UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
EASTERN DIVISION
United States of America )
) CASE NO. 5:14CR000
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) Judge John R. Adams
)
) TRIAL ORDER
Defendant. )
)
)
A Pretrial Conference is hereby scheduled for November 5, 2014 at 11:00 a.m.
in the courtroom of Judge John R. Adams, Courtroom 575 of the United States District Court, 2
South Main Street, Akron, 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(s) must be present.
All parties are specifically informed that this District has ordered that “plea negotiations
must be completed by a date certain in advance of the scheduled trial.” ACCORDINGLY, THE
COURT WILL NOT ACCEPT PLEA AGREEMENTS AFTER THE DATE OF THE
PRETRIAL.
This case is scheduled for Trial on November 17, 2014 at 9:00 a.m.,
in the courtroom of the Honorable John R. Adams, Courtroom 575 of the United States District
Courthouse, 2 South Main Street, Akron, Ohio.
The following instructions will govern the operation of the trial and the obligations of
parties and their counsel:
1. TRIAL DAYS
COUNSEL MUST PROVIDE PROPER ATTIRE FOR DEFENDANTS IN
CUSTODY. ATTIRE IS TO BE PROVIDED TO THE U.S. MARSHAL’S SERVICE IN
AKRON PRIOR TO THE START OF VOIR DIRE.
Trial days will begin at 9:00 a.m. and continue until 4:30 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
shall be present in the courtroom from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 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 and filed with the Court no later than three (3) business days prior to the trial
date.
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 filed no later than three (3) business days
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prior to the trial date.
3. MOTIONS, TRIAL BRIEFS, EXHIBIT LISTS, WITNESS LISTS
Motions other than Motions in Limine shall be filed no later than thirty (30) days
following the date of arraignment. Any party seeking to file a motion beyond this deadline shall
first seek and obtain leave of Court. Motions filed beyond the deadline without leave of Court
may be stricken.
The Court does not look favorably upon the practice of filing pro forma motions. It is
expected that every motion filed will be based on real factual need and be supported by a
substantial foundation and such foundation will be explicitly stated in the motion pursuant to Local
Criminal Rule 12.1.
Responses to pretrial motions shall be filed within seven (7) days after service of the
motion.
Trial briefs, exhibit lists and any Motions in Limine, shall be filed no later than seven (7)
business days prior to the trial date with objections due three (3) days thereafter. A complete trial
brief includes: (a) a statement of the 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 provided to chambers, preferably via email to the Court’s
courtroom deputy or law clerk (do not file or exchange) 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, 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
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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
As noted above, objections to trial briefs and exhibit lists shall be filed no later than 3
business days after receipt of the underlying filings. 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. USE OF SUBPOENAS
Counsel are instructed to review the Court’s standing order regarding the issuance of
subpoenas under Fed.R.Crim.P. 17(c)(1). The Court’s standing order can be found at
http://www.ohnd.uscourts.gov/home/judges/judge-john-r-adams/ and its requirements are fully
incorporated herein.
6. MARKING OF EXHIBITS
Exhibits shall be marked before trial with exhibit stickers, which 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. For extensive exhibits, Bates Stamp numbering will be acceptable in lieu of specific
exhibit marking. However, the initial page of the exhibit must be properly marked.
If there are multiple parties, the party’s last name or other identifying characteristic (e.g.,
initials) should precede the numbers or letters (e.g., "Pl. Smith-1" or "Deft. Jones-1001"). Joint
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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. Once
again, Bates Stamp numbering is acceptable for these types of exhibits.
Where more than ten (10) exhibits are offered by a party, it is required that counsel place all
exhibit sets in a three-ring loose-leaf binder/notebook with appropriately marked divider tabs and a
table of contents. One (1) copy of all exhibits shall be furnished to the Court on the morning of
trial.
Exhibits themselves will not be filed with the Clerk of Court.
7. TECHNOLOGY FOR EXHIBITS
Any party that seeks to offer into evidence any type of electronic exhibits - including, but
not limited to, audio CDs, DVDs, videos, or any other manner of electronic media – shall bear
entirely the burden of ensuring that the proper technology and equipment is available to allow a
jury to view the media within the confines of the jury room and without any outside assistance.
8. VOIR DIRE
The Court will conduct initial voir dire of the panel and of individual panel members. The
Court may 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 no later than seven (7) business
days prior to the trial date. Counsel is also instructed to provide a courtesy copy of the
proposed voir dire electronically to the Court’s courtroom deputy or law clerk.
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9. JURY INSTRUCTIONS
Counsel are required to provide jury instructions 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 no later than ten (10) calendar days
prior to the trial 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 shall be filed and hand-delivered or
faxed to chambers no later than three (3) business days prior to the trial 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
filed as well as produced electronically to the Court’s law clerk or courtroom deputy in a
format that may be edited.
10. 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
11. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO COUNSEL
If and when a plea or change of plea is scheduled, the plea agreement shall be provided
electronically to the Court’s courtroom deputy or law clerk no later than one business day
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prior to the scheduled hearing.
12. 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.
Date: /s/ John R. Adams
JOHN R. ADAMS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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