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DISTRICT 

COURT

For the Northern District of California

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UNITED 

STATES 

DISTRICT 

COURT

For the Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

Northern District of California

REMI TAN,

Plaintiff,

v.

CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN

FRANCISCO, et al.,

Defendants.

_____________________________________/

No. C 08-1564 MEJ

FINAL PRETRIAL ORDER 

1. The trial will proceed in Courtroom D as follows: the parties will appear at 9:00 a.m. on

Monday, March 8, 2010. Jury selection will commence at 9:30 a.m. The trial will start at

1:15 p.m. Each day thereafter, trial will begin at 9:30 with a 15 minute break at 11:00 a.m., a

45 minute lunch at 12:30 p.m., and an afternoon break at 2:30 p.m. Trial will conclude at

4:00 p.m. each day. 

2. Each side has 7 hours to present their case in the liability and damages phase. The 7 hours

does not include opening and closing statements. Opening statements must be limited to 30

minutes per side and closing statements must be limited to 1 hour per side. 

3. At the March 4, 2010 Final Pretrial Conference, the Court accepted the parties’ joint

stipulation that trial would be bifurcated in three stages as follows: the liability and damages

phase will proceed first, followed by the Monell phase, followed by the punitive damages

phase. The time allotment for the Monell and punitive damages phases will be determined

following the jury’s verdict on liability and damages. 

4. Defendants represented to the Court that their retained witness, Dr. Berg, would not be able

to testify until Thursday, March 11. The Court will permit Dr. Berg to testify on that day. If

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COURT

For the Northern District of California

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UNITED 

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COURT

For the Northern District of California

she is the final witness for Defendants, the parties will proceed with closing statements

immediately following her testimony.

5. In order to avoid prejudice to either side, the Court will follow the normal rule regarding

objections to evidence and other legal points which the Court must decide: No lengthy

arguments in front of the jury. No sidebars. Any such argument should occur before 9:30

a.m. or after 4:00 p.m. unless it is unavoidable. Objections should consist of a citation to the

Federal Rules of Evidence at issue and the applicable generic description (e.g. “relevance.”)

6. The parties must rise when making an objection. 

7. The parties must seek leave to approach witnesses.

8. Plaintiff represented to the Court that one of his witnesses may require an interpreter. 

Plaintiff must retain his own interpreter and bear all related costs. 

9. Though evidence and argument will not be presented on Friday, jury deliberation may

continue into Friday. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: March 4, 2010 _______________________________

Maria-Elena James 

Chief United States Magistrate Judge 

Case 3:08-cv-01564-MEJ Document 89 Filed 03/04/10 Page 2 of 2