UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
EASTERN DIVISION
)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ) CASE NO.:
)
Plaintiff, )
) JUDGE DAN AARON POLSTER
v. )
)
)
)
) CRIMINAL JURY TRIAL ORDER
Defendant(s). )
A Pretrial Conference is scheduled for , in the courtroom
of Judge Polster, Courtroom 18B of the United States District Courthouse, 801 W. Superior Ave.,
Cleveland, Ohio. Lead counsel of record must be present and prepared with full authority to discuss
all aspects of the case, including any pending motions and trial schedule. The Defendant must be
present. A PLEA PURSUANT TO A WRITTEN PLEA AGREEMENT MUST BE TAKEN
BY THIS DATE.
A Final Pretrial is scheduled for , in the courtroom of
Judge Dan A. Polster, Courtroom 18B of the United States District Courthouse, 801 W. Superior
Ave, Cleveland, Ohio . 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. The defendant also must be present.
This case is scheduled for a Jury Trial , in the courtroom of Judge
Dan A. Polster, Courtroom 18B of the United States District Courthouse, 801 W. Superior Ave,
Cleveland, Ohio.
The following instructions will govern the operation of the trial and the obligations of parties
and their counsel:
1. TRIAL DAYS
Trials will begin at 9:00 a.m. and continue until 5:30 p.m., unless circumstances dictate
otherwise. A one (1) hour lunch break and two (2) fifteen minute breaks will be provided for.
Counsel must notify the Court’s staff of issues to be addressed by the Court outside the presence of
the jury so that trial may proceed with as few interruptions as possible. Accordingly, counsel
should expect to be present in the courtroom from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. in order to address
matters outside the presence of the jury.
All parties are to be present in the courtroom at all times when the jury is seated.
2. 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. Said stipulations shall be signed by both counsel as well as the
defendant, filed with the Court and emailed to the Court’s chambers no later no later than three (3)
business days prior to the final pretrial conference date. The fax number for the Court’s chambers
is 216-357-7195.
Counsel shall also prepare and submit a Joint Preliminary Statement (not to exceed 2 pages)
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 must be emailed to chambers no later than three (3) business days prior
to the final pretrial conference date.
3. MOTIONS, TRIAL BRIEFS, EXHIBIT LISTS, WITNESS LISTS
Motions other than Motions in Limine shall be filed within thirty (30) days following the
date of arraignment. Trial briefs, exhibit lists and any Motions in Limine, shall be filed,
exchanged by hand delivery, email or fax, and emailed to chambers no later than three (3) business
days prior to the final pretrial conference date A complete trial brief includes: (a) a statement of the
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facts; (b) a complete discussion of the controlling law together with specific citations of statutes and
case law; and (c) a discussion of any evidentiary issues likely to arise at trial. Witness lists shall be
emailed to chambers (do not file or exchange) no later than three (3) business days prior to the final
pretrial conference date. The witness lists shall provide a brief description and the purpose of each
witness, and shall list and briefly describe each item of documentary or physical evidence which is
to be offered.
Each attorney shall have a continuing obligation to supplement the party’s exhibit and
witness lists immediately upon learning of any additional witness. Exhibits not identified and
exchanged prior to trial shall not be introduced at trial, absent a showing of good cause. This rule
applies to lay witnesses as well as to expert witnesses.
4. OBJECTIONS
Any objections to a proposed exhibit shall be filed, served, and emailed to chambers no later
than 12:00 p.m. noon one (1) business day before the final pretrial conference. Such objections shall
include a brief statement as to why the proposed witness exhibit should not be permitted or admitted,
as well as, specific citations to pertinent case law or other legal authority.
5. MARKING OF EXHIBITS
Exhibits shall be marked before trial with exhibit stickers and shall be listed on the
attached exhibit chart. Exhibit stickers are available from the clerk's office upon request. Plaintiff
shall mark exhibits with numbers beginning with 1, and the defendant shall mark exhibits with
numbers beginning with 1001. (e.g., “Pl. Ex. 1" and “Deft. Ex. 1001”) All exhibits must indicate
the case number on the bottom portion of the exhibit sticker.
If there are multiple parties, the party's last name should precede the numbers or letters (e.g.,
"Pl. Smith-1" or "Deft. Jones-1001"). Joint exhibits are strongly encouraged and shall be marked
“Joint Ex. 1,” “Joint Ex. 2,” etc.
Whenever a multi-page exhibit is used, each page of the exhibit must be separately
numbered. For example, if Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1 is a three-page document, the first page should be
marked as Pl. Ex. 1-1, the second page marked as 1-2, and the third page marked as 1-3.
Where more than ten (10) exhibits are offered by a party, it is required that counsel place all
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exhibit sets in a three-ring loose-leaf binder/notebook with appropriately marked divider tabs and
a table of contents. Two (2) copies of all exhibits and the exhibit chart shall be furnished to the
Court on the morning of trial.
Exhibits themselves will not be filed with the Clerk of Court.
6. VOIR DIRE
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 the panel briefly on issues not
addressed by the Court.
Proposed questions for the Court's voir dire must be filed, served and emailed to chambers
no later than three (3) business days prior to the final pretrial conference date.
7. JURY INSTRUCTIONS
Counsel are required to provide jury instructions and verdict forms to the Court only on the
law applicable to the particular charges for which the defendant is on trial. The Court will provide
general boilerplate instructions on issues such as credibility, burden of proof, etc.
Counsel shall exchange proposed jury instructions and verdict forms no later than ten (10)
calendar days prior to the final pretrial date. Counsel shall then confer regarding their respective
proposals in an effort to reach an agreement regarding as many jury instructions and interrogatories
as possible.
A single joint submission of jury instructions and verdict forms shall be filed and hand-
delivered or emailed to chambers no later than three (3) business days prior to the final
pretrial conference date, providing: (1) agreed upon instructions; (2) instructions proposed by
plaintiff, but opposed by defendants; and (3) instructions proposed by defendants, but opposed by
plaintiffs. All proposed instructions shall be supported by citations to legal authority.
Such single joint submission of jury instructions and interrogatories to the Court shall be
made in writing AS WELL AS produced on a CD. The CD should be formatted for an IBM
compatible computer. The Court is equipped with WordPerfect X3. When submitting the CD to
the Court, to avoid accidental erasure, counsel are advised to alert the security guards when entering
the building. The CD may be brought and submitted to the Court at the final pretrial
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conference.
8. JENCKS AND RECIPROCAL JENCKS MATERIAL
Unless there is a well-founded concern for the safety of the witness, the parties are strongly
encouraged to provide Jencks and reciprocal Jencks material no later than the close of proceedings
the day before the witness is expected to testify
9. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO COUNSEL
Any and all motions, responses, stipulations, objections, pleadings or memoranda filed or
required within two (2) business days of any plea, conference, hearing, final pretrial, or trial, shall
be emailed to chambers as well as to opposing counsel on the same day it is filed. If and when a plea
or change of plea is scheduled, the plea agreement shall be emailed or faxed to the Court not later
than one day prior to the plea.
10. CONDUCT OF COUNSEL
Pursuant to the Statement on Professionalism issued by the Supreme Court of Ohio on
February 3, 1997, counsel are directed to be courteous and civil in all oral and written
communications with each other and the Court. Pleadings or any other communications which do
not conform to this standard will be rejected.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DAN AARON POLSTER
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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TIME LINE OF OBLIGATIONS
UNDER THIS TRIAL ORDER
Ten (10) calendar days before Final Pretrial Conference
1) Counsel to exchange their proposed jury instructions with each other in order to then
confer and arrive at agreed-upon instructions.
By no later than three (3) business days prior to the final pretrial conference date
1) File and hand deliver or email to chambers a single, joint, submission of proposed
jury instructions and verdict forms indicating (1) agreed upon instructions; (2)
instructions proposed by plaintiff, but opposed by defendants; and (3) instructions
proposed by defendants, but opposed by plaintiffs. (CD with the proposed jury
instructions may be brought and submitted to the Court at the final pretrial.)
2) Email to chambers a Joint Preliminary Statement (not more than 2 pages) describing
the case in an impartial, easily understood and concise manner for use by the Court
to be read to the jury.
3) File and email to chambers Stipulations of Fact, signed by counsel and the defendant.
4) File, exchange and email to chambers trial briefs, exhibit lists, proposed voir dire
questions, and Motions in Limine.
5) Email to chambers witness lists.
One (1) business day before Final Pretrial Conference (no later than 12 noon)
1) File, exchange and email to chambers any objections to exhibits.
Final Pretrial Conference
1) Bring the CD consisting of the agreed upon jury instructions and interrogatories to
the final pretrial conference.
Morning of Trial
1) Submit to the Court two (2) copies of trial exhibits organized in a three-ring looseleaf
binder, and two (2) copies of the exhibit chart.
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
EASTERN DIVISION
) Case No.
)
Plaintiff, ) JUDGE DAN AARON POLSTER
)
v. )
)
)
)
Defendant. )
PLAINTIFF/DEFENDANT EXHIBITS
EXHIBIT NOT
NO. DESCRIPTION I.D. OFFERED OBJ ADMITTED ADMITTED
7
EXHIBIT NOT
NO. DESCRIPTION I.D. OFFERED OBJ. ADMITTED ADMITTED
8
