Goeden v. Darigold, Inc.

Filing 104

ORDER SETTING TRIAL AND PRETRIAL CONFERENCE. The parties shall notify the Court by 7/23/2013 that the case has wither settled or will definitely go to trial. Witness Lists, Exhibit Lists, Proposed Voir Dire, Proposed Jury Instructions, Trial Briefs, and Motions in Limine due by 7/30/2013. Rule 702 Motions due by 4/12/2013. Jury Selection set for 8/30/2013 09:00 AM in Boise - before a Magistrate Judge. Jury Trial set for 9/3/2013 08:30 AM in Boise - Courtroom 3 before Judge B. Lynn Winmill. Telep honic Pretrial Conference set for 8/13/2013 04:00 PM in Boise Chambers before Judge B. Lynn Winmill. Signed by Judge B. Lynn Winmill. (caused to be mailed to non Registered Participants at the addresses listed on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) by (cjm)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF IDAHO
RICHARD GOEDEN,

Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 1:11-CV-252-BLW
ORDER SETTING TRIAL AND
PRETRIAL CONFERENCE

DARIGOLD, INC., a Washington corporation,

Defendant.

On January 24, 2013, the Court held a status conference for the purpose of
setting a trial date in this matter. Based on that conference, the Court issues the
following order:
NOW THEREFORE IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the following
deadlines and procedures shall govern the remainder of this litigation:
1.

Trial Date: A 10 -day trial shall be set for Friday, August 30, 2013 at 9:00
a.m. in the Federal Courthouse in Boise, Idaho. The first day of trial shall
be devoted to selecting a jury. Presiding will be a United States Magistrate
Judge. When the jury is selected that day, the proceedings will adjourn and
the jury will be instructed to return on September 3, 2013, at 8:30 a.m., with
Judge Winmill presiding, for opening statements and testimony. (Monday
September 2, 2013 is Labor Day). Beginning on September 3, 2013, trial

Order Setting Trial and Pretrial Conference - 1

shall begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m., with two fifteen minute breaks.
2.

Pretrial Date: A telephonic pretrial conference shall be held on August 13,
2013, at 4:00 p.m. Counsel for Plaintiff shall initiate the call. The Court
can be reached at [phone]. The purpose of the conference is to
discuss and resolve (1) the legal issues remaining in the case; (2) evidentiary
issues; (3) trial logistics; and (4) any other matter pertaining to the trial. Not
less than twenty days prior to the date of the pretrial conference, the parties
shall communicate and reach agreement on as many items as possible. The
parties shall be prepared to discuss with the Court those items over which
counsel disagrees.

3.

Rule 702 Motions: In cases involving serious Daubert issues, the parties
shall contact Law Clerk Dave Metcalf on or before April 12, 2013, to
determine whether a hearing is necessary.

4.

Witness Lists: The parties shall exchange witness lists on or before July 30,
2013. The witness lists shall contain the material listed in F.R.C.P.
26(a)(3)(A)&(B), and shall include a full summary, not just the subject, of
the witnesses’ expected testimony.

5.

Exhibit Lists, Exhibits, Proposed Voir Dire, Proposed Jury Instructions,
Trial Briefs and Motions in Limine: All exhibit lists, proposed voir dire,

Order Setting Trial and Pretrial Conference - 2

proposed jury instructions, trial briefs, and motions in limine shall be filed
with the Court on or before July 30, 2013. On the same date the parties
shall exchange all trial exhibits, but shall not provide them to the Court until
the day of trial. Counsel shall only provide the Court with a set of original
pre-marked exhibits. Because of the use of electronic evidence presentation
systems, it is unnecessary to provide any copies. Counsel may wish to have
available in the courtroom a copy of any exhibits which the Court may find
difficult to review through the evidence presentation system. The exhibit
lists shall follow the guidelines set out in Local Rule 16.3(f) to the extent it
is not inconsistent with this Order. The exhibit lists shall be prepared on
form provided by the Deputy Clerk, with sufficient copies for the Judge, the
Deputy Clerk, and the Law Clerk. Exhibit numbers 1 through 999 shall be
reserved for joint exhibits; exhibit numbers 1000 through 1999 shall be
reserved for plaintiff’s exhibits; exhibit numbers 2000 through 2999 shall be
reserved for the first defendant listed on the caption; exhibit numbers 3000
through 3999 shall be reserved for the second defendant listed on the
caption; and so on. Counsel shall review their exhibits, determine any
duplication, and jointly mark and stipulate to the admission of those exhibits
that both sides intend to offer and rely upon. The proposed jury instructions
Order Setting Trial and Pretrial Conference - 3

shall follow the guidelines set out in Local Rule 51.1 to the extent it is not
inconsistent with this Order. Additionally, counsel shall provide a clean
copy of the Jury Instructions to the Court in Word Perfect format and
emailed to [e-mail].
6.

Settlement/Mediation Deadline: The parties agree that they shall notify the
Court on or before July 23, 2013, that the case has either settled or will
definitely go to trial.

7.

Trial Procedures:
a.

The Court will generally control voir dire, and counsel will be limited
to 20-30 minutes. Counsel are cautioned not to repeat questions
already asked by the Court or other counsel and are advised that the
Court will not permit voir dire which appears intended to influence
the jury rather than explore appropriate concerns with a juror’s ability
to be fair and impartial.

b.

Counsel shall exercise good faith in attempting to reach a stipulation
on undisputed facts and admission of exhibits.

c.

During trial, the jury will be in the box hearing testimony the entire
trial day between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., except for two standard
fifteen minute morning and afternoon recesses.

Order Setting Trial and Pretrial Conference - 4

d.

During the time the jury is in the jury box, no argument, beyond onesentence evidentiary objections, shall be allowed to interrupt the flow
of testimony. Almost all objections should be stated in one to three
words (“hearsay”, “asked & answered”, “irrelevant”, etc.). If counsel
have matters that need to be resolved outside the presence of the jury,
they are to advise the Court and counsel prior to the issue arising
during trial so that it can be heard during a recess, or before or after
the jury convenes. Where the need for such a hearing cannot be
anticipated, the Court will direct the examining counsel to avoid the
objectionable subject and continue on a different line of questioning
so that the objection can be argued and resolved at the next recess. To
avoid late-night sessions, counsel are advised to bring up all
anticipated evidentiary questions in their pretrial briefs.
i.

Examples of improper objections: “I object to that question,
Your Honor, because I am sure that Charlie Witness did not
read that document very carefully before he signed it”; or, “I
object, Your Honor, because Charlene Witness has already
testified that she can't remember”. These “speaking objections”
would suggest an answer.

Order Setting Trial and Pretrial Conference - 5

e.

Counsel shall have enough witnesses ready to ensure a full day of
testimony. If witnesses are unavoidable delayed, counsel shall
promptly notify the court and opposing counsel.

f.

When counsel announce the name of a witness called to testify, the
Court or the clerk will summon the witness forward to be sworn, the
clerk will administer the oath and, after the witness is seated, ask the
witness to state her or his name and spell her or his last name for the
record. I will then indicate to counsel that she or he may inquire of the
witness.

g.

Please do not address parties or witnesses (including your own) by her
or his first name unless such familiarity is clearly appropriate, and is
not likely to be offensive to the witness or any juror. In case of doubt,
don’t.

h.

Your clients and your witnesses should be instructed that they should
always refer to you and opposing counsel by last names.

i.

You are responsible to advise your clients, your witnesses and
everyone associated with your client to avoid all contact with the
jurors. This prohibition includes seemingly innocuous behavior like
riding on an elevator with a juror, saying hello to a juror, or even

Order Setting Trial and Pretrial Conference - 6

acknowledging the juror’s presence.
j.

I try to conduct at least 2 or 3 informal jury instruction conferences
off the record to try and resolve most differences by agreement. Those
sessions will be held at the end of the trial day and may stretch into
the evening. At the end of those sessions, we will have refined the
issues of contention so that I can give you a set of my final
instructions and you can state your objections on the record.
DATED: January 24, 2013

B. LYNN WINMILL
Chief Judge
United States District Court

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