Hurtado-Gomez et al v. McCleary et al

Filing 42

ORDER SETTING TRIAL AND PRETRIAL CONFERENCE ( Settlement/Mediation shall take place by 12/18/2015. Jury Trial set for 2/8/2016 01:30 PM in Boise - Courtroom 3 before Judge B. Lynn Winmill., Telephonic Pretrial Conference set for 1/19/2016 04:00 PM in Telephonic Hearing - 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 (jp)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF IDAHO

ALVARO HURTADO-GOMEZ,
Plaintiff,

Case No. 1:12-CV-606-BLW
ORDER SETTING TRIAL AND PRETRIAL
CONFERENCE

v.

ANGENIE McCLEARY; TOM BOWMAN;
LAWRENCE SCHOEN; BLAINE COUNTY
SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT; BLAINE
COUNTY SHERIFF GENE RAMSEY;
BLAINE COUNTY JAIL SERGEANT BEAR
a/k/a ROBERT DACHTLER; BLAINE
COUNTY JAILER KELLEY a/k/a KELLY
WHITE; BLAINE COUNTY JAILER HANSEN
a/k/a STEVEN HANSEN; and BLAINE
COUNTY JAILER OJEDA,
Defendants.

On September 30, 2015, the Court’s staff 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 3-day jury trial shall be set for February 8, 2016, at 1:30 p.m. in the Federal Courthouse in
Boise, Idaho. Beginning on day two, trial 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 January 19, 2016, 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)

Order Setting Trial and Pretrial Conference - 1

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.

Law Clerk Contact: For any questions contact Dave Metcalf (208-334-9025 or
[e-mail].

4.

Witness Lists: The parties shall exchange witness lists on or before January 12, 2016. 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, proposed jury instructions, trial briefs, and motions in limine shall be
filed with the Court on or before January 12, 2016. 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 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].

Order Setting Trial and Pretrial Conference - 2

6.

Settlement/Mediation Deadline: The parties shall notify the Court on or before December 18, 2015, that
the case has either settled or will definitely go to trial. That notice can be provided to the Law Clerk Dave
Metcalf by email.

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.

d.

During the time the jury is in the jury box, no argument, beyond one-sentence 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 - 3

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 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: September 30, 2015

_________________________
B. Lynn Winmill
Chief Judge
United States District Court

Order Setting Trial and Pretrial Conference - 4