CHAMBERS RULES FOR THE HON. JOHN F. HEIL, III
EASTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
Last updated March 25, 2026
General Chambers Rules
1. Expectations: Professionalism, courtesy, decorum, and common sense shall dictate all
behavior in this Court. The parties and attorneys, including pro se litigants, will be held to
the highest standard of professional conduct, personal and professional courtesy, and
deportment throughout all proceedings conducted in this Court.
2. Local Rules: You are expected to be familiar with and adhere strictly to the requirements
of all local rules, particularly those concerning courtroom behavior under LGnR 3.
3. Courtroom Protocol:
a. All electronic devices must be powered off. On a showing of good cause, counsel
may obtain approval for the use of electronic devices during trial.
b. Do not place feet, shoes, or any objects which might scratch or mar surfaces—
including briefcases with metal closures or feet, demonstrative aids, exhibits, etc.—
on courtroom furniture, including chairs, conference tables, and benches.
c. Do not chew gum or eat food, mints, candy, etc. in the courtroom.
d. Other than bottled water, no beverages are allowed in the courtroom.
e. Only the attorney questioning a witness should raise objections concerning that
witness’ testimony.
f. To the extent a sidebar conference is allowed during the examination of a witness,
only the attorney questioning the witness should present argument.
g. Do not greet or introduce yourself to adverse witnesses. Commence your cross-
examination without preliminaries. Do not face or otherwise appear to address
yourself to jurors when questioning a witness.
h. Physical evidence should be handled with disposable gloves. If the physical
evidence to be presented at trial involves biological matter or potential biohazards,
advance notice should be given to the Court’s courtroom deputy—preferably at
pretrial conference, but no later than the day that exhibit lists are due.
4. Advocacy: Federal courtroom advocacy opportunities are rare. To facilitate training the
next generation of attorneys, the Court strongly encourages new or inexperienced attorneys
to participate in courtroom proceedings and conferences. The Court is amenable to having
multiple attorneys speak if it creates opportunities for junior lawyers.
5. Motions and Responses:
a. Statement of Conferral: Any motion must state on the first page whether it is
opposed or unopposed. If opposed, the motion must include a statement of
conferral evidencing the manner in which conferral with opposing counsel took
place. If concurrence to the motion could not be obtained or was refused, the
motion should explain why concurrence could not be obtained. A motion that fails
to include a statement of conferral or a statement as to whether the motion is
opposed or unopposed may be summarily denied.
b. Unopposed Motions: In general, motions seeking judicial notice of a fact or
declaration of an issue as a matter of law will be entertained only if the fact or issue
is contested by the parties. If the matter is uncontested, the parties should instead
file a stipulation. Unopposed motions may be stricken unless good cause is shown
for need of the Court’s determination.
c. Motions in Limine:
i. The Court strongly encourages the use of motions in limine to resolve
complicated or unusual evidentiary issues. Such motions should be filed by
the deadline set forth in the scheduling order and will be addressed at the
pretrial conference, as necessary. Counsel should not wait until trial to seek
exclusion of evidence counsel knew opposing counsel would seek to
introduce. If a motion in limine is not timely filed, it will not be considered
absent a showing of manifest injustice.
ii. The parties are discouraged from filing a motion in limine requesting an
order that the parties be required to follow the Federal Rules of Evidence.
Any motion in limine filed should concern specific evidence.
iii. Each party is limited to one (1) omnibus motion in limine which may not
exceed forty (40) pages.
iv. In particular, counsel are directed to raise objections to anticipated scientific
evidence and expert testimony by a timely motion in limine. Any issues
implicating Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579
(1993), should be raised in a Daubert motion pursuant to the deadline set
forth in the scheduling order.
d. Citation to unpublished cases: Cite to unpublished cases using the Westlaw
citation. If a Westlaw citation is not available, the unpublished case shall be
attached to the filing.
6. Evidentiary Hearings: For any hearing that is expected to be evidentiary, the parties are
directed to email the courtroom deputy the proposed witness and exhibit lists three (3)
business days prior to the hearing. Additionally, the parties shall provide four (4) paper
copies of a typewritten Witness List and Exhibit List to the courtroom deputy prior to the
hearing.
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Criminal Chambers Rules
1. Hearings:
a. All counsel, including out of state counsel, are required to attend all criminal
hearings in person.
b. Counsel are encouraged to appear 15 minutes early for any hearing.
c. Pretrial conferences are typically set on a pretrial docket and heard in ascending
order by case number. If a lengthy hearing (more than 10 minutes) is anticipated
or the Court wishes to hear pending motions, the pretrial conference may be moved
to either a separate time or the end of the docket.
d. Sentencings and revocations are typically set on a sentencing docket. If a lengthy
hearing (more than 30 minutes) is anticipated, please notify the courtroom deputy
as soon as possible and the hearing may be moved to a separate date and/or time.
2. Joint Status Report Regarding Production of Discovery:
a. The joint status report (“JSR”) should be filed in CM/ECF as a “Status Report.”
b. The JSR should provide a substantive update on the status of discovery including,
but not limited to, any materials yet to be produced, any materials requested but not
produced, the reason any materials have not been produced, and the anticipated
timing of any such forthcoming production. If a discovery motion is anticipated,
this information should be included in the JSR.
c. Failing to file the JSR without any notice to the Court is unacceptable.
d. If a change of plea hearing is already set, a JSR is unnecessary. If the case is ready
for change of plea, counsel shall notify the Court’s courtroom deputy on or before
the date the JSR is due. Failing to file a JSR merely because the parties anticipate
a change of plea is unacceptable.
3. Motions to Continue Deadlines, Scheduling Order, and/or Trial:
a. Every motion must be clearly titled as unopposed, agreed, or opposed. Pursuant to
LCrR 12.1 and Judge Heil’s General Chambers Rule 5(a), every motion must
contain a statement outlining each party’s position—including any co-defendants—
with respect to the requested relief.
b. A proposed order is not required.
c. Unless the case has been declared complex, if a motion to continue requests an
extension of the trial setting, a speedy trial waiver must be filed. The Court will
not rule on a motion to continue a trial setting without a correct, executed waiver
on file.
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i. The waiver must be submitted on the Court’s required form, which can be
downloaded at this link: Required Waiver of Speedy Trial Form.
ii. The waiver must specifically reference the excludable dates. For example,
if the defendant is set on the September 16, 2024 trial docket and is
requesting a continuance to the October 21, 2024 trial docket, the waiver
shall state “Defendant specifically requests that all delays from a
continuance of his/her jury trial from September 16, 2024 to October 21,
2024 be excluded from computation under the Speedy Trial Act pursuant to
18 U.S.C. § 3161, et seq.”
iii. The waiver must be signed by the defendant and by defendant’s counsel.
iv. Ideally, the waiver should be filed contemporaneously with the motion to
continue.
v. If you file a motion to continue ahead of pretrial conference but are unable
to file a signed waiver prior to the pretrial conference, the motion to
continue will be addressed at the pretrial conference. However, defense
counsel are expected to timely meet with their clients in advance of the
pretrial conference, and the Court discourages the use of pretrial
conferences simply to obtain waivers.
vi. In a multi-defendant case, a waiver of speedy trial is required from each
defendant (unless, as above, the case has been declared complex).
d. Judge Heil’s criminal trial dates are:
July 6, 2026 April 5, 2027
August 1, 2026 May 3, 2027
August 31, 2026 June 1, 2027
October 5, 2026 July 6, 2027
November 2, 2026 August 2, 2027
November 30, 2026 September 7, 2027
January 4, 2027 October 4, 2027
February 1, 2027 November 1, 2027
March 1, 2027 December 6, 2027
4. Motions and Stipulations:
a. Pursuant to LCrR 12.1(E), any response shall be filed within seven (7) days of any
motion’s filing.
b. Replies are not permitted without leave of Court. If leave is granted, replies shall
be limited to five (5) pages.
c. Only one (1) motion to suppress per defendant is permitted absent leave of Court.
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d. The parties should meet and confer in good faith to discuss any stipulations that
would streamline the issues at trial. Any stipulations agreed to should be submitted
by the date listed in the scheduling order. Counsel are reminded of Judge Heil’s
General Chambers Rule 5(b) regarding unopposed motions and stipulations.
e. In addition to complying with General Chambers Rule 5(a) requiring a statement
of conferral between parties, motions related to probation/supervised release issues
must also state the position of the United States Probation Office.
5. Changes of Plea:
a. When a defendant is ready to plead guilty, notify the Court’s courtroom deputy at
[email protected] by email. Please include any dates that are
good for the hearing and any dates to avoid.
b. In most cases, the change of plea hearing will be referred to the criminal duty
Magistrate Judge and set on their court schedule.
c. After the plea hearing is set, you will receive an email with additional information
regarding the submission of the plea documents. Generally, plea documents must
be received at least three (3) business days prior to the change of plea hearing.
i. Petition to enter plea of guilty;
ii. Plea agreement and plea agreement supplement (if applicable).
d. Absent good cause, any superseding information must be filed at least three (3)
days prior to the change of plea hearing.
Civil Chambers Rules
1. Requests for Extension of Time and Extension of Scheduling Order:
a. Must be in writing.
b. Absent an emergency, any request for extension should be filed at least forty-eight
(48) hours before the scheduled deadline.
c. Must follow the standards outlined in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as
interpreted and applied by the Tenth Circuit, and must meet the requirements of
LCvR 7-1(i).
d. Counsel should not assume that the amount of time between the discovery deadline
and start of trial is an invitation to request an extension of deadlines while keeping
the trial date as set. Any request for extension of time will likely affect the trial
setting.
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2. Settlement Conferences: It is the Court’s expectation that parties attend a settlement
conference mid-way through discovery. Requests to continue a settlement conference
because discovery is not complete will not be granted absent good cause. The Court
expects the parties to actively engage in discovery from the onset of the litigation.
3. Pretrial Conferences:
a. Counsel are required to meet prior to the pretrial conference to review all proposed
exhibits. Allegations during trial that counsel have “never seen” one of opposing
counsel’s listed exhibits will be viewed with disfavor.
b. At the pretrial conference, counsel should be prepared to present their arguments
regarding (1) objections to exhibits; (2) pending dispositive motions; and (3)
pending motions in limine. The Court intends to conclude the pretrial conference
with the case ready for trial.
c. Counsel should be prepared to address all matters expected to cause numerous
sidebar conferences or lengthy argument during trial. Once a jury is seated, the
Court wants to keep them working and interested in the case. When possible,
argument and record-making should be delayed until the beginning of a convenient
recess or before or after the trial day.
d. One (1) week prior to the pretrial conference, the parties shall provide two (2)
notebooks containing any exhibits with remaining objections to the Court.
4. Trials:
a. The Court sets civil trials on a trailing docket following criminal cases. At pretrial,
counsel will be advised as to their position on the trial docket. The parties should
understand that a number of criminal cases are likely to be added to this docket.
The Court will not entertain a motion to continue trial merely because of the number
of criminal cases on the docket. Criminal cases routinely resolve on the eve of trial.
Counsel will be prepared to try this case in the event all criminal cases resolve.
Counsel may communicate with the Court’s courtroom deputy for updates
concerning the criminal cases on the docket.
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