Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_14-cv-00055/USCOURTS-caed-1_14-cv-00055-10/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Archie Cranford
Plaintiff
Christina Crawford
Defendant

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

Plaintiff Archie Cranford is a civil detainee proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in 

this civil rights action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The action proceeds on 

Plaintiff’s first amended complaint against Defendant Crawford for inadequate medical care

in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The deadlines to 

complete discovery and to file dispositive motions have passed. Accordingly, pursuant to 

ARCHIE CRANFORD,

 Plaintiff,

v.

CHRISTINA CRAWFORD,

Defendant.

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Case No.: 1:14-cv-00055-AWI-MJS (PC)

SECOND SCHEDULING ORDER

ORDER REQUIRING PARTIES TO NOTIFY 

COURT WHETHER THEY CONSENT TO 

MAGISTRATE JUDGE JURISDICTION WITHIN 

THIRTY DAYS

ORDER DIRECTING CLERK’S OFFICE TO 

SEND LOCAL RULE 281 TO PLAINTIFF

Telephonic Trial Confirmation

Hearing: July 7, 2016, at 3:00 p.m. in 

Courtroom 2 (AWI)

Jury Trial: September 7, 2016, at 8:30 a.m. in 

Courtroom 2 (AWI)

Case 1:14-cv-00055-AWI-MJS Document 40 Filed 03/14/16 Page 1 of 8
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Rule 16(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court now sets a further schedule for 

this litigation.

The parties are required to file pretrial statements in accordance with Local Rule 281 

and the schedule set forth herein. In addition, Plaintiff must make a particularized showing to 

obtain the attendance of witnesses. The procedures and requirements for doing so are 

outlined in detail below.

Failure to comply with the provisions of this Order may result in the imposition 

of sanctions which could include dismissal of the action or entry of default.

I. SPECIAL PROCEDURES FOR PLAINTIFF’S WITNESSES 

At the trial of this case, Plaintiff must be prepared to introduce evidence to prove each 

of the alleged facts that support claims made in the lawsuit. In general, there are two kinds of 

trial evidence: (1) exhibits and (2) testimony of witnesses. It is Plaintiff’s responsibility to 

produce all of the evidence to prove his case, whether that evidence is in the form of exhibits 

or testimony from witnesses. If Plaintiff wants to call witnesses to testify, he must comply with 

the following procedures to ensure that the witnesses will appear at trial and be available to 

testify.1Failure to comply with the procedures set forth below may result in the Court 

precluding testimony from Plaintiff’s witnesses.

A. Procedures for Obtaining Attendance of Incarcerated Witnesses Who Agree to 

Testify Voluntarily 

An incarcerated witness who agrees to come to court and testify at trial can only do so 

if the Court orders the warden or other custodian to allow him or her to be transported to 

court. The Court will not issue such an order unless it is satisfied that: (a) the prospective 

witness is willing to attend; and (b) he or she has actual knowledge of relevant facts.

 

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Notwithstanding the requirements set forth herein, it is within the Court’s discretion to grant a motion for the 

attendance of incarcerated witnesses if the moving party has shown the witnesses have relevant information 

and the Court determines the witnesses’ presence will substantially further the resolution of the case. Wiggins 

v. County of Alameda, 717 F.2d 466, 468 n.1 (9th Cir. 1983).

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If Plaintiff wants to call such witnesses, Plaintiff must serve and file with the pretrial 

statement a written motion for a court order directing that the witnesses be brought to trial. 

The motion must: (1) state the name, address, and prison identification number of each such 

witness; and (2) include declarations showing that each witness is willing to testify and that 

each witness has actual knowledge of relevant facts. The motion should be entitled “Motion 

for Attendance of Incarcerated Witnesses.”

The willingness of the prospective witness to come and testify can be shown in one of 

two ways: (a) the Plaintiff can swear under penalty of perjury that the prospective witness 

has informed him that he or she is willing to testify voluntarily without being subpoenaed; if 

so, the declaration must state when and where the witness so advised the Plaintiff; or (b) 

Plaintiff can serve and file a declaration, signed under penalty of perjury by the prospective 

witness, in which the witness states he or she is willing to testify without being subpoenaed.

The prospective witness’s actual knowledge of relevant facts also can be shown in 

one of two ways: (a) if Plaintiff has actual firsthand knowledge that the prospective witness 

was an eyewitness or an ear-witness to the relevant facts (for example, if the incident 

occurred in Plaintiff’s cell and Plaintiff saw that a cellmate was present at the time and 

observed the incident), Plaintiff can swear by declaration under penalty of perjury that the 

prospective witness has actual knowledge; or (b) Plaintiff can serve and file a declaration 

signed under penalty of perjury by the prospective witness in which the witness describes the 

relevant facts to which he or she was an eye- or ear-witness. 

Whether the declaration is made by the Plaintiff or by the prospective witness, it must 

be specific about the incident, when and where it occurred, who was present, and how the 

prospective witness happened to be in a position to see or hear what occurred.

The Court has discretion to grant a motion for the attendance of incarcerated 

witnesses if the moving party shows that the witnesses have relevant information and the 

Court finds that the witnesses’ presence will substantially further the resolution of the case. 

Wiggins, 717 F.2d at 468 n.1. The Court will review and rule on the motion for attendance of 

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incarcerated witnesses, specifying which will be brought to court. Subsequently, the Court 

will order the witness’s custodian to bring the witness to court.

Motions for the attendance of incarcerated witnesses, if any, must be filed on or 

before May 12, 2016. Oppositions, if any, must be filed on or before June 9, 2016. 

B. Procedures for Obtaining Attendance of Incarcerated Witnesses Who Refuse to 

Testify Voluntarily 

If Plaintiff seeks to obtain the attendance of incarcerated witnesses who refuse to 

testify voluntarily, Plaintiff should submit, by May 12, 2016, a motion for the attendance of 

such witnesses. Such motion should be in the form described above. In addition, the party 

must indicate in the motion that the incarcerated witnesses are not willing to testify 

voluntarily.

C. Procedures for Obtaining Attendance of Unincarcerated Witnesses Who Agree 

to Testify Voluntarily 

Plaintiff does not need Court permission or a Court Order to have unincarcerated 

witnesses appear and testify if the witnesses are willing to do so voluntarily (and Plaintiff has 

properly identified the witnesses in his Pretrial Statement). It is Plaintiff’s sole responsibility to 

notify the witness of the time and date of trial and arrange for his or her presence. The Court 

need not be involved.

D. Procedures for Obtaining Attendance of Unincarcerated Witnesses Who 

Refuse to Testify Voluntarily 

If a prospective witness is not incarcerated, and he or she refuses to testify voluntarily, 

the witness must be served with a subpoena. Fed. R. Civ. P. 45. In addition, the party 

seeking the witness’s presence must deposit fees for the witness in advance of subpoenaing 

the witness. Id. In the case of an unincarcerated witness, the fee that must be deposited is 

the daily witness fee of $40.00 plus the witness’s travel expenses. 28 U.S.C. § 1821.

If Plaintiff wishes to obtain the attendance of one or more unincarcerated witnesses 

who refuse to testify voluntarily, Plaintiff must first notify the Court in writing of the name and 

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location of each unincarcerated witness. Plaintiff is to notify the Court of the names and 

locations of such witnesses on or before May 12, 2016.

The Court will calculate the travel expense for each such witness and notify Plaintiff of 

the amount(s) to be deposited for each. Plaintiff must then, for each witness, submit a money 

order made payable to the witness for the full amount of the witness’s travel expenses plus 

the daily witness fee of $40.00. The subpoena will not be served on the unincarcerated 

witness by the United States Marshal unless the money order is tendered to the Court. There 

is no legal basis for using public funds to cover such expenses in civil cases even for parties 

proceeding in forma pauperis.

If Plaintiff wishes to have the Marshal serve any unincarcerated witnesses who refuse 

to testify voluntarily, Plaintiff must submit the money orders to the Court on or before 

June 23, 2016.

II. MAGISTRATE JUDGE JURISDICTION

Defendant has declined Magistrate Judge jurisdiction. Nevertheless, inasmuch as the 

trial scheduling considerations discussed below may justify a reconsideration of a past 

decision not to consent, the Court requires an updated consent/decline form. Accordingly, it 

will direct the Clerk’s Office to provide the parties with another set of consent/decline forms.

Within thirty (30) days from the date of service of this order, the parties shall inform the 

Court whether they consent to or decline Magistrate Judge jurisdiction by filling out the forms 

and returning them to the Court. They shall do so even if they have previously filed such a 

form and even if there has been no change in position with regard to consent.

Following is important information about scheduling and trailing cases that should be 

considered in determining whether to consent to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction. While there

are scheduling benefits to consenting to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction, substantive rulings 

and decisions will not be affected by whether a party chooses to consent or not.

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III. TRIAL SCHEDULING CONSIDERATIONS

District Court Judges of the Fresno Division of the Eastern District of California now 

have the heaviest caseload in the nation. As a result, each District Judge schedules multiple

trials to begin on every available trial date. The law requires that the Court give criminal trials 

priority over civil trials and other matters. A civil trial set to begin while a criminal trial is 

proceeding will “trail,” i.e., await the completion of, the criminal trial. Since continuance to a 

date certain would simply postpone, but not solve, the problem, continuances of a civil trial 

will no longer be entertained, absent a specific and stated finding of good cause.

The Court cannot give advance notice of which cases will trail or for how long they 

may trail because the Court does not know which cases actually will go to trial or precisely 

how long each will last. Once your trial date arrives, counsel, parties and witnesses must 

remain on 24-hour-stand-by until a court opens. The Court will use its best efforts to mitigate 

the effect of the foregoing and to resolve all cases in a timely manner.

One alternative is for the parties to consent to a United States Magistrate Judge 

conducting all proceedings, including trial and entry of final judgment, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 

§ 28 U.S.C. 636(c), Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 73, and Local Rule 305. The Eastern 

District Magistrate Judges, all experienced former trial lawyers, use the same jury pool and 

same court facilities as United States District Court Judges. Judgment entered by a United 

States Magistrate Judge is appealable directly to the United States Court of Appeal for the 

Ninth Circuit. Since Magistrate Judges do not conduct felony trials, they have greater 

flexibility and schedule firm trial dates.

As another response to its large caseload, the Fresno Division of the Eastern District 

of California is assigning cases, whenever possible, to Article III District Court Judges from 

around the nation as Visiting Judges. Pursuant to the Local Rules, Appendix A, such 

reassignments will be random, and the parties will receive no advance notice before their 

case is reassigned to an Article III District Court Judge from outside of the Eastern District of 

California.

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IV. SCHEDULING ORDER

With regard to the further litigation and trial of this matter, the Court specifically 

ORDERS as follows:

1. This matter is set for telephonic trial confirmation hearing before the Honorable 

Anthony W. Ishii on July 7, 2016, at 3:00 p.m. in Courtroom 2;

2. This matter is set for jury trial before the Honorable Anthony W. Ishii on September 

7, 2016, at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 2;

3. Counsel for Defendant is required to arrange for the participation of Plaintiff in the 

telephonic trial confirmation hearing and to initiate the telephonic hearing at (559) 

499-5660;

4. Plaintiff shall serve and file a pretrial statement as described in this Order on or 

before May 12, 2016;

5. Defendant shall serve and file a pretrial statement as described in this Order on or 

before June 9, 2016;

6. In addition to electronically filing their pretrial statement, Defendant shall e-mail her

pretrial statements to: awiorders@caed.uscourts.gov;

7. If Plaintiff intends to call incarcerated witnesses at trial, Plaintiff shall serve and file 

a motion for attendance of incarcerated witnesses as described in this Order on or 

before May 12, 2016;

8. The opposition to the motion for the attendance of incarcerated witnesses, if any, 

shall be filed on or before June 9, 2016;

9. If Plaintiff wishes to obtain the attendance of unincarcerated witnesses who refuse 

to testify voluntarily, Plaintiff must notify the Court of their names and locations on 

or before May 12, 2016, and Plaintiff must submit the money orders, as described 

in section I subsection D of this Order, to the Court on or before June 23, 2016;

10.The Clerk’s Office shall send consent forms to all parties; 

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11.Within thirty (30) days of the date of this order, the parties shall return updated 

consent forms notifying the Court whether they consent to Magistrate Judge 

jurisdiction; and

12.The Clerk’s Office shall send Plaintiff a copy of Local Rule 281.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: March 11, 2016 /s/Michael J. Seng 

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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