(PC) Williams v. Nocha et al

Filing 48

ORDER Setting Pretrial Conference and Jury Trial and Associated Deadlines signed by Magistrate Judge Sheila K. Oberto on 08/28/2024. Pretrial Conference set for 12/9/2024 at 11:00 AM in Courtroom 6 (KES) via Zoom Video Conference before District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff. Jury Trial set for 2/11/2025 at 08:30 AM in Courtroom 6 (KES) before District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff. (Flores, E)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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LANCE WILLIAMS,

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Plaintiff,

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v.

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A. ROCHA, et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No. 1:22-cv-00095-KES-SKO (PC)
ORDER SETTING PRETRIAL CONFERENCE
AND JURY TRIAL AND ASSOCIATED
DEADLINES
Pretrial Conference: 12/9/2024 at 11:00 a.m. via
Zoom Video Conference
Jury Trial: 2/11/2025 at 8:30 a.m. in
Courtroom 6, 7th Floor

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Plaintiff Lance Williams is proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights

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action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This action proceeds against Defendants Florez, Magallanes

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and Rocha for violations of the First and Eighth Amendments.

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I.

PRETRIAL CONFERENCE AND PROCEDURES

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A pretrial conference is set for December 9, 2024, at 11:00 a.m., before District Judge

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Kirk E. Sherriff. The pretrial conference will be held via Zoom video conferencing. Defense

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counsel shall arrange for Plaintiff’s participation and shall contact Courtroom Deputy Victoria

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Gonzales ([e-mail]) for the connection information. Counsel shall share the

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connection information with Plaintiff to ensure his participation.1

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A search of the California Incarcerated Records and Information Search (CIRIS) tool, using Plaintiff’s
CDCR number AG2394, reveals Plaintiff is no longer incarcerated in a CDCR facility.
https://ciris.mt.cdcr.ca.gov/results?cdcrNumber=ag2394, as of 8/28/2024.

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The parties shall file a separate pretrial statement in compliance with Local Rule 281.

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Plaintiff shall file his pretrial statement on or before November 11, 2024. Defendants shall file

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their pretrial statement on or before November 18, 2024; a copy of Defendants’ pretrial statement

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shall also be emailed in Word format to [e-mail].

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The parties are advised that failure to file a pretrial statement as required by this order

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may result in the imposition of appropriate sanctions, which may include dismissal of the action

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or entry of default.

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In addition to the matters already required to be addressed in the pretrial statement in
accordance with Local Rule 281, Plaintiff will be required to make a particularized showing in

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order to obtain the attendance of witnesses. The procedures and requirements for making such a

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showing are outlined in detail below. Plaintiff is advised that failure to comply with the

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procedures set forth below may result in the preclusion of any or all witnesses named in

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Plaintiff’s pretrial statement.

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At the trial of this case, Plaintiff must be prepared to introduce evidence to prove each of

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the alleged facts that support the claims raised in the lawsuit. In general, there are two kinds of

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trial evidence: (1) exhibits and (2) the testimony of witnesses. It is Plaintiff’s responsibility to

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produce all of the evidence to prove Plaintiff’s case, whether that evidence is in the form of

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exhibits or witness testimony. If Plaintiff wants to call witnesses to testify, Plaintiff must follow

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certain procedures to ensure that the witnesses will be at the trial and available to testify.

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1.

Procedures for Obtaining Attendance of Incarcerated Witnesses Who Agree to

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Testify Voluntarily - An incarcerated witness who agrees voluntarily to attend trial to give

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testimony cannot come to court unless this Court orders the warden or other custodian to permit

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the witness to be transported to court. This Court will not issue such an order unless it is satisfied

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that: (a) the prospective witness is willing to attend; and (b) the prospective witness has actual

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knowledge of relevant facts.

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A party intending to introduce the testimony of incarcerated witnesses who have agreed to

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voluntarily attend the trial must serve and file a written motion for a court order requiring that

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such witnesses be brought to court at the time of trial. The motion must: (1) state the name,
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address, and prison identification number of each such witness; and (2) be accompanied by

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declarations showing that each witness is willing to testify and that each witness has actual

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knowledge of relevant facts. The motion should be entitled “Motion for Attendance of

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Incarcerated Witnesses.”

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The willingness of the prospective witness can be shown in one of two ways: (1) the party

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him or herself can swear by declaration under penalty of perjury that the prospective witness has

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informed the party that he or she is willing to testify voluntarily without being subpoenaed, in

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which declaration the party must state when and where the prospective witness informed the party

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of this willingness; or (2) the party can serve and file a declaration, signed under penalty of

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perjury by the prospective witness, in which the witness states that he or she is willing to testify

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without being subpoenaed.

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The prospective witness’s actual knowledge of relevant facts can be shown in one of two

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ways: (1) if the party has actual firsthand knowledge that the prospective witness was an

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eyewitness or an ear-witness to the relevant facts, the party can swear by declaration under

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penalty of perjury that the prospective witness has actual knowledge (e.g., if an incident occurred

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in Plaintiff’s cell and, at the time, Plaintiff saw that a cellmate was present and observed the

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incident, Plaintiff may swear to the cellmate’s ability to testify); or (2) the party can serve and file

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a declaration signed under penalty of perjury by the prospective witness in which the witness

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describes the relevant facts to which the prospective witness was an eye or ear witness. Whether

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the declaration is made by the party or by the prospective witness, it must be specific about the

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incident, when and where it occurred, who was present, and how the prospective witness

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happened to be in a position to see or to hear what occurred at the time it occurred.

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2.

Procedures for Obtaining Attendance of Incarcerated Witnesses Who Refuse to

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Testify Voluntarily - If a party seeks to obtain the attendance of incarcerated witnesses who

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refuse to testify voluntarily, the party should serve and file a written motion for a court order

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requiring that such witnesses be brought to court at the time of trial. Such motion should be in

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the form described above. In addition, the party must indicate in the motion that the incarcerated

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witnesses are not willing to testify voluntarily.
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The Court will review and rule on the motion(s) for attendance of incarcerated witnesses,

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specifying which prospective witnesses must be brought to court. Subsequently, the Court will

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issue the writs necessary to cause the witnesses’ custodian(s) to bring the witnesses to court.

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Motion(s) for the attendance of incarcerated witnesses, if any, must be filed on or

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before October 25, 2024. Opposition(s), if any, must be filed on or before November 8,

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2024.

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3.

Procedures for Obtaining Attendance of Unincarcerated Witnesses Who Agree to

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Testify Voluntarily - It is the responsibility of the party who has secured an unincarcerated

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witness’s voluntary attendance to notify the witness of the time and date of trial. No action need

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be sought or obtained from the Court.
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Procedures for Obtaining Attendance of Unincarcerated Witnesses Who Refuse to

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Testify Voluntarily - If a prospective witness is not incarcerated, and he or she refuses to testify

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voluntarily, the witness must be served with a subpoena. Fed. R. Civ. P. 45. In addition, the

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party seeking the witness’s presence must tender an appropriate sum of money for the witness.

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Id. In the case of an unincarcerated witness, the appropriate sum of money is the daily witness

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fee of $40.00 plus the witness’s travel expenses. 28 U.S.C. § 1821.

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If Plaintiff wishes to obtain the attendance of one or more unincarcerated witnesses who

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refuse to testify voluntarily, Plaintiff must first notify the Court in writing of the name and

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location of each unincarcerated witness. The Court will calculate the travel expense for each

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unincarcerated witness and notify Plaintiff of the amount(s). Plaintiff must then, for each witness,

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submit a money order made payable to the witness for the full amount of the witness’s travel

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expenses plus the daily witness fee of $40.00. The subpoena will not be served upon the

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unincarcerated witness by the United States Marshals Service unless the money order is tendered

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to the Court. Because no statute authorizes the use of public funds for these expenses in civil

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cases, the tendering of witness fees and travel expenses is required even if Plaintiff was granted

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leave to proceed in forma pauperis.

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If Plaintiff wishes to have the Marshals Service serve any unincarcerated witnesses who
refuse to testify voluntarily, Plaintiff must submit the money orders to the Court no later than
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November 8, 2024. In order to ensure timely submission of the money orders, Plaintiff must

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notify the Court of the names and locations of his or her witnesses, in compliance with the

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instructions above, no later than October 25, 2024.

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5.

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Any party may file a motion in limine, which is a procedural mechanism to limit in

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advance testimony or evidence in a particular area. United States v. Heller, 551 F.3d 1108, 1111

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(9th Cir. 2009) (quotation marks omitted). In the case of a jury trial, the Court’s ruling gives

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Plaintiff and Defendants’ counsel advance notice of the scope of certain evidence so that

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admissibility is settled before attempted use of the evidence before the jury. Id. at 1111–12

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Motions in Limine

(quotation marks omitted).
Any motions in limine must be served and filed with the Court by December 27, 2024.

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Any motion in limine must clearly identify the nature of the evidence that the moving party seeks

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to prohibit the other side from offering at trial. Any opposition to a motion in limine must be

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served on the other party and filed with the Court by January 10, 2025. No reply briefs shall

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be submitted by the parties.

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An order may be issued prior to trial resolving these motions. If the Court finds a hearing
necessary or beneficial, it will set the matter for a hearing as appropriate.
Whether or not a party files a motion in limine, that party may still object to the
introduction of evidence during the trial.

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II.

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The jury trial is scheduled to commence on February 11, 2025, at 8:30 a.m., in

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TRIAL DATE

Courtroom 6 before District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff.

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III.

EFFECT OF THIS ORDER

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Any party unable to comply with the pretrial conference or trial dates outlined in this order

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shall immediately file an appropriate motion or stipulation identifying the requested

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modification(s).

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The dates for the pretrial conference and jury trial set in this order are considered to be

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firm and will not be modified absent a showing of good cause, even if a stipulation to modify is
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filed. Due to the impacted nature of the civil case docket, this Court disfavors requests to modify

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established dates.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1.

This matter is set for a pretrial conference before the Honorable Kirk E. Sherriff

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on December 9, 2024, at 11:00 a.m., via Zoom Videoconference. Defense

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counsel shall arrange for Plaintiff’s participation and shall contact Courtroom

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Deputy Victoria Gonzales ([e-mail]) for the connection

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information. Defense counsel shall share the connection information with Plaintiff

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to ensure his participation;

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2.

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11, 2025, at 8:30 a.m., in Courtroom 6 on the 7th Floor;
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4.

Defendants shall serve and file a pretrial statement as described in this order on or
before November 18, 2024;

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Plaintiff shall serve and file a pretrial statement as described in this order on or
before November 11, 2024;

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This matter is set for jury trial before the Honorable Kirk E. Sherriff on February

In addition to electronically filing a pretrial statement, Defendants shall email the
pretrial statement to: [e-mail];

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If a party intends to call incarcerated witnesses at time of trial, the party shall

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serve and file a motion for attendance of incarcerated witnesses as described in

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this order on or before October 25, 2024;

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7.

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The opposition to the motion for the attendance of incarcerated witnesses, if any,
shall be filed on or before November 8, 2024;

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If Plaintiff wishes to obtain the attendance of unincarcerated witnesses who refuse

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to testify voluntarily, Plaintiff must notify the Court of their names and locations

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on or before November 8, 2024, and Plaintiff must submit the money orders, as

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described in subsection 4 of this Order, to the Court on or before October 25,

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2024;

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Motions in limine, if any, shall be filed on or before December 27, 2024;
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10.

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Oppositions to motions in limine, if any, shall be filed on or before January 10,
2025; and

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The Clerk of the Court is directed to send Plaintiff a copy of Local Rule 281.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

/s/ Sheila K. Oberto

August 28, 2024

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UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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