POLICIES AND PROCEDURES JUDGE MIA ROBERTS PEREZ
The Honorable Mia Roberts Perez
United States District Court
Eastern District of Pennsylvania
James A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse, Courtroom 6A
601 Market Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
May 2024
I. GENERAL MATTERS ............................................................................................................. 2
A. COMMUNICATIONS WITH CHAMBERS ....................................................................................... 2
B. PRO SE (UNREPRESENTED LITIGANTS) COMMUNICATIONS ...................................................... 2
C. ECF FILINGS ............................................................................................................................ 2
D. PRO HAC VICE MOTIONS .......................................................................................................... 2
E. DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS ....................................................................................................... 3
F. MAGISTRATE JUDGE ................................................................................................................. 3
II. PRETRIAL MATTERS ............................................................................................................ 3
A. RULE 16 CONFERENCES ............................................................................................................ 3
B. FINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCES ............................................................................................... 4
C. GUILTY PLEAS .......................................................................................................................... 4
III. MOTIONS PRACTICE ............................................................................................................ 4
A. LENGTH LIMITATIONS .............................................................................................................. 4
B. CONFERENCES BEFORE FILING RULE 12 MOTIONS ................................................................... 5
C. MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ....................................................................................... 5
IV. TRIAL PROCEDURE .............................................................................................................. 6
A. SCHEDULING............................................................................................................................. 6
B. JURY SELECTION & VOIR DIRE ................................................................................................. 6
C. EXHIBITS................................................................................................................................... 6
D. OPENING STATEMENTS & CLOSING ARGUMENTS ...................................................................... 7
E. OBJECTIONS & SIDEBARS .......................................................................................................... 7
F. SENTENCING ............................................................................................................................. 7
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POLICIES AND PROCEDURES JUDGE MIA ROBERTS PEREZ
I. GENERAL MATTERS
A. Communications with Chambers
Judge Perez permits communications with Chambers by telephone or email regarding
scheduling and other non-substantive matters. All other issues must be addressed by motion or
other filing. Under no circumstances may any party or counsel communicate ex parte with any
Chambers personnel concerning substantive matters.
Inquiries should be directed to Judge Perez’s Courtroom Deputy. If the Deputy is not
available, then Judge Perez permits counsel to speak with her Judicial Assistant. If necessary,
attorneys may speak to Judge Perez’s law clerks regarding scheduling matters; however, law clerks
may not render advice to counsel.
Courtroom Deputy: Mia Harvey
Telephone: (267) 299-7589
Judicial Assistant: Patrick Mountney
Telephone: (267) 299-7580
Chambers e-mail:
[email protected]
All writings submitted to Judge Perez’s Chambers should be written in 12-point Times New
Roman font with 1-inch page margins.
B. Pro Se (Unrepresented Litigants) Communications
All pro se communications must be directed to the Clerks’ Office to be docketed. Pro se
litigants may not contact Judge Perez or her Chambers directly.
C. ECF Filings
All ECF filings must be text-searchable, including exhibits. Exhibits must be given file
names that identify what the document is. When referencing a document on the docket, parties
shall refer to that document by its docket number. Any document that is already on the docket
should not be used as an exhibit.
D. Pro Hac Vice Motions
Motions for pro hac vice admission must be made using the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania’s form; this is available on the Court’s website:
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POLICIES AND PROCEDURES JUDGE MIA ROBERTS PEREZ
https://www.paed.uscourts.gov/attorneys. Sponsoring counsel and other associated members of the
bar of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania are responsible for the conduct of pro hac vice co-
counsel and for the integrity of all representations to the Court. Absent leave, the presence of at
least one member of the bar of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is required at hearings and
trials.
E. Disclosure Statements
Parties and intervenors must file a disclosure statement that identifies any third party that is
funding any portion of the litigation. This requirement is in addition to Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 7.1’s requirements.
F. Magistrate Judge
The Honorable Pamela A. Carlos is the designated magistrate judge for Judge Perez’s
docket. Judge Carlos’s contact information, policies, and forms are available here:
https://www.paed.uscourts.gov/judges-info/magistrate-judges/pamela-carlos.
Parties may request that Judge Carlos preside over settlement discussion at the Rule 16
Conference or as soon as possible after the Rule 16 Conference. Judge Perez will then issue a
referral order.
II. PRETRIAL MATTERS
A. Rule 16 Conferences
Judge Perez will schedule a Rule 16 conference once an answer is filed, or in some
instances, while a motion to dismiss or another preliminary motion is pending. All conferences
will be held in person in Judge Perez’s Chambers. Unless Judge Perez approves a substitution in
advance, lead trial counsel must attend the Rule 16 conference and enter their appearance prior to
the conference. A scheduling order will be issued at the conclusion of the conference.
Counsel must coordinate to prepare and submit a joint report pursuant to Rule 26(f) prior
to the deadline set forth in the Rule 16 Scheduling Order. Any reports containing flawed or
incomplete responses will be returned to counsel for revision and resubmission.
All motions to dismiss, transfer, or add parties and other threshold motions should be filed
before the Rule 16 conference. Counsel should be prepared to present arguments at the
conference on any pending motions.
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POLICIES AND PROCEDURES JUDGE MIA ROBERTS PEREZ
B. Final Pretrial Conferences
Judge Perez will hold a final pretrial conference prior to trial in all civil and criminal
cases. In advance of the final pretrial conference, counsel shall file a pretrial memorandum that
sets forth the information required under Local Civil Rule 16.1.
Counsel is also expected to coordinate and submit agreed-upon jury instructions, special
interrogatories, and verdict forms concurrently with their pretrial memoranda. Proposed
instructions should include only substantive issues regarding the elements of each cause of action
or charged offense, and each defense. If counsel cannot agree, proposed alternative instructions
must be submitted with authority for each instruction. Submission of proposed instructions does
not constitute a waiver of objection.
C. Guilty Pleas
Before a defendant offers a guilty plea, the guilty plea memorandum, guilty plea
agreement (if applicable), and acknowledgment of rights must be completed and reviewed with
the defendant. These documents must also be provided to the Court two days prior to the change
of plea hearing. The guilty plea memorandum must include: (1) the elements of each offense to
which the defendant will plead guilty and legal citations for the elements; (2) the statutory
maximum penalties for each offense; (3) the terms of any plea agreement; and (4) the factual
basis for the plea.
III. MOTIONS PRACTICE
A. Length Limitations
Any motion and its supporting memorandum of law, as well as opposition briefs, shall not
total more than 20 pages. In those rare instances in which counsel believes additional pages are
necessary, counsel should seek leave to exceed the page limit by motion.
Reply briefs in support of a dispositive motion may be submitted without leave of Court.
Replies must be responsive to arguments raised by opposing counsel and shall not exceed 7
pages. A sur-reply may only be filed with permission of the Court upon good cause shown and
may not exceed 5 pages. Replies and sur-replies must be filed no later than 7 days after the filing
to which it responds, but Judge Perez reserves the right to rule on the motion in the interim.
In civil cases, all motions should be filed in compliance with the Scheduling Order. Oral
argument will be scheduled as needed by the Courtroom Deputy.
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POLICIES AND PROCEDURES JUDGE MIA ROBERTS PEREZ
In criminal cases, the Courtroom Deputy will contact counsel within 72 hours of the
defendant’s arraignment to schedule a status conference with the Court. At the status conference,
counsel should be prepared to discuss potential motions and case deadlines.
B. Conferences Before Filing Rule 12 Motions
Except in cases where either side is pro se, or in bankruptcy or social security appeals, any
party intending to file a motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12 must contact opposing
counsel to discuss the substance of the contemplated motion and to provide an opportunity to cure
any alleged pleading deficiencies or strike certain matter. This conference shall take place at least
seven days prior to the filing of the motion.
If the parties are unable to reach a resolution that eliminates the need for a Rule 12 motion,
counsel for the moving party shall include, along with the motion, a certification that the parties
met and conferred regarding the alleged pleading deficiencies or matter sought to be stricken. The
Court will deny any motion that fails to conform with these requirements.
Upon the filing of a complaint, the Court will issue an order to this effect.
C. Motions for Summary Judgment
All summary judgment motions must be accompanied by a statement of facts that the
parties will prepare jointly and that must be separately filed on the docket. All parties must attach a
joint list of all exhibits referenced in the statement of facts, in addition to an index of the exhibits.
The Parties should prepare the statement of facts in accordance with the following
guidelines:
1. At least 28 days before the deadline to file a motion, the moving party must
serve all other parties a statement of undisputed facts in a numbered,
paragraph-by-paragraph statement that contains specific citations to the
record that support each factual assertion.
2. At least 14 days before the deadline to file a motion, a responding party
must serve on all other parties, a response to the moving party’s statement of
facts that responds to each factual assertion. All responses should be directly
under the original paragraph of the moving party’s motion and must include
citations to any evidence that the responding party believes is necessary to
show that the moving party has not cited evidence that supports a factual
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POLICIES AND PROCEDURES JUDGE MIA ROBERTS PEREZ
assertion.
3. The moving party may then respond to any statement or arguments in the
responding party’s submission, directly under the paragraph in question.
The final product of this process should result in a single statement of facts with detailed
paragraphs where an opposing party is responding in agreement with a factual assertion or
questioning the factual assertion, allowing Judge Perez to see each party’s position on each factual
assertion. If there are cross-motions for summary judgment, each movant may file a statement of
facts that follows the above guidelines. However, there must be a single, consolidated set of
exhibits.
This process of serving and responding should not be filed with the Court on the docket but
must be realized with all other parties.
IV. TRIAL PROCEDURE
A. Scheduling
Counsel shall comply with all deadlines set forth in the scheduling order. Counsel for cases
in the trial pool must be prepared to commence trial upon 48-hours’ notice. Any requests to extend
a trial date must be submitted to Chambers in writing 30-days prior to trial.
B. Jury Selection & Voir Dire
Counsel shall discuss and agree upon voir dire questions. If necessary, disputes regarding
voir dire questions may be submitted to Judge Perez for resolution. Prior to the final pretrial
conference, counsel shall submit a joint neutral statement of the facts and joint questions for voir
dire, highlighting only the disputed questions. Voir dire should not be more than 15 questions.
C. Exhibits
During trial, counsel shall meet each morning to discuss between themselves the order in
which witnesses will be called and evidence will be presented. Counsel must inform the Court of
such order.
Counsel will determine which exhibits will be given to the jury after it retires to deliberate.
If counsel cannot agree, they should request a ruling immediately after the jury retires to the
deliberation room.
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POLICIES AND PROCEDURES JUDGE MIA ROBERTS PEREZ
D. Opening Statements & Closing Arguments
Counsel will be permitted a maximum of 30-minutes for opening statements and 45
minutes for closing arguments.
E. Objections & Sidebars
Speaking objections are discouraged and should include only the word “objection” and
the relevant rule number. Sidebars will be permitted only sparingly.
F. Sentencing
All motions for downward departure, except motions filed under § 5K1.1 of the U.S.
Sentencing Guidelines, must be filed two weeks prior to sentencing. Such motions should include
legal and factual support for the proposed departure. A government motion pursuant to § 5K1.1
must be filed at least one week prior to sentencing.
Both the government and the defendant must submit sentencing memorandum no later than
one week prior to sentencing. If a defendant is responsible for restitution, the government must
include sufficient information in its memorandum to enable the Court to determine entitlement.
This includes the name and address of each victim, and the amount of loss for each victim.
Documentary support for each amount should also be included.
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