UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA 

SOUTH BEND DIVISION 

CHRISTOPHER L. SCRUGGS, 

 Plaintiff, 

v. CAUSE NO.: 3:16-CV-33-RLM 

NURSE WEST, 

 Defendant. 

TRIAL EXPLANATION FOR PRO SE PLAINTIFF 

 The plaintiff in this case is representing himself. The court sets forth this 

explanation of trial procedures so that less time will be needed for such 

explanations at trial. This explanation is written for the plaintiff, so “you” means 

the plaintiff. 

 Trials are complicated. This explanation is meant to make the trial more 

understandable, but the judge can’t make it less complicated. This explanation is 

not meant to teach you how to make a record for an appeal. It is meant to help you 

understand the trial procedures. 

 This is the order in which things will happen if the trial goes all the way from 

start to finish: 

 1. Jury selection 

 2. Preliminary instructions (in which the judge tells the jury what the 

case is about, and how the trial will proceed) 

3. Opening statements 

 4. Your case-in-chief (your witnesses — including you — and your 

exhibits) 

 5. Motion for judgment as a matter of law, or for directed verdict 

 6. Defense case-in-chief 

 7. Final instructions conference 

 8. Final arguments 

9. Final instructions from judge to jury 

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 10. Jury deliberations 

 11. Verdict. 

Role of the Judge

 The judge cannot act as your attorney. The judge will do his best to assure 

that the trial proceeds in an orderly manner, and that you (as well as the defense) 

have as full an opportunity to be heard as the rules of procedure and evidence 

allow. But the judge will not advise you as to how to proceed, or what topics to 

cover while testifying, or what questions to ask witnesses. 

 The judge will conduct the trial under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 

and the Federal Rules of Evidence. No one can predict in advance exactly which 

rules will come into play, but some of the rules that most frequently come into play 

in cases such as this one are attached to this order. The judge is required to follow 

these rules, and so are the trial participants, including you. 

 There will be no conferences with the judge at the bench. If some argument 

has to be raised out of the jury’s hearing, the judge will either send the jury to 

another room, or invite you and the lawyer for the defense to write down what they 

want to say to the judge. Before those writings are shown to the judge, the lawyer 

for the defense will be allowed to look at whatever you wrote, and you will be allowed 

to look at whatever the lawyer for the defense wrote. If you have trouble reading or 

writing, be sure to tell the judge. 

Behavior in Court

 You have the right to your day in court on this case, but that right can be 

lost by bad behavior. The judge will treat you politely and with courtesy in court, 

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and expects you to treat others in court the same way. The judge and the people 

who work in the court will do all they can to be sure the case goes smoothly and 

that you are able to have your day in court, but their main job is to be sure that 

the jury can do its job. In most cases, there is no problem, but once in a long while 

a plaintiff’s behavior is such that the jury can’t do its job. When that happens, the 

judge dismisses the case. 

Arranging for Witnesses

 Do not wait until the trial to arrange your witnesses. The judge will not delay 

the trial to let you arrange for witnesses that you could have arranged for earlier. 

You should start arranging your witnesses right after the final pretrial conference. 

 Subpoenas. To subpoena a witness, you must pay the witness a witness fee 

of $40.00 plus mileage to and from the courthouse. The fee for mileage is set by 

federal law and changes from time to time; it is more than 50 cents per mile. You 

have to pay witness fees even if you filed your case in forma pauperis. The court 

does not have the power to order a witness to give up the statutory witness fee. To 

have a subpoena issued if you are a prisoner, you must provide the clerk’s office 

with the name and address of the witness along with the witness fee, and the United 

States Marshal will try to serve the subpoena. If you are not a prisoner, you must 

serve the subpoena (together with the witness fee) yourself. You should remember 

that the people you sued are not required by law to attend the trial just because 

they were sued. They might attend, but unless you serve a legal subpoena (which 

includes the witness fee), they don’t have to. 

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Inmate Witnesses. You don’t have to serve a subpoena, or pay a witness fee, 

for a witness who is in custody. If you want the testimony of a prisoner, you must 

ask the judge to issue an order to have the prisoner produced. You must make this 

request several weeks before trial, so the necessary arrangements can be made. 

You must tell the judge the prisoner’s name, the prisoner’s DOC number if you 

have it (the wrong person might be produced if you don’t have the DOC number, 

and the judge will not stop the trial for you if that happens), the institution where 

the prisoner may be found, and why you want that person. Don’t expect the judge 

to order several prisoners produced to testify to the same thing. The judge can’t 

order the production of a prisoner held in a state other than Indiana. If possible, 

the judge will arrange for the prisoner to testify by videoconferencing — that 

reduces cost, preserves security, and might let you call more prisoner-witnesses 

than if they all had to be brought to court. 

Jury Selection

 Anywhere from 15 to 22 prospective jurors will be called to the trial. The 

group of prospective jurors is called the venire. You and the lawyer for the defense 

will be given a random list of the prospective jurors’ names. The prospective jurors 

will be offered as jurors in sequence in which their names appear on that list. You 

will also be given copies of two-page questionnaires the prospective jurors fill out 

when they arrive in court. The clerk will collect the copies of the questionnaire back 

from you after the jury is selected. 

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 The judge will ask all the questions of the venire. You will receive a list of the 

judge’s questions on the morning of trial. If it appears to the judge that some person 

on the venire can’t be a fair juror in this case, the judge will propose to excuse that 

person. You will be given a chance to write down any objection (or question you 

would like the person to be asked) before the person is excused, as will the lawyer 

for the defense. 

 After the judge finishes his questions, he will offer you and the lawyer for the 

defense a chance to propose follow-up questions. Write down any questions you 

want asked (the lawyer for the defense will have the same chance). The judge will 

only ask questions that follow from his earlier questions or things the prospective 

jurors said; he will not ask new questions. 

 After all the questions have been asked, the judge will send the venire out of 

the courtroom, and will talk with you and the lawyer for the defense about 

challenges. A challenge is the method by which people are removed from the venire. 

There are two types of challenges. 

A cause challenge is based on the belief that a particular person simply 

cannot be fair to both sides in that particular case. A person making a cause 

challenge generally must be able to point to something the prospective juror 

said or wrote as demonstrating that he or she can’t be fair. You will have the 

chance to object to any cause challenge the defense makes, and the defense 

will have the chance to object to any cause challenge you make. The judge 

decides whether the person should be removed (meaning that the judge 

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decides whether he is persuaded that the challenged person can’t be fair). 

There is no limit on the number of cause challenges to be made. 

A peremptory challenge is one that a party can make without stating a reason. 

You may excuse 0, 1, 2, or 3 people with peremptory challenges, but you 

can’t excuse more than 3. The lawyer for the defense may excuse as many as 

3 under this procedure, too. Reasons generally don’t have to be stated for a 

peremptory challenge. A peremptory challenge may not be based on the 

prospective juror’s race, sex, sexual orientation, or national origin. If the lawyer 

for the defense says you have based a peremptory challenge on race, sex, or 

national origin, the judge may require you to state your reason for 

challenging that person. If you think the lawyer for the defense based a 

peremptory challenge on race, sex, sexual orientation, or national origin, tell 

the judge. 

 This is how challenges will be exercised: After the venire has been excused 

from the courtroom, the judge will first ask you if you have any cause challenges to 

make as to any prospective juror. If you do, tell the judge which jurors you 

challenge, and why you think they can’t be fair. The lawyer for the defense will have 

a chance to respond to your challenges, and also to make any cause challenges for 

the defense. You will have the chance to object to any cause challenges made by 

the lawyer for the defense, and the judge will rule. 

 The judge will then offer the first 7 names remaining on the random list to 

you and ask if you wish to use a peremptory challenge. If you want to use a 

peremptory challenge, tell the judge. The judge will go back and forth between you 

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and the lawyer for the defense until either both sides have used all 3 of their 

peremptory challenges or there are 7 people neither side challenged. 

Opening Statement

 After the jury is selected, the opening statements take place. In opening 

statements, you and the lawyer for the defendant(s) have the chance to tell the jury 

what you expect the evidence to be. You can’t argue what the jury should do. The 

time to do that is in final argument. 

 What you tell the jury in opening statement is not evidence. The evidence 

consists of witness testimony, exhibits received in evidence at trial, and any facts 

you and the lawyer for the defense formally agree to. The opening statement is not 

your testimony. 

Your Case-in-Chief

 After the opening statements, you may present your evidence. This is called 

the plaintiff’s case-in-chief. Your case-in-chief may consist only of your testimony, 

or it may include testimony of other witnesses. If you have other witnesses, tell the 

judge the order in which you want to present your evidence: who will testify first, 

second, third, and so on. This will help keep the trial moving and keep the jury 

from getting bored while waiting in the jury room for everyone in the courtroom to 

be ready. 

 The jury will be excused as needed to keep the jury from seeing you or any 

witness go to or from the witness stand in cuffs, leg irons, or trip gear. 

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 If you call a witness to testify, you must ask questions for the witness to 

answer. You can’t tell the witness (or the jury) facts while the witness is testifying; 

the witness is to testify to facts in response to your questions. This is called direct 

examination. When you are done with your questioning of the witness, tell the 

judge. The judge then will let the lawyer for the defense ask questions of the 

witness. This is called cross-examination. After the cross-examination is done, the 

judge may allow you to ask more questions in what is called redirect examination, 

but those questions must be related to something discussed on cross-examination. 

If you ask questions on redirect examination, the lawyer for the defense will be 

offered a chance to ask more questions on recross examination. No more 

questioning of that witness will be allowed after recross examination. 

 If you testify as a witness in this case, you won’t have to ask questions of 

yourself. Some judges do require that, so that the lawyer for the defense will have 

an opportunity to make an objection. The judge will let you just tell the facts of the 

case, but you must tell the court when you are changing topics — for example, 

“Now I’m going to talk about when I saw the doctor” — so the lawyer for the defense 

will have an opportunity to object to a topic. Other than not having to ask questions 

of yourself, your testimony will have to comply with all the other rules of evidence 

and procedure, which means there may be objections raised during your testimony. 

If the judge sustains an objection, he is ruling that you can’t talk about whatever 

was objected to. If you don’t understand what it is you’re not allowed to talk about, 

ask the judge. 

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 Let the judge know when you are done with your testimony. He will then ask 

the lawyer for the defense if there is any cross-examination, and you might be 

cross-examined by the other side. If so, you will be given a chance to give more 

testimony on redirect examination. 

 The judge will not remind you of topics to testify about. If he did that, he 

would be acting as your advocate. So if your case is about things that happened on 

a Monday and a Tuesday, and you only testify about Monday, the judge will not 

remind you to talk about Tuesday. 

 You should also remember that papers you may have filed with the court 

before trial are not evidence. If you want the jury to consider some paper, you have 

to list it as an exhibit in the pretrial order, and offer it into evidence at trial. To offer 

an exhibit into evidence, you might need a witness who can tell the jury what the 

exhibit is. 

Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law, or Directed Verdict

 When you have finished presenting your evidence, the lawyer for the defense 

might make a motion for judgment as a matter of law, or move for a directed verdict. 

These are two names for the same motion. The motion asks the judge to decide 

whether the law would let you win your case if the jury believes all your evidence. 

The judge will grant the motion if you did not present evidence on some fact you 

have to prove. The judge will grant the motion if your case doesn’t amount to a 

constitutional violation. Many prisoner civil rights cases come to an end at this 

stage, so don’t be surprised if the judge grants the motion. The judge will give you 

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a chance to respond to the motion by explaining why you think your evidence is 

sufficient to allow a jury to decide for you. 

Defense Case-in-Chief and Rebuttal

 If the judge does not grant judgment as a matter of law to the defense, the 

lawyer for the defense will have a chance to call witnesses and present evidence. 

This is called the defense’s case-in-chief. You will have the chance to cross-examine 

any witnesses called by the lawyer for the defense. 

 If something new is raised in the defense’s case-in-chief, the judge may let 

you present more evidence on that new topic. This is called the rebuttal stage of the 

trial. If you want to present rebuttal evidence after the defense case-in-chief, ask 

the judge. You should know, though, that the judge probably will not allow the trial 

to be delayed to let you get rebuttal witnesses to court. 

Final Instructions Conference

 The final instructions conference is done with the jury out of the room, after 

or near the end of all the evidence. The judge will tell you and the lawyer for the 

defense, in writing, what instructions on the law he plans to give to the jury. If you 

filed proposed jury instructions, he will tell you how he proposes to rule on your 

requested instructions. The judge will give you a chance to object to what the judge 

plans to tell the jury about the law. The lawyer for the defense will have the chance 

to object, too. At the end of the final instructions conference, you will know what 

the judge will be telling the jury about the law after the final arguments. 

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Final Argument

 After all the evidence is complete, you and the lawyer for the defense will be 

allowed to make final arguments. In final argument, you can comment on any 

evidence that was presented at trial, and can tell the jury what you think that 

evidence means. You are not allowed to tell the jury any new facts about the case 

during final argument — the evidence is over by this point. You can also tell the 

jury what you are asking them to do: if you are asking them for money damages, 

you should tell them that. 

 By the time of the final argument, you will have a copy of the final 

instructions on the law that the judge will read to the jury after the final arguments. 

You are free to tell the jury what the judge will be saying in those instructions, and 

how that law supports your case. If you get the law wrong, the lawyer for the defense 

probably will object, and the judge may sustain the objection. 

 Since you have the job of convincing the jury, you will have the right to open 

the final arguments and to close them. This means that you will speak first, then 

the lawyer for the defense will speak, and then you may speak again to respond to 

what the lawyer for the defense said. The judge will put a time limit on the final 

arguments. 

 SO ORDERED on June 13, 2019 

s/ Robert L. Miller, Jr. 

JUDGE 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

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Rule 50 (“Judgment as a Matter of Law in a Jury Trial”) 

(a) Judgment as a Matter of Law. 

(1) In General. If a party has been fully heard on an issue during a 

jury trial and the court finds that a reasonable jury would not have a 

legally sufficient evidentiary basis to find for the party on that issue, 

the court may: 

(A) resolve the issue against the party; and 

(B) grant a motion for judgment as a matter of law against the 

party on a claim or defense that, under the controlling law, can 

be maintained or defeated only with a favorable finding on that 

issue. 

(2) Motion. A motion for judgment as a matter of law may be made at 

any time before the case is submitted to the jury. The motion must 

specify the judgment sought and the law and facts that entitle the 

movant to the judgment. 

Federal Rule of Evidence 401 (“Test for Relevant Evidence”) 

 Evidence is relevant if: (a) it has any tendency to make a fact more or less 

probable than it would be without the evidence; and (b) the fact is of consequence 

in determining the action. 

 

Federal Rule of Evidence 402 (“Generally Admissibility of Relevant 

Evidence”) 

 Relevant evidence is admissible unless any of the following provides 

otherwise: 

• the United States Constitution; 

• a federal statute; 

• these rules; or 

• other rules prescribed by the Supreme Court. 

 Irrelevant evidence is not admissible. 

Federal Rule of Evidence 403 (“Excluding Relevant Evidence on Grounds of 

Prejudice, Confusion, Waste of Time, or Other Reasons”) 

 The court may exclude relevant evidence if its probative value is 

substantially outweighed by a danger of one or more of the following: unfair 

prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, wasting time, 

or needlessly presenting cumulative evidence. 

Federal Rule of Evidence 602 (“Need for Personal Knowledge”) 

 A witness may testify to a matter only if evidence is introduced sufficient to 

support a finding that the witness has personal knowledge of the matter. 

Evidence to prove personal knowledge may consist of the witness’s own 

testimony. This rule does not apply to a witness’s expert testimony under Rule 

703. 

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Federal Rule of Evidence 609 (“Impeachment by Evidence of Criminal 

Conviction”) 

(a) In General. The following rules apply to attacking a witness’s character 

for truthfulness by evidence of a criminal conviction: 

(1) for a crime that, in the convicting jurisdiction, was punishable by 

death or by imprisonment for more than one year, the evidence: 

(A) must be admitted, subject to Rule 403, in a civil case or in a 

criminal case in which the witness is not a defendant; and 

(B) must be admitted in a criminal case in which the witness is 

a defendant, if the probative value of the evidence outweighs its 

prejudicial effect to that defendant; and 

(2) for any crime regardless of the punishment, the evidence must be 

admitted if the court can readily determine that establishing the 

elements of the crime required proving—or the witness’s admitting—a 

dishonest act or false statement. 

(b) Limit on Using the Evidence After 10 Years. This subdivision (b) applies 

if more than 10 years have passed since the witness’s conviction or release 

from confinement for it, whichever is later. Evidence of the conviction is 

admissible only if: 

(1) its probative value, supported by specific facts and circumstances, 

substantially outweighs its prejudicial effect; and 

(2) the proponent gives an adverse party reasonable written notice of 

the intent to use it so that the party has a fair opportunity to contest 

its use. 

(c) Effect of a Pardon, Annulment, or Certificate of Rehabilitation. Evidence 

of a conviction is not admissible if: 

(1) the conviction has been the subject of a pardon, annulment, 

certificate of rehabilitation, or other equivalent procedure based on a 

finding that the person has been rehabilitated, and the person has 

not been convicted of a later crime punishable by death or by 

imprisonment for more than one year; or 

(2) the conviction has been the subject of a pardon, annulment, or 

other equivalent procedure based on a finding of innocence. 

(d) Juvenile Adjudications. Evidence of a juvenile adjudication is admissible 

under this rule only if: 

(1) it is offered in a criminal case; 

(2) the adjudication was of a witness other than the defendant; 

(3) an adult’s conviction for that offense would be admissible to 

attack the adult’s credibility; and 

(4) admitting the evidence is necessary to fairly determine guilt or 

innocence. 

(e) Pendency of an Appeal. A conviction that satisfies this rule is admissible 

even if an appeal is pending. Evidence of the pendency is also admissible. 

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Federal Rule of Evidence 611 (“Mode and Order of Examining Witnesses and 

Presenting Evidence”) 

(a) Control by the Court; Purposes. The court should exercise reasonable 

control over the mode and order of examining witnesses and presenting 

evidence so as to: 

(1) make those procedures effective for determining the truth; 

(2) avoid wasting time; and 

(3) protect witnesses from harassment or undue embarrassment. 

(b) Scope of Cross-Examination. Cross-examination should not go beyond 

the subject matter of the direct examination and matters affecting the 

witness’s credibility. The court may allow inquiry into additional matters as 

if on direct examination. 

(c) Leading Questions. Leading questions should not be used on direct 

examination except as necessary to develop the witness’s testimony. 

Ordinarily, the court should allow leading questions: 

(1) on cross-examination; and 

(2) when a party calls a hostile witness, an adverse party, or a 

witness identified with an adverse party. 

Federal Rule of Evidence 701 (“Opinion Testimony by Lay Witnesses”) 

 If a witness is not testifying as an expert, testimony in the form of an 

opinion is limited to one that is: 

 (a) rationally based on the witness’s perception; 

(b) helpful to clearly understand the witness’s testimony or to determining a 

fact in issue; and 

(c) not based on scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge within 

the scope of Rule 702. 

Federal Rule of Evidence 801 (“Definitions That Apply to This Article; 

Exclusions from Hearsay”) 

(a) Statement. “Statement” means a person’s oral assertion, written 

assertion, or nonverbal conduct, if the person intended it as an assertion. 

(b) Declarant. “Declarant” means the person who made the statement. 

(c) Hearsay. “Hearsay” means a statement that: 

(1) the declarant does not make while testifying at the current trial or 

hearing; and 

(2) a party offers in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted 

in the statement. 

(d) Statements That Are Not Hearsay. A statement that meets the following 

conditions is not hearsay: 

(1) A Declarant-Witness’s Prior Statement. The declarant testifies and 

is subject to cross-examination about a prior statement, and the 

statement: 

(A) is inconsistent with the declarant’s testimony and was given 

under penalty of perjury at a trial, hearing, or other proceeding 

or in a deposition; 

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(B) is consistent with the declarant’s testimony and is offered: 

(i) to rebut an express or implied charge that the 

declarant recently fabricated it or acted from a recent 

improper influence or motive in so testifying; or 

(ii) to rehabilitate the declarant’s credibility as a witness 

when attacked on another ground; or 

(C) identifies a person as someone the declarant perceived 

earlier. 

(2) An Opposing Party’s Statement. The statement is offered against 

an opposing party and: 

(A) was made by the party in an individual or representative 

capacity; 

(B) is one the party manifested that it adopted or believed to be 

true; 

(C) was made by a person whom the party authorized to make 

a statement on the subject; 

(D) was made by the party’s agent or employee on a matter 

within the scope of that relationship and while it existed; or 

(E) was made by the party’s coconspirator during and in 

furtherance of the conspiracy. 

The statement must be considered but does not by itself establish the 

declarant’s authority under (C); the existence or scope of the relationship 

under (D); or the existence of the conspiracy or participation in it under (E). 

Federal Rule of Evidence 802 (“Hearsay Rule”) 

 Hearsay is not admissible unless any of the following provides otherwise: 

 • a federal statute; 

• these rules; or 

• other rules prescribed by the Supreme Court. 

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