Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_14-cv-03264/USCOURTS-cand-3_14-cv-03264-33/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 410
Nature of Suit: Antitrust
Cause of Action: 15:1 Antitrust Litigation

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

IN RE CAPACITORS ANTITRUST 

LITIGATION MDL Case No. 17-md-02801-JD 

Case No. 14-cv-03264-JD

PRETRIAL ORDER NO. 1 FOR 

DIRECT PURCHASER PLAINTIFFS’

TRIAL

As discussed at the pretrial conference on January 2, 2020, these procedures will apply for 

the jury trial of the direct purchaser plaintiffs’ case. 

I. SCHEDULE AND TIME LIMITS

1. The Court will reserve up to five weeks for the trial, beginning on March 2, 2020, 

at 9:00 a.m. 

2. Trial days are Monday through Thursday. Fridays are reserved for the Court’s 

other matters, but may be used here if the case is ready for closings or the jury is 

deliberating. 

3. Trial is held each trial day from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with two 15-minute breaks.

The Court will set aside time before the jury is seated at 9:00 a.m. as needed to 

address urgent matters. 

4. Each side will have up to 3 hours for opening statements. Duplicative statements 

by co-parties will not be allowed. The parties are directed to meet and confer on a 

deadline for exchanging demonstratives to be used in each side’s opening 

statements.

5. Trial time will be divided equally between the two sides. As specified in the 

Court’s civil trial standing order, the Courtroom Deputy, Ms. Lisa Clark, will have 

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

the final word on the time count. 

II. VOIR DIRE, JURY SELECTION AND MINI-OPENINGS

1. The Court will likely seat 8-10 jurors from a 40-person venire.

2. The Court intends to have the parties give “mini-openings” to the venire as an 

introduction to the case. Each side should have a 3-4 minute statement that 

provides a high-level, non-argumentative overview of the case, and be prepared to 

share it with the Court in rough detail at the final pretrial conference on February 

13, 2020.

3. After the mini-openings, the Court will conduct the voir dire based on its own 

questions and questions proposed by the parties. 

4. The parties will have three peremptory challenges per side, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 

§ 1870. For good cause, the parties may request additional peremptory challenges

no later than the final pretrial conference. 

5. The Court will use the “strike and replace” method for jury selection. A 

prospective juror not excused after a round of challenges will be deemed a member 

of the jury and may not subsequently be challenged.

6. Jury selection typically takes no more than the morning session of the day the 

venire is sworn in. The parties should be prepared to give their opening statements 

and begin presenting witnesses on the first day of trial.

III.JURY MATERIALS AND OTHER TRIAL PROCEDURES

1. Jury notebooks. Jurors will be permitted to take notes. The parties will prepare 

jury notebooks and bring 12 copies on the first day of trial. The notebooks should 

be in the form of 1.5” 3-ring binders that have a plastic cover sleeve with a caption 

page (stating the case name and number), and must include these materials:

a. 50 pages of blank lined paper.

b. A tab for witness photos. The jury will be provided with a color photo (a 

headshot) of each witness just before that witness takes the stand. The party 

calling the witness is responsible for providing the Courtroom Deputy with 

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Northern District of California

12 three-hole punched, letter-sized copies of each photo. The Courtroom 

Deputy will distribute the photos to the jury. The witness must appear 

exactly the same in the photo as he or she will appear on the witness stand 

(e.g., same clothing, hairstyle, eyewear). The photo should include the 

witness’s name.

c. A tab for the Final Jury Instructions, which the Court will distribute.

2. Jury questions. The Court will allow the jurors to ask questions during the trial. 

Questions will be in writing and submitted to the Court. Before the witness is 

excused, the Court will share the proposed question with the parties in a sidebar 

and, if warranted, pose the question to the witness.

3. Sidebars. There will be no attorney-initiated sidebars during trial. 

4. Motions. No motions may be filed during trial without prior leave of Court. 

5. Objections. Counsel must stand to state any objections, and should do so by 

simply stating the rule that forms the basis of the objection. No arguments or 

elaborations should be made unless called for by the Court.

6. Witness Call. Each party must have its witnesses for the trial day available in the 

courthouse and ready to testify. Failure to have the next witness ready or to be 

prepared to proceed with the evidence will usually constitute resting.

7. Witness Disclosure. A party must disclose the identity of the witnesses it plans to 

call -- as well as the exhibits to be used during the direct examination of any 

witness -- by 3:00 p.m. the day before calling the witness to the stand. For 

example, witnesses expected to testify on a Wednesday must be disclosed by 

Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. All Monday witnesses must be disclosed by the preceding 

Friday. Any party that has an objection must alert the Court as soon as possible,

and the Court will take up the objection outside the presence of the jury.

8. Interpreters. The Court recommends that the parties agree on, and have available,

4-5 Japanese/English interpreters for this trial.

9. Evidence at trial. The parties may offer evidence via an Elmo projector or in the 

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form of large poster boards, but the Court advises the parties that all admitted trial 

exhibits will be made available to the jury in electronic format for their 

deliberations. 

IV. JURY INSTRUCTIONS

1. The proposed jury instructions should be broken out into two sets, preliminary and 

final, and should hew to the current Ninth Circuit (or ABA) model instructions to 

the fullest extent possible, without any variations or modifications.

V. OTHER

1. Cameras in the courtroom. At the pretrial conference, the parties indicated on the 

record that all were agreeable to having cameras in the courtroom. The Court will

consequently plan to have the trial video recorded and made available to the public, 

following the procedures for the Cameras in the Courtroom Pilot Project

(https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/about/court-programs/cameras/).

2. Newer lawyers. The Court encourages both sides to give as many substantive 

opportunities to junior lawyers as is possible during the trial.

3. Courtroom technology. As the trial date gets closer, the parties should request 

dates from Ms. Clark to come into the courtroom to set up and test their equipment.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: January 7, 2020

JAMES DONATO

United States District Judge

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