PEARSON, J.
(Rev. 8/29/2013)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
EASTERN DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) CASE NO.
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) JUDGE BENITA Y. PEARSON
)
, )
)
Defendant. ) CRIMINAL PRETRIAL and TRIAL ORDER
Trial of this matter shall begin on __________________ at 9:00 a.m., in Courtroom 351,
Federal Building - United States Courthouse, 125 Market Street, Youngstown, Ohio. Counsel
should appear at least 30 minutes before trial time. LEAD COUNSEL AND DEFENDANTS
MUST BE PRESENT AT ALL PROCEEDINGS UNLESS EXCUSED BY THE COURT
UPON WRITTEN MOTION.
A. General
1. General Order No. 93-02 of the United States District Court for the Northern District of
Ohio, adopted May 25 1993 (Jury Utilization Management Plan), provides that “plea negotiations
must be completed by a date certain in advance of the scheduled trial.” Id. at 4. Accordingly, the
Court will rarely accept a plea agreement submitted later than one week prior to the trial date. In the
event the Court does accept such a plea on the day of trial, for good cause shown, the costs for
summoning jurors for one (1) day of service shall be assessed equally against the Government and
the Defendant(s), if a jury has been summoned, unless a different arrangement is agreed to by the
parties.
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2. Motions to travel that are filed within 48 hours of the requested travel will be denied.
Motions must indicate whether the AUSA objects or explain why the AUSA has not been consulted.
3. Pursuant to Local Criminal Rule 17.1.1 counsel shall comply with each of the following
requirements:
a. Discovery shall be completed on or before .
On the discovery cutoff date, counsel shall notify the Court in writing
of any failure to provide discovery material. Requests for discovery
shall be docketed as “Notices.” Only when Court intervention is
required shall a request for discovery be docketed as a “Motion.”
b. Pretrial motions shall be filed on or before .
Each motion filed shall explicitly state the foundation for it, pursuant
to Local Criminal Rule 12.1.
Responses to pretrial motions shall be filed by .
c. The Court shall conduct a final pretrial conference in Courtroom 351,
Federal Building - United States Courthouse, 125 Market Street,
Youngstown, Ohio on at a.m./p.m. Other pretrial
hearings will be scheduled as needed. Before seeking an enhanced
sentence or other increased punishment due to a prior conviction, no
later than , Government’s counsel must file a notice
in accordance with 21 USC section 851 or any other relevant
enhancement provision. Should Defendant choose to enter a plea of
guilty, a Notice of Intent must be filed prior to the final pretrial
conference and a copy of the plea agreement, if any, provided to the
Court via email to
[email protected].
B. Trial Documents
1. Counsel are advised that all documents, notices and orders in this matter shall be filed
electronically rather than on paper, except as provided for in the Electronic Filing Policies and
Procedures Manual, which governs electronic filing in the Northern District of Ohio and also
provides helpful information on system requirements and usage. The manual can be accessed
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online.1 Electronically filed documents should be in a text-searchable format.
Notice of filings are sent electronically. It is the responsibility of each counsel of record to
set up a user e-mail account to receive e-mail notification and to check that e-mail account on a
regular basis. Directions for setting up e-mail notification are at the following link:
http://www.ohnd.uscourts.gov/home/clerk-s-office-and-court-records/electronic-filing/
If you have questions about electronic filing, please call any Northern District of Ohio
Clerk’s Office location or our CM/ECF Help Desk at 1-800-355-8498.
2. The following trial documents are to be submitted to the Court not later than 4:00 p.m.,
ten (10) days prior to the trial date:
a. Preliminary Statement: Counsel for the parties shall confer in person
and agree upon a concise written statement describing the case in an
impartial, easily understood manner and submit it to the Court to be
read to the jury panel prior to voir dire. This statement will be used
to set the context of the trial for the jury.
b. Voir Dire, Jury Instructions, Jury Interrogatories, and Verdict Forms:
Counsel for the parties shall jointly submit written voir dire
questions, jury instructions, jury interrogatories, and verdict forms for
the Court’s consideration. Counsel should confer in person and, to
the extent possible, agree upon a complete set of Jury Materials.
Counsel may separately submit disputed proposed Jury Materials to
the Court and opposing counsel, supported by legal authority. The
Court may reject any proposed Jury Materials. The Court will reject
any proposed Jury Materials espousing a legal theory that is not
supported by a citation to sound legal authority. Ultimately, a single
joint submission of jury instructions, jury interrogatories and verdict
forms shall be filed, providing: (1) agreed upon instructions; (2)
instructions proposed by the government, but opposed by defendant;
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and (3) instructions proposed by defendant, but opposed by the
government. All proposed instructions shall be supported by citations
to legal authority.
c. Trial Briefs: Counsel for the parties shall submit to the Court, ex
parte if necessary, trial briefs providing appropriate memoranda,
supported by legal authority, regarding evidentiary questions and any
other legal issues which may reasonably be anticipated to arise at
trial. A complete trial brief includes: (1) a statement of the facts;(2)
a complete discussion of the controlling law together with specific
citations of statutes and case law; and (3) a discussion of any
evidentiary issues likely to arise at trial.
3. Witness lists: Counsel shall provide to the Court, not exchange, witness lists no later
than three (3) business days prior to the trial date. The witness lists shall provide a brief
description and the purpose of each witness to be offered. Each attorney shall have a continuing
obligation to supplement the party’s witness list immediately upon learning of any additional
witness.
4. Exhibits: All exhibits must be marked before trial in accordance with Local Criminal
Rule 23.2. 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 the Government’s Exhibits, Defendant’s Exhibits,
and any Joint Exhibits. Each party must send the exhibits to Chambers in a manner that guarantees
receipt of the exhibits by noon on Friday before trial commences.
The electronic copies of exhibits must be named 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.
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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.
Examples of valid exhibit file names:
1-a_photograph.jpg
12_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., “Government 1” or “Def 2”). The case number shall also appear on the stickers.
Whenever a multi-page exhibit is used, each page of the exhibit must be separately numbered. For
example, if the Government’s exhibit 1 is a three-page document, the first page should be marked
as Government 1-1, the second page marked Government 1-2, etc. If there are multiple defendants,
the party’s last name should precede the numbers or letters (e.g.,“Deft. Jones-1001”). Exhibit
stickers are available from the Clerk on request.
The Court no longer requires binders containing hard copies of exhibits, in addition to the
electronic copies provided. Should the Court require hard copies, the parties shall be prepared to
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accommodate.
If demonstrative evidence such as models or sketches, are to be used at trial, counsel shall
exchange them no later than two (2) business days prior to the date of trial.
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, sufficient copies for each juror must be provided so
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. This rule applies to lay witnesses
as well as to expert witnesses.
5. Stipulations: Not later than 4:00 p.m., three (3) days prior to the trial date, counsel for
the parties shall confer in person and agree upon stipulations and reduce them to writing.
Stipulations of fact are strongly encouraged to eliminate the need for testimony of witnesses to facts
which are not in dispute. Stipulations shall be signed by counsel and defendant(s) and submitted to
the Court.
C. Other Trial Matters
1. Objections: Any objections to a proposed witness or exhibit shall be filed and served no
later than 12:00 p.m. noon one (1) business day before the trial. Such objections shall include a brief
statement as to 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.
2. 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
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material no later than the close of proceedings the day before the witness is expected to testify.
3. Motions in Limine and Other Evidentiary Matters: Counsel shall submit a trial
memorandum with citations in support of a request to exclude evidence. If the qualifications of an
expert witness are being challenged, the Court will conduct a Daubert hearing before trial. The
Court expects counsel to submit thorough briefs and/or a voir dire of the expert’s testimony so that
the Court has sufficient evidence to perform it’s gatekeeping function of ensuring the expert’s
testimony is reliable and relevant.
The Court will not hold bench or chamber conferences during trial to consider legal issues
including evidentiary rulings that could have been raised before trial without a showing that counsel
could not, by the exercise of due diligence, have anticipated them in advance of trial.
4. Courtroom Conduct and Procedure:
a. Counsel should expect the trial to be conducted from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.,
Monday through Friday. Counsel will be notified of an occasional variance
to this schedule;
b. Counsel should arrive 30 minutes prior to the start of a day in trial;
c. When appearing in this Court, all counsel (including, where the context
applies, all persons at counsel table) shall abide by the following:
A. Stand as court is opened, recessed or adjourned.
B. Stand when the jury enters or retires from the courtroom.
C. Stand when addressing the Court. When making an
objection, state the legal basis only. If a response is
necessary, be brief, without making a speech. If it is critical
to the case that counsel be heard in more detail, a bench
conference may be called to explain the basis for an objection.
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Otherwise, bench conferences will not be permitted.
D. Stand at the lectern while examining any witness; except that
counsel may approach the witness for purposes of handling or
tendering exhibits.
E. Stand at the lectern while making opening statements or
closing arguments.
F. Address all remarks to the Court, not to opposing counsel.
G. Avoid disparaging personal remarks or acrimony toward
opposing counsel and remain wholly detached from any ill
feeling between the litigants or witnesses.
H. Refer to all persons, including witnesses, other counsel, the
parties and the Court’s clerks by their surnames and not by
their first or given names.
I. Only one attorney for each party shall examine, or cross
examine each witness. The attorney stating objections, if any,
during direct examination, shall be the attorney recognized for
cross examination.
J. Any witness testifying at the time of recess or adjournment
must be back on the witness stand when the Court
reconvenes. If a new witness is to be called, she must be
standing in front of the witness box ready to be sworn.
K. In examining a witness, counsel shall not unnecessarily repeat
or echo the answer given by the witness.
L. Gestures, facial expressions, audible comments, or the like, as
manifestations of approval or disapproval during the
testimony of witnesses, or at any other time, are absolutely
prohibited.
5. Continuances: The Court will not continue a trial or hearing without a written motion
stating the reason for the request. A motion for continuance due to a conflict of trial assignment
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dates will not be considered unless the conflicting assignment is adequately described in the motion.
The motion shall be filed and served not less that fifteen (15) days after counsel becomes aware of
the conflict, and not less that thirty (30) days before trial.
6. Conduct of Counsel: In addition to that provided herein, 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.
7. Location of Counsel: Counsel are required to remain in the proximity of the Courtroom
during jury deliberations. If you need to leave the immediate area, you are required to report to the
courtroom deputy.
8. Incarcerated Defendants: Counsel must provide proper attire for defendants in custody.
The attire must be given to the United States Marshals Service in Youngstown, Ohio prior to voir
dire.
9. Video Conference Technology: Witness testimony may be offered during trial via Video
Conference Technology. Docketed Notice must be given of intent to call a witness via video
conference at least one week prior to the start of trial. It is Counsel’s responsibility to find a location
for the witness to receive a video conference call from the Court during trial. Counsel is required
to work with the Court’s IT Department and Courtroom Deputy in advance of trial to test the
technology and be sure the video conference communication works in the courtroom. It is also
Counsel’s responsibility to ensure that the witness, Court and opposing counsel have all necessary
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exhibits. Counsel must be prepared to assure the Court that the witness is who he or she claims to
be. Counsel implicitly makes this assurance whenever a witness is called. But, the likelihood of a
video conferenced witness being an imposter is greater than if the witness were live.
10. Notices of Intent to Plead Guilty: shall be filed at least two business days before the
final pretrial hearing, unless the Court otherwise rules.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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