| Initial
Status Conference |
The court will set cases for status after the filing of an answer to the complaint and will direct the parties to conduct an FRCP 26(f) conference and file a Form 35 Report of the Parties Planning Meeting before the scheduled status date.
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| Initial
Settlement Conferences |
Upon review of the complaint by the court, a settlement hearing may be
set either before Judge Holderman or the designated Magistrate Judge.
This conference is intended to be held before a formal answer has been
filed. Parties are requested to submit a position statement to the
court in writing, in camera and provide a copy to opposing counsel as
to the history of the dispute and what counsel believes to be a fair
settlement. These statements, which are covered by
Rule 408 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, may be in the form of a
letter and will not be filed in the court record.
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| Motion
Practice |
Three days notice to the court and other case counsel in advance of each motion before the date of presentment is required.
Judge Holderman will normally hear civil motions at 9:00 a.m. and
criminal motions at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If an
attorney has a question about scheduling a civil or criminal motion,
please contact Ms. Alyce Mobley-Morris at 312-435-5633, Chief Judge Holderman's
Courtroom Deputy Clerk. Please check the court's website prior to
filing a noticed motion for any changes in Judge Holderman's motion
schedule.
Judge Holderman will normally hear contested grand jury matters at
1:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If an attorney has a question
about scheduling a court hearing on a grand jury matter with Chief
Judge Holderman, please contact Ms. Alyce Mobley-Morris at
312-435-5633,
Chief Judge Holderman's Deputy Clerk for Grand Jury Matters.
ALL motions MUST be noticed for hearing pursuant to Local Rules
5.3, 5.4, and 78.2. Judge Holderman tries to review all noticed motions two days before the noticed date.
Agreed motions must also be noticed up
for open court. All counsel are requested to check the "CourtWeb"
section of the Northern District of Illinois’ website after 4:00
p.m. the day before the noticed date for a rulings on the noticed
motions. If there is no posted ruling on the noticed motion, the
parties are requested to appear. NOTE: You must change the date
parameters in order to obtain the rulings.
Motions for leave to file an answer, amended pleading, or a brief
in excess of the 15 page limit must have the answer, amended pleading,
or brief attached in order for the court to make an informed decision.
Motions must be filed with the central clerk's office at least
three
business days prior to the date of the hearing of the motion pursuant
to Local Rule 78.1. The court will set the briefing schedule, date
to answer or otherwise plead, or discovery completion dates. If you
cannot file your brief or other documents on the scheduled date, you
should notice up a motion as soon as you determine that you cannot
meet the previously established schedule. Do not wait for a status hearing
date. If a party fails to follow the scheduled dates, the court will
assume that party has waived any arguments on the motion.
The attachment of an affidavit or exhibit to a motion to dismiss
filed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) may cause
the court to convert the motion to dismiss to a motion for summary
judgment under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The
court will inform the parties if such is required to set an additional
briefing schedule and the filing of a Local Rule 56.1(a) and 56.1(b)
statements.
The motion, memoranda, Rule 56.1 statements and exhibits should all be separate documents filed separately from one another.
Parties are ordered to comply with Local Rule 56.1 when filing a
motion for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 56. The court requires separate filings of cross-motions for
summary judgment.
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| Protective
Orders, Suppressed and/or Sealed Documents |
All protective orders must contain the following language:
Counsel for the parties are ordered to retain copies of all documents containing confidential information which are provided in discovery under the protective order. Documents containing confidential information shall
NOT be filed with the Clerk of Court. Documents requiring the court’s review shall be submitted to chambers in camera in a sealed envelope bearing the caption of the case, case number, the title of the motion or response to which the submitted confidential information pertains, and the name and telephone number of counsel submitting the documents. The producing party shall maintain the original documents in tact for any further review.
A copy of the pleading, motion, or other document with confidential information redacted to leave an identified designated blank space in the pleading, motion, or other document shall be electronically filed with the Clerk of the Court for the record.
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| Draft
Orders |
All draft orders that are submitted to the court for review and signature shall be submitted separately and apart from any other pleadings and should be submitted in the exact form of the order sought to be entered electronically using the
Proposed_Order_Holderman@ilnd.uscourts.gov
email address designated by Judge Holderman to receive proposed order emails.
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| Emergency
Motions |
Counsel must telephone Judge Holderman’s chambers prior to filing an emergency motion. The court will then set a scheduled time and date for hearing on the motion. All reasonable efforts must be made to give actual notice to opposing counsel with as much advance notice to the court as possible.
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| Discovery
Motions |
The court requires strict compliance with Local Rule 37. The
parties are required to conduct a Rule 37.2 conference
within 14 calendar days of a discovery dispute arising. Any matters remaining unresolved are to be placed in motion
form and presented to the court with notice within 7 CALENDAR DAYS of the Rule
37.2 conference. The motion must state with specificity when and how the movant
complied with Local Rule
37.2. The parties are advised that the discovery schedule will
not be extended due to a discovery dispute, and therefore, are encouraged to bring any
unresolved disputes to the court’s attention as they arise. The court believes that parties
can and should work out the discovery dispute.
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| Consent
to Proceed Before a Magistrate Judge |
Too often litigants are unaware of the efficiencies to be gained by
having their cases tried before United States Magistrate Judges. The
court encourages counsel to inform their
clients of this option, and to discuss it with opposing counsel. Magistrate
Judge Consent Form can be obtained on the court's website or on
the 20th Floor of the central clerk's office.
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| Bankruptcy
Appeals |
Briefs on appeal from the United States Bankruptcy Court must be filed
within 15 days of the entry of judgment by the Bankruptcy Court. Any
motions to extend time must be filed during the 15-day period. Briefs
are limited to 15 pages each.
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| Final
Pretrial Order |
The Final Pretrial Order to be used in civil cases before Judge Holderman is the standard
final pretrial order form attached as Appendix A to the Local Rules of the Northern
District of Illinois.
The final pretrial order shall also contain and be formatted as follows:
1) The judge’s copy of the final pretrial order should be submitted in a three-ring binder and appropriately tabbed.
2) The final pretrial order should be paginated from beginning to end.
3) All motions in limine and supporting memoranda should be filed separately and apart from the final pretrial order AND separately from each other so a separate docket entry will be created for each motion.
4) Proposed jury instructions should be included in the final pretrial order. Counsel are directed to submit a computer disk containing the proposed jury instructions in Word Perfect format.
5) The final pretrial order should be accompanied by copies of all exhibits (when possible) with a descriptive list. All exhibits are to be marked with the sponsoring party's designation and uniquely identified in the exact manner designated in the pretrial order (e.g., P1, D3, Plaintiff Exhibit 1, Defendant Exhibit 1, Joint Exhibit 4). Copies are to be furnished to opposing counsel identifying the exhibits by number with a descriptive list of all exhibits identified by that party for use at trial.
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| Trials |
The usual trial schedule is 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.
to 4:30 p.m. with one break during the morning session and one break
during the afternoon session. As to each particular trial, the parties
and jury members will be advised of the particular schedule on a daily
basis. Bench trials will be tried on a more flexible schedule than
jury trials.
COUNSEL FOR THE PARTIES ARE REQUESTED TO BE PRESENT IN THE
COURTROOM A MINIMUM OF FIVE (5) MINUTES BEFORE EACH COURT SESSION.
Marking of exhibits should be completed in advance of the court
session. Exhibits should be marked as designated in the final pretrial
order and identify the party sponsoring the exhibit as well as have a
short designation that is unique to the exhibit, such as Plaintiff's
Exhibit 16(A) or Defendant's Exhibit 25(F)(7).
During voir dire, the judge will begin by asking the venire general
biographical questions. Each side will be permitted a set amount of
time for follow-up questions prior to the parties exercising their
peremptory challenges.
Counsel should stand while questioning witnesses or making an
objection so the judge, the jury and the judge's court reporter can
hear counsel.
When you object in the presence of the jury, please stand, make
your objection short, to the point, and without argument. If a party
wishes to argue the objection outside the presence of the jury, the
jury will be asked to step out of the courtroom.
Prior to closing arguments, a jury instruction conference will be
held. At the jury instruction conference, the parties should attempt
to agree on instructions. In the case of disagreement, the court will
informally rule on which instructions will be given. Prior to closing
arguments, the parties will be given an opportunity to put any
objections on the record.
Before jury deliberations, all counsel are directed to supply the
courtroom deputy with a telephone number where they can be contacted
directly and return to the courthouse within 15 minutes of being
called.
Jury costs and witness fees may be assessed for failure to inform
the clerk of a settlement or guilty plea before 12:00 p.m. Noon the
day before trial. See Local
Rule 54.2.
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| Jury
Instructions |
The following are jury instructions that have been given in representative civil jury trials before Judge
Holderman. They should be regarded as models. Counsel are advised to adapt them to the particular circumstances of each case
and to ensure that they accurately reflect the current state of the law.
Employer/Union Hybrid Claim (given in Pease v. Production Workers Union of Chicago & Vicinity Local 707, 02 C 6756, trial held January 2004)
Hostile Environment Disability Harassment (given in Luttrell v. Certified Grocers Midwest, Inc., 02 C 8881, trial held February 2004)
Trademark/Counterfeiting (given in Lorillard
Tobacco Co. v. S & M Central Service Corp., 03 C 4986, trial held
June 2004)
Title VII--Discrimination, Hostile Environment, and Retaliation
(Verdict Forms) (given in Pawell v. Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, 03 C 3158, trial held July/August 2004)
Title VII--Retaliation
(Verdict Form) (given in Watson v. Abt Electronics, Inc., 06 C 1815, trial held February 2007)
Excessive Force / Malicious Prosecution (Verdict Form) (given in Perry v. Jones, 06 C 1028, trial held September 2007)
Title VII Damages (Given in Biondo, et al. v. City of Chicago, 88 C 3773, trial held in December 2005,
preliminary and final jury instructions)
Federal Tort Claim Act Automobile Accident: (Given in Arriaga v. United States, 04 C 2904, trial held in March 2006,
preliminary and final jury instructions)
Unreasonable Search/Failure to Intervene (Verdict Form) (given in Coffie v. City of Chicago, et al., 05 C 6745, trial held October 2007, Preliminary Substantive Instructions)
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| Attorney's
Fees & Cost Petition |
All counsel are ordered to comply with Local Rule 54.3 prior to filing
a motion for attorney's fees and related non-taxable expenses.
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| Submitting a Proposed Order, Agreed or Otherwise, for Electronic Entry by the Judge |
Proposed Orders are technically not to be "filed." Rather, they are to be "submitted" to the judge to consider, to modify, if appropriate, and to enter electronically. For example, proposed orders such as stipulated protective orders require court approval before actually being given full effect. To prevent confusion, such proposed orders must be attached to an e-mail sent to the e-mail address of the assigned judge, Proposed_Order_Holderman@ilnd.uscourts.gov The subject line of the e-mail must include the case number and name, the docket number of the corresponding motion, if any, and the title of the order that is proposed as indicated on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF). All such documents must be submitted to the court in a format compatible with WordPerfect, which is a "Save As" option in most word processing software. Such proposed orders should also be served on all parties.
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Seventh Circuit Bar Association's
American Jury Project |
The Seventh Circuit Bar Association's American Jury Project is an outgrowth of the American Bar Association American Jury Project. After a national symposium in October 2004, the American Jury Project produced a single set of modern jury principles that the ABA proposed as a model for courts around the country. The revised principles were approved by the ABA House of Delegates during the midyear meeting in February 2005. The principles and commentary are available on-line at: http://www.abanet.org/juryprojectstandards/principles.pdf. With the goal of putting these ideas into action, the Seventh Circuit Bar Association has taken a leading role nationwide in implementing and testing the ABA principles.
Now in Phase Two of its studies, the Seventh Circuit Jury Project Commission has focused its analysis on four of the concepts derived from the ABA American Jury Project Principles and Standards. To access the relevant materials, please click on the following link: Seventh Circuit Bar Association's American Jury Project Phase Two -- Project Manual.
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