THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
________________ DIVISION
_________________________,
Plaintiff(s), Case No.: XX-CV-XXXXX-SRB
v.
_________________________,
Defendant(s).
RULES OF JURY TRIAL
1. Court will normally convene at 8:30 a.m. and recess at or near 5:00 p.m. Counsel
and the parties should be in the courtroom by 8:00 a.m. on each day of trial in order to take
up any matters that need to be addressed before the jury is brought in at 8:30 a.m. The parties may
expect morning, lunch, and afternoon breaks at appropriate times.
2. Unless excused by the Court, counsel and all participants at counsel table shall: (a)
stand as Court is opened, recessed, or adjourned; (b) stand when the jury enters and retires from
the courtroom; (c) address all remarks, other than examination of a witness, to the Court instead
of to opposing counsel; and (d) avoid disparaging personal remarks toward opposing counsel.
3. Except in unusual circumstances, counsel should stand when addressing the Court,
being addressed by the Court, or examining a witness. See Local Rule 83.3(a).
4. Counsel will conduct voir dire. Voir dire is typically concluded by noon on the first
day of trial. At the conclusion of the questioning, the jury will be excused and each side may move
to strike for cause. Plaintiff’s strikes will be made first, and then defendant’s strikes will be made.
The panel will be recalled and the jury will be seated and sworn.
5. Absent good cause shown, opening statements will be limited to thirty (30) minutes
for each side.
6. Visual aid or exhibits may be used during an opening statement. Opposing counsel
must be shown the visual aid or exhibit prior to the use of the item during the opening statement.
7. During the course of trial, each party shall notify opposing counsel of all witnesses
it intends to call the following day. The parties should be prepared to have a witness ready to testify
immediately following the conclusion of testimony of another witness.
8. The interrogation of each witness shall consist of: (1) direct examination; (2) cross-
examination; (3) redirect examination. No further questioning will be permitted except by leave of
Court in extraordinary circumstances.
9. Only one (1) counsel per party may examine a witness. See Local Rule 83.3(b).
10. Counsel may approach a witness for any legitimate purpose without requesting
permission to do so. However, witnesses shall be interrogated from a reasonable distance and shall
not be badgered.
11. If a podium is provided, counsel may use it, but are not required to do so. However,
counsel will not be allowed to intrude into the jury’s space. Furthermore, no paper, object or hands
of counsel shall be placed on the railing in front of the jury box.
12. When making an objection, counsel should say only “objection” plus the legal
reason for the objection (i.e., leading, hearsay, etc). If objecting counsel desires to give reasons for
the objection or if an opposing counsel desires to oppose the objection, counsel shall request leave
to approach the bench. Objections to evidence should be made only by counsel handling the
witness. Objections during opening statements or closing arguments should be made only by
counsel making the opening statement or closing argument.
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13. After counsel questions an expert witness about his/her qualifications, do not ask
the Court to declare the witness an expert.
14. Counsel shall treat adverse witnesses and parties with fairness and consideration.
No abusive language or offensive personal references will be tolerated.
15. Visible reactions to a witness’s testimony, counsel’s presentation, or Court ruling
(such as facial or body gestures) are inappropriate.
16. Do not converse with your client or co-counsel in a manner that your conversation
may be heard by the jury.
17. The length of closing arguments will be established during the instruction
conference.
18. Instructions will be read to the jury before closing arguments. Each juror will be
given a copy of the instructions after closing arguments for use during deliberations.
19. After the jury retires, counsel for each party shall assemble all of the exhibits and
keep them available in the courtroom. Counsel and their clients should remain in the courthouse
and advise the Court’s staff where they will be located while the jury is deliberating.
20. After the jury is dismissed, counsel for each party must take possession of his/her
exhibits from the courtroom deputy and sign the receipt at the bottom of the exhibit list.
21. If the parties have any kind of daily transcript or realtime requests during the trial,
they must contact the Court Reporter, Gayle Wambolt, one month before the start of trial at
[email protected].
IT IS SO ORDERED.
/s/ Stephen R. Bough
STEPHEN R. BOUGH, JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DATE: ___________
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