Senior United States District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr.
Cape Girardeau Requirements
(Duty Station)
1. Local and Federal Rules
Courtroom 4B Many answers to frequently asked questions are contained in
the Local Rules of the Eastern District of Missouri, the
Address Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Federal Rules of
Rush Hudson Limbaugh Sr. Criminal Procedure, and Federal Rules of Evidence. All
U. S. Courthouse
counsel are expected to know these rules and to follow them.
555 Independence Street,
Suite 4000
Cape Girardeau, MO 63703 2. Motions and Memoranda
All motions and memoranda must comply with Local Rule
Phone 4.01 as well as the procedures outlined in these
(573) 331-8873 Requirements. Please use Times New Roman 13 point (or a
comparable font) for the text of all motions and memoranda.
Fax Should this cause a party’s memorandum to exceed the
(573) 331-8874 Court’s page limitation, counsel may file a short motion
seeking leave to file a memorandum in excess of the page
Judicial Assistant/ limitation.
Law Clerk
Jacqui Hobbs
Joint motions shall be signed by counsel for all parties and
Law Clerks by any pro se parties. The signatures shall comply with
Kimberly Price CM/ECF filing procedures.
Jody Peetz
Counsel should convert any word-processed document into
Court Reporter PDF document by printing or publishing to PDF, not by
Alison Garagnani manually scanning a paper copy except for procedural
(573) 331-8832 motions (e.g. motions for extension of time, motions for
admission pro hac vice, notice of process server). The
Case Management Team former method generates searchable optical character
Jessica Carter recognition (OCR) text; the latter does not.
Christy Hency
Sara Saupe
3. Courtesy Copies of Exhibits
(573) 331-8800
In both civil and criminal cases, parties shall submit a paper
courtesy copy to chambers of exhibits to motions and/or
memoranda if the exhibits exceed 50 pages. Courtesy copies
may be mailed to chambers or hand-delivered to the Court
Clerk’s Office in Cape Girardeau.
4. Informal Matters and Status Conferences
Informal matters are not regularly held. An informal matter that requires a short conference
should be scheduled by calling chambers to set a conference to be held in chambers or via
telephone.
Counsel may request a status conference when the need arises by calling chambers to
schedule a conference in the same way as an informal matter.
Most minor, agreed deadline changes can be handled in writing by filing a motion to extend
the deadline and stating that opposing counsel consents. Consent motions will be ruled
upon as soon as possible.
5. Rule 16 Conference in Civil Cases
After all defendants have answered a civil complaint a Rule 16 Conference will be set. The
attorney preparing and trying the case must appear for the conference unless permission is
granted by this Court for another to appear. Parties may participate in the conference, with
prior notice, by telephone. If you believe the parties are ready for a scheduling conference
and one has not been set, please notify the judicial assistant for an expedited conference.
6. Case Management Orders
A Case Management Order (CMO) will issue following the Rule 16 Conference.
The Scheduling Order portion of the CMO will contain all relevant deadlines for the case.
The Order Relating to Trial portion will detail pretrial compliance requirements. Counsel
should read the CMO carefully and refer to it throughout the case for answers to procedural
questions.
7. Court Docket and Settings
The Court docket is managed by Judge Limbaugh’s Judicial Assistant and the Case
Management Team. In general, trials and non-expedited hearings on the St. Louis docket
will be scheduled in St. Louis the third week of each month; trials and hearings on the Cape
Girardeau docket will be scheduled in Cape Girardeau at all other times.
8. Alternative Dispute Resolution
Civil cases (except habeas corpus) will be referred to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
as set out in the CMO. Plaintiff’s counsel, or any counsel to whom the parties agree, will be
designated as lead counsel who shall work with opposing counsel to select a neutral and
notify the judicial assistant of the agreed upon neutral, no later than twenty days from the
start of the referral. Please note that once the case has been referred to ADR, those
deadlines are binding and may only be extended by order of the Court. Lead counsel will be
contacted by the Court if deadlines have expired.
A list of approved neutrals and the Court’s ADR referral procedure are available on the
Court’s website at https://www.moed.uscourts.gov/alternative-dispute-resolution-adr.
If a settlement is reached the Court shall be notified immediately, and the parties shall file a
Joint Stipulation for Dismissal in accordance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
41(a)(1)(A)(ii) or a proposed consent judgment within thirty days. The Court shall also be
notified if a settlement is not reached.
9. Proposed Orders/Judgments
Any proposed order or proposed judgment must be filed electronically as a PDF attachment
to the motion or memorandum to which it pertains in accordance with CM/ECF
requirements. Additionally, the proposed order or proposed judgment must be emailed in
Word format to chambers at
[email protected].
10. Sealed Documents and Protective Orders
Proposed protective orders submitted to the Court for approval which contemplate the filing
of a file or documents under seal must contain a date certain on which the seal will be lifted
or the documents returned to the parties. A proposed protective order lacking a date certain
for lifting the seal or returning the documents to the parties will be denied without prejudice.
Attorneys are also referred to the provisions of E.D.Mo. Local Rule 13.05 concerning sealed
documents and files.
11. Trial
Time of Trial: Times for starting and adjourning the trial day will be announced at the start
of trial. Ordinarily, Court will begin each day at 9:00 a.m. and adjourn at 5:00 or 5:30 p.m.
Preliminary matters should be raised during pretrial conference and not at the start of the
trial day when the jury and all others are ready to proceed. At the pretrial conference, the
Court will be available to resolve preliminary matters, as trial and jury time will not be used
to resolve such matters.
Jury Instructions in Civil Cases: Proposed Jury Instructions shall be submitted by the
parties as required in the CMO.
Voir Dire in Civil and Criminal Cases: After initial questions by the Court, counsel may
conduct the voir dire subject to time limits. The voir dire specifics, such as time limits, will
be outlined at the pretrial conference. In every case, the Court reserves the right to conduct
the voir dire. In such cases, counsel will be encouraged to submit voir dire questions to the
Court at least three days before trial.
Evidentiary Objections: No evidentiary objections shall be argued in the presence of the
jury. Counsel may request a bench conference to argue such objections out of the hearing of
the jury.
Recross: Recross is not allowed as a matter of right but will be allowed if something new is
brought out on redirect.
Opening Statements and Closing Arguments: The time period for such arguments will be
decided at the pretrial conference.
12. General Courtroom Rules for Counsel, Parties, and Spectators
Notify the Deputy Clerk upon arrival and introduce additional counsel, parties, etc.
Do NOT expect ELMO training the morning of trial. Training is available through the
Clerk’s Office prior to trial. Please contact the Case Management Team at least one week
prior to trial to request a training session and time to practice with equipment.
Stand when the jury enters the Courtroom, and counsel shall stand when speaking. Ask
permission of the Court to approach a witness or the bench.
No eating, drinking (other than water), gum chewing, or audible beepers, watches and cell
phones allowed in the courtroom. Water and cups are provided at the counsel tables.
Counsel shall treat each other and all witnesses, including adverse witnesses, professionally
and courteously. All statements by counsel should be directed to the Court and not to
opposing counsel.
All witnesses should be addressed by their last names with appropriate titles.
Children are not allowed as spectators unless they are accompanied by an adult seated with
them in the spectators’ area. A party to the suit (defendant, attorney, case agent, etc.) cannot
qualify as the attending adult.
Counsel shall disclose to the Court the identity and order of witnesses as far in advance as
possible, but in no event less than 24 hours before the beginning of the trial day on which
the witnesses are to be called. Counsel is expected to have witnesses to fill the entire trial
day.
All exhibits should be marked in compliance with the CMO prior to trial.
Counsel must also stand when making objections. Counsel should instruct their witnesses
not to answer a question while an objection is pending. Non-examining counsel should
remain seated during witness examination unless standing to make an objection.
No persons at counsel tables shall convey a personal opinion regarding witness testimony or
bench ruling through verbal or non-verbal reactions. Any person violating this rule may be
summarily ejected from the courtroom. Any signaling to a witness on the stand will be
treated as contempt of court.
Sidebar conferences are disfavored but may be had with court approval. Counsel is directed
to address scheduling or substantive issues during breaks without the jury present.
