Ward v. Wright et al

Filing 103

PRETRIAL ORDER. Signed by Judge Robert M. Illman on 6/29/2018. (rmilc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 6/29/2018)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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EUREKA DIVISION

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JESSE WARD,
Plaintiff,

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Case No. 15-cv-05627-RMI
PRETRIAL ORDER

v.
STEPHEN WRIGHT, et al.
Defendants.

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PRETRIAL SCHEDULE

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Previously set trial and pretrial conference dates set in this case are VACATED.

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TRIAL DATE: December 10, 2018, at 9:00 A.M., at the Federal Courthouse at 3140 Boeing

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Avenue in McKinleyville, California.

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JURY [x ]

COURT [ ]

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TRIAL LENGTH: No more than 3 days.

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PRETRIAL CONFERENCE DATE: November 13, 2018, at 10:00 in person at the Federal

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Courthouse at 3140 Boeing Avenue in McKinleyville, California.

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ADDITIONAL ORDERS:

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Defendants’ oral motion to reopen discovery for the limited purpose of deposing the two

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officers is GRANTED. The depositions are limited to four hours each and shall be completed no

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later than August 31, 2018.

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The court will entertain a written discovery motion to obtain Defendants’ personnel files.
REFERRAL:
This matter is referred to Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler for a mandatory settlement

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conference to be scheduled at her convenience to take place after the depositions of the two

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officers but before the final pretrial conference.
PRETRIAL INSTRUCTIONS

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A. PRETRIAL MOTIONS
1. Chambers copies of each electronically-filed document must include on each page the

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running header created by the ECF system. Chambers copies must be delivered to the

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Clerk's Office in Eureka by noon the day following the filing of the document. All

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documents must be stapled or bound by a two-pronged fastener, and all exhibits to

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declarations or requests for judicial notice must be tabbed.

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2. Footnotes appearing in font smaller than the 12-point font required for the text will be

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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stricken, see Civil L. R. 3-4(c)(2), as will footnotes that are so numerous as to be clearly

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designed to defeat the page limits found at Civil L. R. 7-2 - 7-4.

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3. Motions in limine are limited to motions to exclude specific items of evidence on a ground

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and upon such authority as would be sufficient to sustain an objection to such evidence at

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trial. The court will not generally consider a motion presenting a purely legal issue in the

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guise of a motion in limine.

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4. Confidential and/or sealed documents shall be handled in accordance with this court's

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standing order and Civil L.R. 79-5, both of which the parties shall consult before moving

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for a protective order or requesting a sealing order. Requests to seal documents used in

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conjunction with dispositive motions are rarely granted and then only upon a showing of

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the most compelling of reasons. Chambers copies with confidential materials will be

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handled like all other chambers copies of materials without special restriction, and will

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typically be recycled, not shredded. If the parties wish to dispose of documents filed under

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seal in some other way, they must so note in their sealing motion and pick up the

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documents within five court days of the disposition of the motion.

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B. FINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE
1. The pretrial conference shall be attended by lead trial counsel and/or the unrepresented
party who will try the case.
2. Not later than October 22, 2018, all counsel and/or unrepresented parties shall meet and
confer regarding preparation of the joint pretrial statement.
3. No later than November 5, 2018, counsel and/or unrepresented parties shall:
a. Serve and file a joint pretrial statement. (Separately filed statements will not be

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accepted by the court and monetary sanctions shall be imposed upon the party failing

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to cooperate in the preparation of a joint statement).

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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The pretrial statement shall include the following:
i.

be decided.

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ii.

A detailed statement of all relief sought, itemizing all elements of damages
claimed.

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A brief description of the substance of the claims and defenses which remain to

iii.

A statement of all relevant undisputed facts to which the parties will stipulate

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for incorporation into the trial record without the necessity of supporting

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testimony or exhibits.

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iv.

A statement of all relevant disputed facts which remain to be decided.

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v.

A statement of stipulations requested or proposed.

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vi.

A brief statement of disputed points of law concerning liability and relief.
Legal argument on these points shall be reserved for the trial briefs.

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vii.

desired and feasible.

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A statement of whether bifurcation or a separate trial of specific issues is

viii.

A statement summarizing the status of settlement negotiations and indicating
whether further negotiations are likely to be productive.

b. Serve and file trial briefs (not to exceed 25 pages), which shall specify each cause of

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action and defense remaining to be tried along with a statement of the applicable legal

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standard (no opposition shall be filed);
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c. Serve and file a list of deposition excerpts for witnesses who will not testify in person,

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(specifying the witness, page and line references) and other discovery responses that

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will be offered at trial;

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d. Serve and file a list of all witnesses to be called at trial, in person or by deposition,

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other than solely for impeachment or rebuttal, with a brief statement describing the

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substance of the testimony to be given;

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e. Serve and file a numerical list of exhibits that will be offered as evidence in a party's

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case in chief in support of a claim or defense, with a brief statement describing the

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substance and purpose of each exhibit and the name of the sponsoring witness;
f. Exchange exhibits which shall be premarked with an exhibit sticker (example

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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attached), tabbed and in binders. Plaintiff shall use numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) and

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defendant shall use numbers preceded by a letter (A-1, A-2, A-3, etc.). Additional

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parties shall also use a letter preceding numbers (B-1, B-2, B-3, or C-1, C-2, C-3, etc.).

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g. Submit two sets of all premarked exhibits to the Clerk's Office in Eureka (exhibits are
not filed);

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h. Serve and file any request regarding the treatment of confidential or sealed documents.

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i. Serve and file proposed joint voir dire questions and joint jury instructions for cases to

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be tried by jury. Any voir dire questions and jury instructions which the parties cannot

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agree upon may be submitted separately. An electronic copy of these documents shall

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be e-mailed to [e-mail].

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j. Serve and file proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law for cases or claims to

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be tried by the court, and a proposed order thereon. An electronic copy of these

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documents shall be e-mailed to [e-mail].

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k. Serve and file a proposed verdict form which contains no reference to submitting party.

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An electronic copy of these documents shall be e-mailed to [e-mail].

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4. No party shall be permitted to call any witness or offer any exhibit in its case in chief that
is not disclosed in these pretrial filings without leave of court and for good cause.

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5. No later than October 30, 2018, the parties may serve and file no more than ten motions
in limine, which shall be filed in one document not to exceed 25 pages;
6. No later than November 6, 2018, counsel and/or unrepresented parties shall serve and file

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any opposition to a motion in limine, any counter deposition designations, and any

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disputed voir dire questions and jury instructions. No replies shall be filed. All motions

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shall be heard at the pretrial conference unless otherwise ordered. The parties shall not file

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separate objections, apart from those contained in the motions in limine, to the opposing

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party's witness list, exhibit list or discovery designations.

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C. JURY TRIAL

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Northern District of California

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Jury selection shall proceed as follows: The Jury Commissioner will summon 35

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prospective jurors. The Courtroom Deputy will select their names at random and seat them in the

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courtroom in the order in which their names are called. Voir dire will be conducted of sufficient

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venire members so that eight will remain after all peremptory challenges and an anticipated

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number of hardship dismissals and cause challenges have been made.

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Voir dire shall be conducted by the court. Counsel will be permitted brief follow-up voir
dire after the court's questioning.
The court will take cause challenges and discuss hardship claims in chambers. The court

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will inform counsel which hardship claims and cause challenges will be granted, but will not

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announce those dismissals until the selection process is completed. Peremptory challenges will be

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made in chambers. Each party shall be limited to three peremptory challenges. Any party passing

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on a challenge will be deemed to have waived that challenge. The court will strike at one time

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those with meritorious hardship claims, those excused for cause, and those challenged

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peremptorily, and then seat the first eight people remaining in numerical order.

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The following jury instructions from the Ninth Circuit Manual of Model Jury Instructions

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Civil (2007 Edition) shall be given absent objection: 1.0 - 1.4, 1.6 - 1.14, 1.18 - 1.19, 3.1 - 3.4.

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Counsel shall submit a joint set of these instructions along with case specific instructions using

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the Ninth Circuit Manual where appropriate. Any instructions on which counsel cannot agree may
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be submitted separately. Each instruction shall be typed in full on a separate page with citations to

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the authority upon which it is based and a reference to the party submitting it. A second blind

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copy of each instruction shall also be submitted omitting the citation to authority, the reference to

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the submitting party, and the title of the instruction.
Should a daily transcript and/or realtime reporting be desired, the parties shall make

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arrangements with Debra Campbell, Court Reporter Supervisor, at [phone] or

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[e-mail], at least 14 calendar days prior to the trial date.

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D. TRIAL SCHEDULE
The court's trial schedule is 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., with two

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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fifteen-minute breaks. The court conducts trial five days a week.

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E. PROCEDURE FOR AMENDING THIS ORDER
This order supercedes any prior case management or pretrial order previously entered in

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the case. No provision of this order may be changed except by written order of this court upon its

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own motion or upon motion of one or more parties made pursuant to Civil. L. R. 7-11 with a

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showing of good cause. Parties may file a formal brief, but a letter brief will suffice. The

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requesting party shall serve the opposing party on the same day the motion is filed and the

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opposing party shall submit a response as soon as possible but no later than four days after service.
If the modification sought is an extension of a deadline contained herein, the motion must

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be brought before expiration of that deadline. The parties may not modify the pretrial schedule

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by stipulation. A conflict with a court date set after the date of this order does not constitute good

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cause.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: June 29, 2018
______________________________________
Robert M. Illman
United States Magistrate Judge

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA

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Case #:
Plntf Exhibit
No

Case #:
Plntf Exhibit
No

Date Admitted:

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Case #:
Plntf Exhibit
No

Date Admitted:

Date Admitted:

By:

By:

By:

Gloria Knudson, Deputy Clerk

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA

Gloria Knudson, Deputy Clerk
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA

Gloria Knudson, Deputy Clerk
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Case #:
Plntf Exhibit
No

Case #:
Plntf Exhibit
No

Date Admitted:

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Case #:
Plntf Exhibit
No

Date Admitted:

Date Admitted:

By:

By:

By:

Gloria Knudson, Deputy Clerk
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA

Gloria Knudson, Deputy Clerk
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA

Gloria Knudson, Deputy Clerk
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA

Case #:
Plntf Exhibit
No

Case #:
Plntf Exhibit
No

Case #:
Plntf Exhibit
No

Date Admitted:

Date Admitted:

Date Admitted:

By:

By:

By:

Gloria Knudson, Deputy Clerk

Gloria Knudson, Deputy Clerk

Gloria Knudson, Deputy Clerk

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA

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Case #:

Case #:

Case #:

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Deft Exhibit No

Deft Exhibit No

Deft Exhibit No

Date Admitted:

Date Admitted:

Date Admitted:

By:

By:

By:

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Gloria Knudson, Deputy Clerk

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA

Gloria Knudson, Deputy Clerk
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA

Gloria Knudson, Deputy Clerk
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA

Case #:

Case #:

Case #:

Deft Exhibit No

Deft Exhibit No

Deft Exhibit No

Date Admitted:

Date Admitted:

Date Admitted:

By:

By:

By:

Gloria Knudson, Deputy Clerk

Gloria Knudson, Deputy Clerk

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Gloria Knudson, Deputy Clerk