Lord & Taylor, LLC v. White Flint, L.P.
Filing
253
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER confirming the schedule that has been set in this case and provide certain instructions relating to your pretrial and trial preparation. Signed by Judge Roger W Titus on 5/28/2015. (kw2s, Deputy Clerk)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
ROGER W. TITUS
6500 CHERRYWOOD LANE
GREENBELT, MARYLAND 20770
301-344-0052
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Counsel of Record
FROM:
Judge Roger W. Titus
RE:
Lord & Taylor, LLC, et al. v. White Flint, LP, et al.
Civil No. RWT-13-1912
DATE:
May 28, 2015
*********
This will confirm the schedule that has been set in this case and provide certain
instructions relating to your pretrial and trial preparation.
Schedule
July 1, 2015
Deadline for submitting any motions in limine.
July 10, 2015
Deadline for submitting any opposition to motions in limine.
July 14, 2015
Deadline for submitting any reply to motions in limine.
July 14, 2015
Deadline for submitting pretrial order, proposed voir dire
questions, proposed jury instructions, and proposed verdict
forms.1
July 20, 2015 at 2:30 p.m.
Pretrial conference and hearing regarding any motions in limine.
July 28, 2015 at 9:00 a.m.
to August 7, 20152
Trial
Voir Dire Questions, Jury Instructions, and Verdict Forms
You should file jointly approved voir dire questions, jury instructions, and verdict forms
on or before the date noted above. You should file separately any voir dire questions, jury
instructions, and verdict forms upon which you cannot agree. All of your proposed voir dire
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All of these documents should be filed electronically.
Trial shall run from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every day, four days a week (excluding Mondays).
questions, jury instructions, and verdict forms should also be sent to my chambers in Microsoft
Word format via email at MDD_RWTChambers@mdd.uscourts.gov.
Your proposed joint voir dire should include a brief proposed statement to be read to the
venire panel explaining the nature of the case in general terms.
Your proposed jury instructions should (a) be typed one per page, (b) be numbered and
assembled in the order in which you request that they be read to the jury, and (c) include a
citation of the authorities supporting the instruction. Most of the judges of this Court utilize
Sand & Siffert’s Modern Federal Jury Instructions, and I encourage you to do so. If you make
any substantive changes to a Sand & Siffert instruction, you should provide the Court with that
instruction in redline form.
Guaranteeing Witness Availability
Absent emergency circumstances, a party will guarantee the presence at trial of any
witness that party lists in the pretrial order, in accordance with Local Rule 106.2.i., as “expects to
present” at trial.
Disclosure of Opinions of Expert Witnesses
In addition to the information required by Local Rule 106.2.j, the pretrial order shall
include for each party a concise summary of the opinion testimony expected from each witness
identified by that party pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(A) and (B) who may testify at trial.
The parties shall identify those witnesses designated pursuant to Rule 26(a)(2)(A) separately
from those designated pursuant to Rule 26(a)(2)(B).
Exhibits
Please be prepared to advise me at the pretrial conference if there are any objections to
the documents and exhibits listed in the pretrial order in accordance with Local Rule 106.2.h.
Any objections not disclosed at that time, other than objections under Fed. R. Evid. 401 and 403,
shall be deemed waived at trial, unless excused for good cause shown.
All exhibits must be tagged and numbered prior to trial in accordance with
Local Rule 106.7.a. You must meet with one another prior to trial to review and make available
for copying one another=s exhibits in accordance with Local Rule 106.7.b.
Use of Courtroom Equipment
Please be prepared to advise me at the conference if you would like to use at trial any
courtroom equipment. The Court has available for your use monitors, computer inputs for
PC-based presentations, DVD players, VCRs, and document cameras. For more information,
please refer to the Courtroom Technologies manual available at http://www.mdd.uscourts.gov/
attorney/docs/courttech.pdf.
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Trial Instructions
Please read carefully the attached memorandum entitled “Instructions To Counsel
Regarding Trial Procedure And Conduct.” You are responsible for knowing the contents of
these instructions and all of the provisions of Local Rule 107 concerning trial conduct.
Settlement
Unless the Court is notified of any settlement no later than one full business day prior to
the day on which the trial is scheduled to begin, jury costs will be imposed in accordance with
Local Rule 107.4. Ordinarily, in civil cases 25–28 potential jurors are called as members of the
venire panel and the cost per juror is approximately $70.
Despite the informal nature of this ruling, it shall constitute an Order of Court, and the
Clerk is directed to docket it accordingly.
/s/
Roger W. Titus
United States District Judge
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INSTRUCTIONS TO COUNSEL
REGARDING TRIAL PROCEDURE AND CONDUCT1
1. Efficient Use of Courtroom Time
Please always be on time. It is important to anticipate objections in order to avoid
unnecessary bench conferences. When the jury is present, virtually every minute should be spent
taking testimony.
2. Exhibits
A. You must pre-mark exhibits.
B. You should not formally move exhibits into evidence. Under Local Rule 107.5.b, they
are admitted when they are first mentioned during the questioning of a witness unless the
opposing party objects or unless the party mentioning them asks that they be marked for
identification only.
C. You may circulate exhibits to the jury without asking permission of the Court provided
you then continue with questioning.
D. If you plan to use exhibit books, you should first confer with opposing counsel about
their contents and bring to the attention of the Court any matters in dispute. Please
provide copies for one lawyer per party, a copy for the witness, a copy for the judge, and
(at your option) a copy for each juror.
3. Witnesses
A. Treat witnesses with courtesy and respect and address them by their surnames (except
persons under the age of 18).
B. Do not appear to address yourself to jurors when questioning a witness.
4. Prohibited Questions and Remarks
A. Do not ask a witness whether it “would surprise you to know” that a certain event
occurred.
B. Do not ask “if I were to tell you that another witness testified to a certain fact, would you
disagree with him?” (or “was she lying” or “not telling the truth”?)
C. Do not remind a witness that he is under oath or ask whether he expects the jury to
believe his testimony.
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These instructions are based in part on Local Rule 107. You must be fully familiar with all of the provisions
of that Rule.
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5. Movement In The Courtroom
A. Please stand when addressing the Court.
B. You may (unless recording or amplification equipment otherwise requires) ask questions
of a witness from any fixed location in the well of the Court but you may not ask
questions while pacing around the courtroom.
C. You may approach a witness to show an exhibit without prior approval of the Court but
may not do so for any other reason.
D. When addressing jurors, please stand a respectful distance away from them.
6. Objections
You should not make speaking objections or, unless invited to do so by the Court, argue
rulings in front of the jury.
7. Opening Statements and Closing Arguments
A. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, no opening statement or closing argument
(including rebuttal argument) shall exceed one hour.
B. Exhibits and demonstrative aids may not be displayed to the jury during opening
statement or closing argument unless you have previously shown them to opposing
counsel. Please also show any new demonstrative aid you intend to display during
closing argument to opposing counsel before doing so.
C. During closing argument you may not state your personal opinion as to the merits of your
case, the credibility of a witness, or the culpability of a civil litigant, or guilt or innocence
of an accused.
8. Exclusion of Witnesses Rule and Talking to Witnesses on the Stand
Local Rule 107.7 describes the meaning of the exclusion of witness (sequestration) rule.
Local Rule 107.14 describes when counsel may talk to a witness on the stand.
9. Beeper, Pagers, and Cellular Telephones
Please turn off (and instruct your clients and witnesses to turn off) all audible beepers, pagers,
and cellular telephones before entering the courtroom.
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10. Food and Drink
Please do not bring any food or drink (other than water) into the courtroom. If you want to
use bottled water, you should pour it into the pitchers provided by the Court.
11. Use of Courtroom Telephone Prohibited
Please do not use the courtroom telephone unless authorized by the Court.
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