Slama v. City of Madera, et al

Filing 156

ORDER SETTING Pre-Trial Conference and Trial Dates. The Scheduling Conference set for March 26, 2013, is VACATED; The pre-trial conference is RESET for October 2, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 2 before District Judge Ishii; and the trial is RESET for November 13, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 2 before District Judge Ishii. Order signed by Magistrate Judge Sheila K. Oberto on 3/21/2013. (Timken, A)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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ANTHONY DEAN SLAMA,

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CASE NO. 1:08-cv-00810-AWI-SKO

Plaintiff,

ORDER SETTING PRE-TRIAL
CONFERENCE AND TRIAL DATES

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v.
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CITY OF MADERA, et al.,
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Defendants.
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/
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On March 1, 2013, counsel for Plaintiff Anthony Dean Slama ("Plaintiff") and Defendants

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City of Madera, et al. ("Defendants") submitted a Joint Scheduling Report (Doc. 155) providing

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proposed pre-trial conference and trial dates pursuant to the Court's January 30, 2013, order in

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preparation for the March 26, 2013, scheduling conference. (Doc. 150, 154.)

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The parties have indicated that they expect the trial to last five days and have proposed trial

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dates beginning the week of July 2, 9, or 16, 2013. (Doc. 155, p. 2.) District Judge Anthony W. Ishii

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has multiple trials currently set for those weeks and thus is not available for trial on the dates

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proposed by the parties.

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The first available date without a trial presently scheduled on District Judge Ishii's calendar

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is November 13, 2013. As such, the trial in this action is reset for November 13, 2013, and the pre-

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trial conference is reset for October 2, 2013.

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The parties are informed that District Court Judges in the Fresno Division of the Eastern

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District of California now have the heaviest caseload in the nation, and that each judge will be

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scheduling multiple trials to begin on each available trial date. Civil cases will "trail" other cases

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with little or no notice. Moreover, since the law requires that criminal trials be given priority, if a

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civil trial such as this one is set to begin while a criminal trial is proceeding, the civil trial will trail

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the completion of the criminal trial. Additionally, in response to its large caseload, the Fresno

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Division of the Eastern District of California will be assigning its cases, whenever possible, to

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Article III District Court Judges from around the nation as Visiting Judges. Pursuant to the Local

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Rules of the United States District Court, Eastern District of California, Appendix A, such

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reassignments will be random and without advance notice.

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The parties are reminded of the availability of the United States Magistrate Judge to conduct

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all proceedings in this action. A Magistrate Judge is available to conduct trials, including entry of

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final judgment, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 73, and Local Rule

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305. The same jury pool is used by both United States Magistrate Judges and District Court Judges.

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Since Magistrate Judges do not conduct felony trials, they have greater flexibility in scheduling firm

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dates.

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As such, the parties are once again informed that, if they consent to Magistrate Judge

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jurisdiction, Magistrate Judge Sheila K. Oberto will be able to set firm pre-trial conference and trial

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dates, and will also be able to provide a trial date prior to November 2013. District Judge Ishii has

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previously informed the parties that he cannot guarantee that the dates set will not be continued due

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to his heavily impacted trial calendar. (See Doc. 142.) Thus, the dates provided in this scheduling

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order are not firm, as the trial could trail other trials or be reassigned at random to a Visiting Judge.

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The Court encourages the parties to consider consenting to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction for all

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further proceedings in this matter, including trial.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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The Scheduling Conference set for March 26, 2013, is VACATED;

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2.

The pre-trial conference is RESET for October 2, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 2

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before District Judge Ishii; and

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The trial is RESET for November 13, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 2 before
District Judge Ishii.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:
ie14hj

March 21, 2013

/s/ Sheila K. Oberto
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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