Sutherland v. Yates et al

Filing 107

NOTICE to Parties Regarding Impacted Trial Calendar and Unavailability of Consent to U.S. Magistrate Judge Jurisdiction; ORDER for Clerk to Send Plainiff a Consent/Decline Form, signed by District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill on 9/29/14. (Verduzco, M)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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WILLIAM SUTHERLAND,

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Plaintiff,
v.
CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS A.
FERNANDO AND M. JERICOFF,
Defendants.

1:09-cv-02152-LJO-GSA-PC
NOTICE TO PARTIES REGARDING
IMPACTED TRIAL CALENDAR
AND AVAILABILITY OF CONSENT
TO U. S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE
JURISDICTION
ORDER FOR CLERK TO SEND
PLAINTIFF A CONSENT/DECLINE
FORM

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This matter is currently set for jury trial before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill

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on January 6, 2015, and Plaintiff has declined to consent to U.S. Magistrate Judge jurisdiction.

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The parties are hereby notified of the following regarding Judge O’Neill’s impacted trial

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calendar and its potential effect on their trial date.

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Judges in the Eastern District of California carry the heaviest caseload in the nation, and

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this Court is unable to devote inordinate time and resources to individual cases and matters.

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Judge O’Neill must adhere to strict scheduling to best manage his burdensome caseload

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approaching 2,000 cases.

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Civil trials set before Judge O'Neill may trail until he becomes available and are subject

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to suspension mid-trial to accommodate criminal matters. Civil trials are no longer reset to a

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later date if Judge O'Neill is unavailable on the original date set for trial. If a trial trails, it may
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proceed with little advance notice, and the parties and counsel may be expected to proceed to

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trial with less than 24 hours notice. Moreover, this Court’s Fresno Division randomly and

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without advance notice reassigns civil actions to U.S. District Judges throughout the nation to

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serve as visiting judges. In the absence of Magistrate Judge consent, this action is subject to

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reassignment to a U.S. District Judge from outside the Eastern District of California.

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Case management difficulties, including trial setting and interruption, are avoided if the

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parties consent to conduct of further proceedings by a U.S. Magistrate Judge. This Court

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recognizes that Plaintiff has filed a form declining Magistrate Judge jurisdiction.1 However,

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given the gravity of Judge O’Neill’s inability to commit to trials, Plaintiff is encouraged to

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reconsider Magistrate Judge consent. The Clerk shall send Plaintiff a form for consent to or

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decline of Magistrate Judge jurisdiction.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

/s/ Lawrence J. O’Neill

September 29, 2014

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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Plaintiff filed a decline of U.S. Magistrate Judge jurisdiction on September 10, 2014, and Defendants
filed a consent on September 25, 2014. (Docs. 103, 105.)
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