Local Rule LCvR 47.1: JURY
D.D.C. — Civil rule
LCvR 47.1 JURY
(a) SELECTION AND ASSIGNMENT.
Petit jurors shall be selected at random in accordance with a plan adopted by the Court and available from the Jury Office. Petit jurors shall be assigned to a single jury pool and reassigned for service upon the requisition of each trial judge.
(b) PUBLIC RELEASE OF JUROR INFORMATION.
Parties, attorneys, court personnel, and others who are provided identifying information by the Court about sitting or prospective petit jurors, including names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, and employment information, shall maintain the confidentiality of that information, unless disclosure is authorized by order of the Court. A request for disclosure of identifying information about sitting or prospective petit jurors to the public must be made to the presiding judge.
(c) NOTIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT IN CIVIL JURY CASES.
Whenever any civil action scheduled for jury trial is settled or otherwise resolved by the parties after the final pretrial conference, counsel shall notify the Clerk of the resolution of the action promptly and no later than one business day prior to the day on which the trial is scheduled to commence. In the event that the action is resolved by the parties less than one business day prior to the scheduled trial date, counsel shall notify the Clerk as soon as practicable after resolution of the action. The Court may assess against the settling parties any juror costs incurred if the parties fail to provide notification as set forth in this Rule, unless good cause for such failure is shown. Any such costs shall be assessed equally among the settling parties unless otherwise ordered by the Court.
COMMENT TO LCvR 47.1: This Rule is intended to address situations where the parties resolve a civil action shortly before a scheduled jury trial. While the Court encourages the settlement of cases, budgetary constraints require that increased attention be paid to jury utilization practices. This Rule requires the parties to notify the Clerk of any resolution as soon as possible in order to avoid the unnecessary cost to the Court as well as the inconvenience to jurors that result when jurors are required to appear for a case that will not go forward as scheduled. To the extent available, the Clerk in this situation should be the Deputy Clerk assigned to the presiding judge. The Rule authorizes the Court to assess juror costs against the parties for a violation of the Rule.