email (
[email protected]).
• When scheduling a motion, the parties should work together and inform the courtroom
deputy of all motions pending in a particular case to ensure that they are all heard
together. If there are related cases with related motions, the parties should inform the
courtroom deputy.
• A party moving for a TRO must file its motion papers before a TRO hearing will be
scheduled. The Notice of Hearing should be filed with a “To Be Determined” hearing
date. After the motion papers are filed, the moving party must contact chambers to
request a telephone status conference. An expedited briefing schedule may be issued and
a hearing may be held as necessary. If a hearing is scheduled, the moving party must
promptly file and serve a notice of hearing, informing all parties of the date, time, and
location of the hearing.
• Parties may not file a motion for summary judgment before the discovery deadline unless
they have received prior permission. Denial of a request for permission to file an early
summary judgment motion shall not be taken as an indication of Judge Blackwell’s view
regarding the merits of the proposed motion.
• Each party filing or opposing any dispositive civil motion must submit a proposed order
in accordance with Judge Blackwell’s Standing Order No. 3. 1
Written Submissions
• Judge Blackwell reminds parties that their pleadings should comply with Federal Rule of
Procedure 8 and that he will review Complaints for compliance.
• Judge Blackwell expects parties to follow the word count and format rules set by the
Local Rules. Parties shall not file a brief exceeding the word count limits without prior
permission. Requests to exceed a word limit must be made well in advance of the briefing
deadline by filing a letter on ECF that concisely states the basis for the request.
• Parties shall not use procedural devices—such as filing an explanatory letter or
multiple contemporaneous or near-contemporaneous dispositive motions—to
obtain additional briefing space. See Local Rule 7.1(c)(4).
• One printed courtesy copy of briefs, declarations, and exhibits must be submitted if the
pages total 100 or more. The courtesy copies must be organized with tabs as appropriate,
single-sided, three-hole punched, without staples.
• For any brief in support of or in opposition to a motion that relies on 100 or more pages
1
This Standing Order’s requirements are in addition to District of Minnesota Local
Rule 7.1.
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of exhibits, affidavits, and/or declarations, the submitting party must also provide
chambers with a hyperlinked electronic courtesy copy in accordance with Judge
Blackwell’s Standing Order No. 2.
• When submitting deposition transcripts as exhibits, parties are encouraged to bookend all
excerpts with at least three transcript pages before and after the excerpted portion in order
to provide appropriate context. If the citations and bookends amount to more than half of
a deposition transcript, the full transcript should be submitted. Printed deposition
transcripts included with a courtesy copy should be printed with four transcript pages per
printed sheet.
• When a submission deadline falls on a weekend, the submission should be filed on the
following Monday.
In-Court Proceedings
• Please arrive at least 15 minutes before the hearing is scheduled. Judge Blackwell expects
to begin hearings at the scheduled time.
• Please stand at the podium when addressing Judge Blackwell and opposing counsel.
Address Judge Blackwell, opposing counsel, witnesses, and court staff with civility and
formality, using titles and last names. All attorneys will be held to the highest
professional standards.
• Parties may make use of courtroom technology during oral argument on motions and at
trial. Please bring printed copies of any PowerPoint used during oral argument for
opposing counsel and two copies for Judge Blackwell and his staff. Please become
familiar with courtroom technology before using it. Training can be arranged through the
courtroom deputy. Please consider the necessity and effectiveness of PowerPoint slides
before using them. Do not use PowerPoint slides as a script for your argument.
• TRO, preliminary injunction, and Daubert motions are generally handled without witness
testimony, absent advance permission.
• If a party submits additional or new case law at oral argument, counsel must first
provide the additional case law to opposing counsel. Please bring two additional copies of
cases or any other handouts used in oral argument.
• Judge Blackwell reads all written submissions in advance, so please keep that in mind
when preparing your oral argument.
In-Court Opportunities for Professional Growth
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• Judge Blackwell strongly encourages lead counsel to permit attorneys with six or fewer
years of experience and diverse attorneys to examine witnesses at trial and to present
argument at a hearing.
• All attorneys appearing in court are expected to be adequately prepared and thoroughly
familiar with the factual record and the applicable law, and to have a degree of authority
to speak on behalf of a client commensurate with the proceedings.
• If a lawyer with six or fewer years of experience will be arguing a motion, Judge
Blackwell will consider permitting more experienced counsel of record the ability to
provide assistance, where appropriate, during oral argument.
• Judge Blackwell may provide notice that a matter will be taken under advisement on the
papers with no hearing, unless it will be argued by an attorney with six or fewer years of
experience.
Miscellaneous
• Judge Blackwell prefers that his name, Jerry W. Blackwell, be used in the preparation of
proposed orders.
• In addition to reviewing these practice pointers and preferences, all parties must review
and adhere to Judge Blackwell’s Standing Orders. See www.mnd.uscourts.gov/JWB.
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