IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
EASTERN DIVISION
, Case No.
Plaintiff,
-vs-
JUDGE PAMELA A. BARKER
,
CIVIL TRIAL ORDER
Defendant.
1. Trial and Final Pretrial Dates
This case is scheduled for Trial on ________. The trial day will begin promptly at 9:00
a.m. and will conclude at approximately 4:30 p.m. Counsel must appear at 8:30 a.m. The trial will
be held in the courtroom of United States District Judge Pamela A. Barker, located in Room 16A of
the Carl B. Stokes United States Court House, 801 West Superior Avenue, Cleveland Ohio, 44113.
The Final Pretrial Conference is scheduled for _________ at ________ a.m./p.m.
Pursuant to Local Rule 16.3(e), the parties and lead counsel of record must be present and prepared
with full authority to discuss all aspects of the case, including any pending motions, jury instructions,
witness and exhibit lists, scheduling and settlement. For a plaintiff, “full authority” means final
authority to dismiss the case with prejudice and to accept in settlement an amount or terms down to
the defendant’s last offer. For a defendant, “full authority” means final authority to commit a
defendant to pay, in the representative’s own discretion, a settlement amount up to the plaintiff’s last
demand. If a representative must make a telephone call or otherwise communicate with a person not
in attendance to authorize a demand or offer, then that representative does not have full authority as
required. In addition, in cases where a party requires authority from an insurer to settle the case, the
party must ensure that a representative of the insurance company with full authority to settle the case
attends the conference.
Counsel are to have conferred with their clients, and with each other, regarding their final
settlement posture no later than two (2) business days before the final pretrial conference.
2. Trial Briefs and Witness and Exhibits Lists
Each party is required to file a trial brief with the Court no later than ten (10) days prior to
trial. In addition, one (1) copy of each party’s trial brief shall be delivered to Chambers. A trial brief
shall include: (a) a statement of the facts; (b) a discussion of the controlling law with particular
emphasis on those legal issues which might justify a complete or partial motion under Rule 50 of the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; (c) a list of proposed witnesses along with a brief description of the
subject matter of the testimony of each witness; (d) an index of all proposed exhibits containing a
brief description of each exhibit; (e) a discussion of any evidentiary issues likely to arise at trial; (f)
any proposed voir dire questions; (g) proposed jury instructions (as set forth in Paragraph 8 of this
Order); and (h) an estimate of the length of the trial.
A witness not listed in the trial brief shall not testify at trial except under extraordinary
circumstances. This rule applies to lay witnesses as well as to expert witnesses. An exhibit not listed
in the trial brief shall not be introduced at trial, absent a showing of good cause. Counsel are required
to exchange trial briefs no later than ten (10) days prior to the scheduled trial date.
3. Motions in Limine
Motions in Limine shall be filed no later than twenty-eight (28) days prior to trial.
Responses to motions in limine shall be filed seven (7) days after the filing of the motions in limine.
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4. Stipulations of Fact and Preliminary Statements
Counsel for the parties shall confer with one another in order to prepare written stipulations
as to all uncontested facts to be presented at trial to the jury or to the Court, as the case may be.
Stipulations of fact are strongly encouraged in order to eliminate the need for testimony of witnesses
to facts which are not in dispute. Stipulations are to be filed with the Court no later than ten (10)
days prior to trial.
Counsel shall also prepare and submit a Joint Preliminary Statement, not to exceed one (1)
page, describing the case in an impartial, easily understood and concise manner for use by the Court
either during voir dire or at the time the jury is impaneled. This statement will be used to set the
context of the trial for the jury and shall be delivered to Chambers no later than ten (10) days prior
to trial.
5. Exhibits
The Court is using new technology to facilitate the viewing of exhibits by jurors. Each party
must submit all exhibits on a single storage device such as a CD, DVD, or USB drive. A separate
CD or USB drive should be provided for Plaintiffs’ Exhibits, Defendants’ Exhibits, and any Joint
Exhibits. Each party must send the exhibits in this format to the Court, Chambers 16A, such that the
Court is guaranteed to receive them by no later than two (2) business days prior to trial.
The Exhibit Files must be renamed using a naming convention similar to:<exhibit number>-
<exhibit part>_<exhibit description>.<file extension>. The exhibit number MUST be a number.
Exhibits with subparts can be so designated using a letter for the exhibit part. The use of the
“underscore” character is required when an optional description of the exhibit is included and cannot
be used elsewhere in the exhibit name.
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Example listing of valid exhibit file names:
1-a_photograph.jpg12_2009
Tax Statement.pdf
35d.pdf
12(a)_camera footage.wmv
Any questions regarding the naming conventions for the electronically stored exhibits should
be directed to David Zendlo at (216) 357-7053.
To maintain consistency between the electronic and the paper exhibits, BOTH PARTIES
SHALL LABEL THEIR EXHIBITS WITH NUMBERS. Counsel shall mark all exhibits before trial
with official or similar stickers. Exhibits shall be labeled with the party followed by the exhibit
number (e.g., “Plaintiff 1”, “Def 2”, or “P 3”). The case number shall also appear on the stickers.
In addition to electronically submitting exhibits, Counsel shall submit to the Court two (2)
hard copies of all proposed exhibits, contained in two separate binders, along with an index containing
a brief description of each exhibit on the morning that the trial commences. There is no need to file
the exhibits with the Clerk of Court. Rather, exhibits may be delivered directly to the Judge’s
chambers. The original exhibits should be retained by counsel for use at trial. Counsel shall exchange
copies of all exhibits and exhibit indexes no later than two (2) business days before the scheduled
trial date.
The Court will not allow exhibits to be given to the jury during trial without prior Court
approval. If the Court approves such a request, a copy for each juror must be provided so that all
jurors may view the exhibit simultaneously. Exhibits not identified and exchanged prior to trial shall
not be introduced at trial, absent a showing of good cause.
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6. Objections to Witnesses or Exhibits
Counsel are directed to confer with each other to resolve any objections to witnesses or
exhibits that they may have. Objections to a proposed witness or exhibit that have not been resolved
among counsel shall be filed with the Court no later than seven (7) days prior to trial. Such
objections shall include a brief statement setting forth reasoning why the proposed witness or exhibit
should not be permitted or admitted, as well as specific citations to pertinent case law or other legal
authority.
7. Voir Dire
Pursuant to Local Rule 47.3, the Court will conduct initial voir dire of the panel and of
individual panel members. The Court will thereafter allow one counsel for each party to question
briefly individual panel members on relevant issues not addressed by the Court. Proposed voir dire
questions included in the trial brief may be included in the Court’s examination, subject to the Court’s
discretion.
8. Proposed Jury Instructions
Counsel for the various parties are required to confer with one another in person with
respect to proposed jury instructions, with a view to reaching agreement on instructions to be
requested.
The parties shall file one joint set of jury instructions identifying the following:
(a) instructions agreed upon by all counsel with supporting legal authority; and
(b) instructions in dispute with the party proposing the instruction stating
supporting reasons and legal authority, and the party objecting to the instruction
stating supporting reasons and legal authority.
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No proposed jury instruction will be considered by the Court unless it has been
submitted in compliance with these provisions, except that requests for instructions that could
not reasonably have been anticipated may be submitted during trial.
Counsel must also provide the agreed upon jury instructions to the Court on a USB drive. The
Court is equipped with Microsoft Word. When submitting the USB drive to the Court, counsel are
advised to alert the security guards and avoid the x-ray machine to avoid accidental erasure.
9. Deposition Testimony (Videotape and Written)
Whenever depositions (videotape and written) are intended to be used as evidence at trial,
counsel proposing to use such deposition shall notify opposing counsel in the trial brief. Any
objections to portions of the deposition must be filed in writing with the Court no later than seven (7)
days prior to trial. If there are objections, counsel proposing to use said deposition shall file a brief
in support within three (3) days after the objections are filed or indicate an agreement to delete the
portion for which there is an objection. The Court must be provided with a complete written transcript
of videotape depositions.
10. Continuances
No party shall be granted a continuance of a trial or hearing without a written motion from
the party or counsel stating the reason for the continuance endorsed in writing by all moving parties
and their lead counsel of record. The Court will not consider any motion for a continuance due to a
conflict of trial assignment dates unless a copy of the conflicting assignment is attached thereto.
11. Electronic Courtroom
Any party that wishes to familiarize themselves with the presentation equipment and other
technology available for use in the courtroom prior to trial, should contact the Courtroom Deputy at
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216-357-7240 no later than one week before trial to schedule a time to visit the courtroom. If the
party will require technological assistance with any of the equipment, they should also contact the
Court’s technology advisors to ensure that someone will be available during the scheduled time to
assist with the set-up and use of any equipment, or any other technological issues that may arise.
12. Settlement
The parties shall notify the Court at the earliest possible time if a settlement is reached in the
case.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
s/ Pamela A. Barker
PAMELA A. BARKER
Date: March 3, 2023 U. S. DISTRICT JUDGE
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