Laneley v. Garcia et al

Filing 61

ORDER DIRECTING Parties to Notify Court Whether They Consent to Magistrate Judge Jurisdiction, signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 9/7/2020. Consent or Decline due within 21 days. (Attachments: # 1 Consent Form)(Rivera, O)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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RANDY LANGLEY,

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Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 1:16-cv-01299-NONE-JLT (PC)
ORDER DIRECTING PARTIES TO
NOTIFY COURT WHETHER THEY
CONSENT TO MAGISTRATE JUDGE
JURISDICTION

E. GARCIA; G. COOK,
21-DAY DEADLINE

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Defendants.

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This matter is ready to proceed to trial. However, per the standing order issued by District

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Judge Dale A. Drozd on February 3, 2020, no new trial dates are being scheduled in civil cases

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assigned to “DAD” or “NONE” in light of the judicial emergency in the Eastern District of

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California. (Doc. 48-1 at 4.) Therefore, scheduling orders in civil cases assigned to “DAD” or

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“NONE” will not include a trial date; the trial confirmation hearing will be the last date to be

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scheduled. (See id.)

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One alternative is for the parties to consent to a United States Magistrate Judge

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conducting all proceedings, including trial and entry of final judgment, pursuant to 28 U.S.C.

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section 636(c), Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 73, and Local Rule 305. The Magistrate Judges of

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the Eastern District, all experienced former trial lawyers, use the same jury pool and the same

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court facilities as United States District Judges. Judgments entered by a United States Magistrate

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Judge are appealable directly to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Because

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Magistrate Judges do not conduct felony trials, they have greater flexibility and schedule firm

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trial dates. While there are clear scheduling benefits to consenting to Magistrate Judge

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jurisdiction, substantive rulings and decisions will not be affected by whether a party chooses to

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consent or not.

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Within 21 days from the date of service of this order, the Court DIRECTS the parties to

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notify the Court whether they consent to or decline Magistrate Judge jurisdiction by filling out the

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attached form and returning it to the Court. The Court DIRECTS the Clerk’s Office to attach a

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consent/decline form to this order. The parties are reminded of their right to consent or decline

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without any risk of substantive repercussions.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

September 7, 2020

/s/ Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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