Local Rule LR 43.1: PROCEDURES AT HEARING AND TRIALS

LR 43.1 PROCEDURES AT HEARING AND TRIALS

(a) Presence of Counsel.

(1) Duty of Counsel. Unless excused by the Court, unrepresented parties or counsel with authority to bind parties shall be present and punctual at all portions and phases of hearings and trials, including in jury cases, the time during which the jury is considering its verdict. Counsel and unrepresented parties shall inform their witnesses of the need for punctuality.

(2) Presumed Present. Unless the contrary affirmatively appears of record, it will be presumed that the parties and their counsel are present at all stages of the trial, or if absent, that their absence was voluntary and constituted a waiver of their presence.

(b) Conduct of Counsel.

(1) During Court proceedings, all attorneys shall stand when speaking. All objections and comments thereon shall be addressed to the Court. Objections shall be made with specific reference to the Federal Rules of Evidence or other authority on which the objection is based without argument. Any request to have the reporter read back testimony should be addressed to the Court. There shall be no oral confrontation between opposing counsel.

Courtroom Attire. All attorneys appearing in this Court shall be appropriately attired – coat and tie for men, comparable attire for women – and shall not be groomed or attired in a manner calculated to distract attention from the proceedings, call attention to themselves, or show disrespect to the Court.

(c) Presence of Parties. All parties shall be present at any trial unless prior approval of the absence of a party is obtained from the Court.

(d) Examination of Witnesses.

(1) Only one attorney representing each party in the litigation shall examine, cross-examine or object during the examination of an individual witness.

(2) No person shall, by facial expression or other physical gesture, exhibit any opinion concerning any testimony that is being given by a witness.

(e) Exhibits.

(1) When practical, all documentary exhibits shall be prepared in sufficient quantities so that a copy may be furnished to the witness, the Court, opposing counsel and the examining attorney. The admissibility of trial exhibits should be stipulated whenever possible.

(2) After the final determination of an action, counsel or parties shall have 30 days within which to withdraw exhibits and depositions. In the event the exhibits and depositions are not withdrawn, the Clerk shall, after notice to the parties, destroy or otherwise dispose of them.

(f) Courtroom Technology. In the joint pretrial order the parties shall disclose the technology they intend to use in the Courtroom during the trial to present their case. This disclosure shall list:

(1) equipment they intend to bring into the Courtroom to use; and,

(2) equipment supplied by the Court that the parties intend to use.

Further, the parties shall also confirm the compatibility/viability of their planned use of technology with the Court's equipment.

(g) Requests for Jury Instructions. All requests for jury instruction shall be filed in accordance with the deadlines established in the scheduling order or by the Court. The requests must contain citations of supporting authorities. Supplemental and additional instructions may be submitted to the Court prior to final argument by counsel.