Murrieta v. Corrections Corporation of America, Inc. et al

Filing 19

ORDER to Counsel to Meet and Confer to Determine Whether the Parties Will Consent to the Jurisdiction of a Different Magistrate Judge or to Continue the Trial, signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 8/2/2017. (Hall, S)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

10
11

CATHERINE MURRIETA,
Plaintiff,

12
13
14
15
16
17

v.
CORRECTIONS CORPORATION OF
AMERICA,
Defendant.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

Case No.: 1:16-cv-01552 JLT
ORDER TO COUNSEL TO MEET AND CONFER
TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE PARTIES
WILL CONSENT TO THE JURISDICTION OF A
DIFFERENT MAGISTRATE JUDGE OR TO
CONTINUE THE TRIAL

On December 19, 2016 and December 21, 2016, the parties consented to the jurisdiction of

18

Magistrate Judge Thurston. (Docs. 10, 13) However, their consent documents were explicit that they

19

were not consenting to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction generally and expressly reserved their rights to

20

withdraw consent in the event Judge Thurston became unavailable. Id; See Wilhelm v. Rotman, 680

21

F.3d 1113, 1119 (9th Cir. 2012). Due to an upcoming, extended medical leave, Magistrate Judge

22

Thurston will be unavailable to conduct the pretrial conference and trial in this matter.

23

This presents the parties with several options. First, they may consent generally to Magistrate

24

Judge jurisdiction and allow the matter to be reassigned to an available Magistrate Judge. In doing so,

25

they will guarantee that they will preserve the dates previously set for the pretrial conference and trial.

26

Second, they may consent to a particular Magistrate Judge for the pretrial conference and trial but when

27

these events occur will depend upon the schedule of the judge selected. Finally, they may agree to

28

continue the pretrial conference and trial to a time when Judge Thurston is available. At this time, it
1

1

appears the earliest trial date Judge Thurston could accommodate would be February 12, 2018 or

2

February 19, 2018.

3

Therefore, no later than August 18, 2017, counsel SHALL discuss the matter with their clients

4

and with one another and agree as to how they wish to proceed. If necessary, they may request a

5

telephone conference with Judge Thurston (via Courtroom Deputy Clerk, Susan Hall at

6

[e-mail]) to further discuss the matter.

7
8
9
10

IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

August 2, 2017

/s/ Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
2