REQUIREMENTS
1. Local and Federal Rules: All parties are expected to know and follow the Local Rules
of the Eastern District of Missouri, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Federal
Rules of Criminal Procedure, and the Federal Rules of Evidence.
2. Artificial Intelligence: By presenting to the Court any pleading, written motion, or other
paper – whether by signing, filing, submitting, or later advocating it – self-represented
parties and attorneys acknowledge they will be held responsible for its contents,
including any portion generated with artificial intelligence. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(b).
3. Informal Matters: For informal matters, such as agreed deadline changes, file a motion
that sets forth the change or relief requested and states that opposing counsel consents to
or does not oppose the motion. The motion will be ruled on promptly.
4. Emergency Matters: If you have an emergency motion that needs a formal hearing on
the record, you should call my chambers or email Jennifer Baker at
[email protected] or Katie Sellers at
[email protected] to schedule a hearing.
5. Discovery Disputes: Before filing any discovery related motion, the moving party must
confer with the other side and make a good faith attempt to resolve the dispute in
compliance with the Court’s requirements and the Local Rules. If the parties are unable
to reach an agreement without court intervention, they must schedule a telephone or
video conference with the Court wherein they may seek the Court’s guidance. At the time
of scheduling the conference, the parties must file a joint memorandum, no longer than
one page, providing a brief description of the issues not resolved. If at the conclusion of
the conference, it is determined that a motion to compel is necessary, the Court will set a
briefing schedule. Any motion filed before a telephone or video conference will be
denied without prejudice.
6. Rule 16 Conferences and Case Management Orders: Civil cases are usually set for
Rule 16 conferences after all defendants have answered or filed motions in response to
the complaint. If a party believes a conference should be sooner, that party should file a
motion. Rule 16 conferences are usually conducted in person. A party may request that
the Rule 16 conference be held via telephone or video by calling my chambers or
emailing Jennifer Baker at
[email protected] or Katie Sellers at
[email protected]. When a party appears pro se, the Rule 16
conference is held in the courtroom, on the record. At the Rule 16 conference, counsel
should be prepared to discuss the facts of the case and all other matters set forth in the
Rule 16 Order, including settlement.
7. Scheduling and Status Conferences: Counsel may request a scheduling or status
conference by filing a motion, calling my chambers or emailing Jennifer Baker at
[email protected] or Katie Sellers at
[email protected].
8. Oral Argument on Dispositive Motions: Parties may request oral argument on
dispositive motions by filing a separate Request for Oral Argument with the Court.
9. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): Most civil cases are referred to mediation. Be
prepared to discuss the appropriate timing for referral to mediation at the Rule 16
Conference. When setting a date for mediation in the proposed schedule, counsel and
self-represented litigants should consider what discovery is needed before a meaningful
mediation may occur. A list of the Court-approved neutrals and ADR materials can be
found at http://www.moed.uscourts.gov. Once the case has been referred to ADR, the
deadlines are binding and may be extended only by Court order.
10. Courtesy Copies (Dispositive Motions, Pretrial Compliance Materials, Proposed
Orders): Parties shall mail or hand-deliver to chambers, a paper courtesy copy of (1) any
motion to dismiss, motion for summary judgment, or Daubert motion, together with the
memorandum in support and any exhibits; (2) any opposition memorandum, including
exhibits; (3) any reply memorandum, including exhibits; and, (4) all pretrial compliance
materials. Courtesy copies must be printed on one side only.
a. In addition to being electronically filed as a PDF attachment to an appropriate
notice or motion, a courtesy copy of all proposed orders must be sent in a word
processing format to Jennifer Baker at
[email protected] or
Katie Sellers at
[email protected]. See CM/ECF Procedures
Manual, § II.J.
11. Final Pretrial Conferences: Final pretrial conferences will be held a week or two before
the scheduled trial date. Counsel should be prepared at the final pretrial conference to
argue any motions in limine and to discuss any evidentiary problems and scheduling
issues. We will put any necessary argument and all rulings on the record.
a. Motions in limine must be filed at least twenty (20) days before trial. The Court
will not consider any motion in limine unless it contains a statement that the
moving party’s counsel has conferred in person or by telephone with opposing
counsel in a good-faith effort to resolve the dispute presented by the motion.
Opposition to a motion in limine must be filed no later than five (5) days after the
motion in limine is served.
12. Available Courtroom Technology: The Court has evidence presentation equipment
available, including an evidence camera (e.g., ELMO), VCR, DVD, monitors, and hook-
ups for computer stored evidence or computer presentation. An explanation on the use of
this equipment is available on the Courts’ website at http://www.moed.uscourts.gov/
under Courtroom Technology. Please call the Case Management Team in the Clerk’s
office to schedule training before trial. No training will be provided on the day of trial.
Training usually takes no more than 30 minutes and gives you the opportunity to get
comfortable with the equipment before trial. If you intend to use your computer with the
Courts’ evidence presentation system, you must confer with the Clerk’s office before trial
to be sure your settings and connections are appropriate for our system.
13. Trial Settings: Most cases are set for trial on a two-week docket. This is a firm setting,
meaning the Court almost always reaches all the cases set within that time. For St. Louis
trials, juries are picked at 9:00 a.m. or 1:15 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. If you
have not heard otherwise, you should assume your case is first on the trial docket.
14. Jurors and Voir Dire:
a. Agreed Statement of the Case: Before the case is called, counsel must supply the
Court with a joint brief statement of the nature of the case to be read to panel
members during voir dire. Counsel are expected to agree on this statement, which
should be phrased in neutral terms.
b. Juror List: You will be provided a list of the jury panel members as they enter the
courtroom. The jury list is not available in advance. The list contains the name,
municipality where the juror lives, current employer, former employer,
occupation, and spouse’s employer and occupation. After the jury is selected, all
copies of jury lists must be returned to the clerk.
c. Voir Dire Examination: In most cases, I allow attorneys to conduct part of the
voir dire. I will ask introductory questions covering such things as the nature of
the case, burden of proof, prior jury service, length of the trial, etc. If you want
me to ask any specific questions that, for some reason, you prefer not to ask,
please submit them to me in writing, with notice to opposing counsel. Otherwise,
you may inquire about anything relevant to jury selection. You may not ask
unnecessary questions such as asking the jurors to make promises to you, make
speeches, argue your case, tell the jury about yourself or your family, or do
anything else that is not directly designed to elicit relevant information about the
potential jurors. In every case, the Court reserves the right to conduct the entire
voir dire. In such cases, counsel shall submit proposed voir dire questions to the
Court no later than fourteen business days before trial.
d. Jury Selection: After all questioning has been completed, the panel will be
removed from the courtroom and I will immediately ask for challenges for cause.
No challenges for cause or statements that either the panel or any juror is
acceptable may be made in front of the jury panel. After any panel members are
stricken for cause, the parties will make their peremptory challenges.
15. General Courtroom Rules:
a. Time of Trial: I typically begin trial days at 9:00 a.m. and conclude at 5:00 p.m.
The Court will be available to resolve preliminary matters 30 minutes to an hour
prior to the scheduled start time of the trial day, during the lunch break, or at the
conclusion of the trial day.
b. Use of Lectern: Voir dire, opening statements, examination of witnesses, and
closing arguments must be made from the lectern. You do not need to ask my
permission to approach the witness to hand the witness an exhibit. Counsel must
then return to the lectern for questioning, unless counsel must direct the witness’s
attention to a part of the exhibit.
c. Objections: You should stand and state the legal basis for your objection without
argument or elaboration. I will either rule or ask you to approach for a sidebar
conference.
d. Juror Note-Taking: I generally permit jurors to take notes during the trial if
requested.
e. Use of Exhibits and Opening Statements: You may use exhibits in your opening
statement so long as you have consent from opposing counsel and advise me in
advance.
f. Exhibits: You must pre-mark all exhibits, as set out in the Case Management
Order, and provide the Court and opposing counsel with an Exhibit List of those
exhibits that will be offered at trial. Demonstrative and summary exhibits must be
shown to opposing counsel in advance of trial, even if not offered into evidence.
g. Depositions and Video Depositions: Prior to the start of trial, counsel must notify
opposing counsel of what portions they actually intend to offer so that opposing
counsel can determine whether they still wish to object or to counter-designate.
Counsel must attempt to resolve any objections and bring to my attention any
objections that cannot be resolved well in advance of the proposed use of the
deposition.
h. Jury Instructions: The 8th Circuit Model Instructions should be used when
possible. The basic introductory and boilerplate instructions must be based on the
8th Circuit Model Instructions. If instructions from any other source are preferred,
they must be accompanied by case authority. Parties are required to meet and
confer regarding jury instructions and whenever possible submit one package of
jury instructions to the court on behalf of all the parties. Parties shall submit a
clean copy and a dirty copy of each instruction preferred. A clean copy for the
jury will reflect only “Instruction No. ___” at the top with no further explanatory
comments. The parties shall also submit their preferred jury instructions to the
Court by e-mail in a word processing format (not PDF) to Jennifer Baker at
[email protected] or Katie Sellers at
[email protected].
16. Courtroom Decorum:
a. If you are able, please stand when the jury enters the courtroom and stand at all
times when speaking.
b. No cell phone usage except by counsel.
c. No eating, drinking a beverage other than water, chewing gum, or audible beepers
or watches are allowed. Please tell your clients and witnesses these rules.
d. No recording of any kind is permitted.
e. All witnesses and opposing counsel must be addressed by their last names, with
appropriate titles. Do not call any witnesses by their first names, even your
clients, and please advise witnesses not to address counsel by their first names.
This rule is intended to govern how we address one another in the courtroom - it
is not a rule requiring witnesses to refer to one another in any certain way during
their testimony.
f. Persons seated at counsel table shall not make any verbal comments, facial
expressions, laughter, or other expressions, verbal or non-verbal, to the jury which
would be interpreted as conveying a comment one way of the other with respect
to any testimony, argument, or event that may occur during trial.
g. All statements by counsel should be directed to the Court and not to each other.
Counsel is expected to treat each other, all Court personnel, and all witnesses,
including adverse witnesses, professionally and courteously.
