1

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF UTAH, CENTRAL DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff,

v.

,

Defendant.

FINAL PRETRIAL ORDER

Case No.

Judge Clark Waddoups

The procedures and practices set forth in this order must be followed at the trial of this matter, except for good cause shown:

1.	Dates. A Final Pretrial Conference is set for ____________________. The ____-day jury trial shall commence on Friday, ____________________ at 8:30 a.m. for the purpose of addressing any final pretrial matters and selecting a jury. The presentation of evidence shall begin on Monday, _________________________ and is anticipated to continue through _____________________________.

2.	Final Pretrial Conference. At the Final Pretrial Conference, each party should be prepared to do the following: (1) identify and discuss the issues in the case; and (2) specify how much time they will need for presentation of the evidence. The parties should be prepared to discuss the allocation of time available for the presentation of evidence between the parties assuming 5.25 hours each day. The court will use a chess clock to keep track of the time used by each side. Except for good cause shown, a party will not be allowed more time than the amount allocated at the pre-trial conference.

3.	Trial Schedule.

a.	With the exception of the first and last day of trial, trial will be held each day from 8:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., with a 15 minute break at mid-morning and a 30 minute lunch break at noon. The parties should schedule witnesses to be available on this schedule. The court intends to have the jury enter the courtroom by 8:30 a.m. each day. The parties must, therefore, be in the courtroom by 8:15 a.m. each morning and inform the courtroom deputy if there are any preliminary matters to be discussed outside of the jury's presence before 8:30 a.m. The parties should plan for lunch breaks that do not exceed 30 minutes.

b.	On the first day of trial, the parties are required to appear at 8:30 a.m. to resolve any outstanding pretrial matters. Jury selection will begin at approximately 9:00 a.m. and the selected jury will be dismissed for the day as soon as they are sworn in. Preliminary instructions, opening statements and witness testimony will commence on the second day of trial. On the second and successive days of trial, the parties are required to appear at 8:15 a.m. so as to prevent delay in bringing the jury into the courtroom by 8:30 a.m. The parties should notify chambers each evening during trial by e-mail () if there will be matters to address outside of the jurors' presence at 8:15 a.m. the following day.

c.	On the last day of trial, closing arguments must be concluded no later than 2:00 p.m. so the jury may begin deliberations at a reasonable time.

3.	Exchange of Witness Lists. Each party must exchange with all opposing parties a list of witnesses the party will call or may call at trial. The parties must exchange witness lists no later than two (2) business days before the final pretrial conference. Proposed witness lists should also be provided to the court at this time. Except for good cause shown, witnesses who are not disclosed on the witness list will not be permitted to testify.

4.	Exchange of Exhibits. In cases in which the United States Attorney has proceeded under an "open file" policy, except for good cause shown, counsel for all parties must exchange with all parties copies of each exhibit to be used at trial no later than two (2) business days before the final pretrial conference. Counsel should use reasonable effort to avoid duplication of any exhibit pre-marked by the opposing party. Exhibits to be exchanged shall include all evidence to be offered except the following: oral testimony to be offered at trial, documents to be used solely for impeachment, demonstrative exhibits created in connection with oral testimony at trial, and objects or other physical evidence. Photos of objects and other physical evidence, however, must be exchanged. Copies must be exchanged in electronic media, but may also include a hard copy. Counsel will be required to report to the court at the Final Pretrial Conference whether this requirement has been completed.

5.	Pre-marking Exhibits. All exhibits to be used at trial must, at the time they are exchanged with opposing counsel, be marked for identification numerically preceded by a designation of the party offering the exhibit, such as, "Government Exhibit _____" or "Defendant's Exhibit _____." Counsel are to designate a range of numbers to be used by each side to avoid the same number being used for more than one exhibit. For example, if the government elected the numeric range of 1 to 100, the defendant would begin at the numeric range of 200. Alphabetic identification is not permitted.

6.	Electronic Copies of Exhibits for Trial. All exhibits that have been pre-marked must be presented to the Courtroom Deputy in electronic media at the 8:30 a.m. hearing set for ____________________________. The acceptable electronic formats are pdf, jpeg, wma or wmv. At that time, the parties shall also submit an electronic copy of the exhibit list to the Courtroom Deputy to manage and track the exhibits offered and received at trial. If an exhibit is marked at trial that was not previously provided to the Courtroom Deputy, the new exhibit must be submitted electronically to the Courtroom Deputy on the same day it is marked at trial.

7.	Hard Copies of Exhibits for Trial. The parties shall make four hard copies of all exhibits that have been pre-marked. At the 8:30 hearing on ______________________, the parties shall give three of the hard copies to the Courtroom Deputy: one copy for the Judge, one copy for the witnesses, and one copy for the law clerk. The remaining hard copy shall be used to compile the jury binder. When a previously unmarked exhibit has been admitted into evidence, a hard copy of that exhibit shall be handed to the Courtroom Deputy for placement in the jury binder. When an object or physical evidence has been admitted, along with its corresponding photo, the photo shall be handed to the Courtroom Deputy for placement in the jury binder.

8.	Reconciliation of Exhibits. At the conclusion of each day of trial, counsel for each party shall meet with the Courtroom Deputy to confirm that all exhibits admitted that day have been entered into the jury binder. Counsel shall certify on the record that the exhibits entered into the jury binder that day are correct and complete copies of the exhibits received in evidence.

9.	Motions in Limine. All Daubert motions and motions in limine must be filed on a schedule that allows all briefing to be completed no later than fourteen (14) days before trial.

10.	Pretrial Objections. Any objection as to the authenticity of an exhibit, as defined by Federal Rule of Evidence 901, must be made in writing at or before the Final Pretrial Conference. The challenges to the authenticity of an exhibit will be addressed at the Final Pretrial Conference. All other objections to the admissibility of an exhibit are reserved until the exhibit is offered at trial.

11.	Pretrial Submissions. The following must be submitted to the court no later than 4:00 p.m. on the day before the Final Pretrial Conference. Each shall be filed on the docket and shall be sent to the chambers email address (utdecf_waddoups@utd.uscourts.gov) in either MS Word or Word Perfect.

a.	Proposed Voir Dire questions. Proposed questions should be drafted in a form that can be answered in writing with a "yes" or "no." A "yes" answer should indicate that there may be a need for additional follow up questions in chambers. For example, "Are you aware of any reason why you cannot serve impartially on the jury in this case?"

b.	Proposed Preliminary Instructions for the jury

c.	Proposed Final Jury Instructions

d.	Proposed Verdict Form

The court's stock voir dire and preliminary/general jury instructions are located at

and should be considered a starting point for

counsel's submissions, unless an explanation for the proposed departure is provided.

12.	Closing Argument. Closing argument will follow the court's final instructions to the jury. Counsel are cautioned that any closing rebuttal argument must be limited to addressing new issues raised during the defendant's closing argument. The court will sustain an objection and instruct the jury to disregard rebuttal argument that could and should have been made in the plaintiff's initial closing argument. The plaintiff's closing argument must be structured to allow the defendant a fair opportunity to address the argument in its closing.

13.	Vouching. Counsel are further cautioned that they should be certain that prior to giving closing argument they understand and avoid improper vouching. The court will sustain an objection to improper vouching and instruct the jury that the argument is improper. See DUCrim R 57-7(c).

14.	Podium. Counsel is not permitted to stray more than arm's length from the podium and should keep in mind that the acoustics of the courtroom are not well suited to engaging the jury or ensuring an accurately transcribed record unless counsel speaks into the microphone. During opening statements and closing arguments, counsel may angle the podium toward the jury box

SO ORDERED this ________ day of ________, 20___.

BY THE COURT:

____________________________________

Clark Waddoups

United States District Judge