Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_13-cv-01341/USCOURTS-cand-3_13-cv-01341-7/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Nicole Summer Smith
Plaintiff
The State of California Department of Highway Patrol
Defendant

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

NICOLE SUMMER SMITH,

Plaintiff,

v.

THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 

DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAY PATROL,

Defendant.

Case No. 13-cv-01341-JD 

PRETRIAL CONFERENCE ORDER

As discussed at the pretrial conference on March 11, 2015, a jury trial of this matter is set 

for March 23, 2015, and will be conducted under these procedures:

1. Time limits. Each side will have 8 hours to present their case, exclusive of 

opening statements and closing arguments. The 8 hours includes all witness 

examination time, whether direct or cross, and whether the witness is live or 

presented by recording. The parties will strictly conform to the timekeeping 

procedures stated in the Court’s standing order on civil trials. Each side may use 

up to 30 minutes for opening statements, and up to 1 hour for closing arguments. 

Trial will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. each trial day, with two 15 minute 

breaks. The first day of trial will begin at 9:00 a.m. and may go longer to 

accommodate openings. Trial will not be held on Wednesday. The Court has 

blocked out March 23rd, 24th, 26th and 27th for this trial. On the afternoon of 

March 23rd, 2015, the parties should be prepared to give opening statements and 

plaintiff should be prepared to call her first witness. 

2. Jury selection. The Court uses the “strike and replace” method for jury selection, 

as described at the pretrial conference. The Court will conduct the voir dire using 

its own questions and questions proposed by the parties. Each side will have three 

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

peremptory challenges in total. Any prospective juror not excused after the initial 

voir dire will be deemed a member of the jury and may not be subsequently 

challenged by peremptory or otherwise. The voir dire process will repeat with any 

replacements until eight jurors are seated. The final voir dire questions have been 

posted.

3. Jury notebooks. The parties will prepare jury notebooks and lodge 12 copies --

eight for the jurors and four for the Court -- by March 20, 2015. The notebooks 

should be in the form of binders that have a plastic cover with a caption page, and 

must include these materials:

a. Lists of witnesses, attorneys, and trial dates and times.

b. A tab for witness photos. The parties will take a photo of each witness 

outside the courtroom immediately before the witness testifies and shall 

provide the Courtroom Deputy with 12 three-hole punched letter-sized 

copies of each photo. The Courtroom Deputy will distribute the photos. 

The witness must appear the same in the photo as he or she will appear on 

the witness stand (e.g., same clothing, hairstyle, eyewear).

c. A tab for 25 pages of blank lined paper for notes.

The parties are free to suggest to the Court other materials for inclusion in the 

binders. 

4. Witnesses excluded from Court. No fact witness may be in court to view the 

proceedings until the Court rules that the witness’s testimony is complete. The sole 

exception is that each party may have one party representative present at counsel’s 

table throughout the trial. 

5. Objections. Immediately after the daily witness designations under the Court’s 

standing order on civil trials, the parties must meet and confer to resolve any 

objections to the witness, exhibits, and demonstratives. If the parties for some 

reason cannot work out the issues, they may file a joint objection and response by 

8 a.m. the day before the witness is to testify or the exhibit or demonstrative is to be 

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used. The objections and responses are limited to 3 pages each, and the joint 

submission may not exceed 6 pages. The parties are limited to one joint 

submission per day, and the Court does not expect to see a submission each and 

every trial day. No declarations or other materials outside the joint submission are 

permitted other than a copy of the disputed exhibit. The parties should resolve any 

issues about opening statement demonstratives before March 19, 2015. 

6. Jury instructions. The Court will post a revised set of the parties’ joint proposed 

instructions. The Court will provide the parties an opportunity to object. 

7. Verdict form. The Court will issue a verdict form after the jury instructions have 

been finalized.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: March 12, 2015

______________________________________

JAMES DONATO

United States District Judge

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