Final Pretrial Conference

The attorney(s) trying the case must be present for the Final Pretrial Conference.

Trial Schedule

Trial usually begins at 9:45 each day and ends at 5:00 p.m.  Monday through Friday.  One fifteen minute break will occur mid-morning and one fifteen minute break will occur in the mid-afternoon.  There will be a one hour lunch break.  The Judge will inform the jury the night before if the start or end times must be altered due to the size to the morning motion call, judges meetings, or other matters.  In long trials extending over one month, the Court will provide the parties with a schedule of any days off for other court matters.  For long trials, the Court may hold jury trial for half days on Fridays for not at all in order to allow the opportunity for the Court to conduct other hearings for other matters.

Criminal Trial Daily Status

Attorneys on trial before the Court will have their case called each morning of trial at 9:15 a.m. during the Judge’s morning status call.  The purpose of this status is to inform the Court of any issues that may have arisen over night and should be addressed outside of the presence of the jury.  If the parties have no issues for the day, they SHALL notify the Courtroom deputy who will then remove the trial from the status call and trial will begin promptly at the time stated by the Court and there will not be a break before bringing the jury into open court.

Jury Selection

Twelve jurors will be selected to sit on the jury.  Ten pre-emptory challenges will be allotted to the Defense and six to the Government unless the parties address the need for more during the Final Pretrial Conference.  Judge Kendall uses a standard voir dire that is modified by the parties with proposals tailored to their specific case issues.    

Prospective jurors will be called into the jury box for questioning in a random order and the random list will be provided to the parties.  Judge Kendall uses standard voir dire (modified by the parties at the Pretrial Conference) to begin the questioning.  After the initial questioning, Judge Kendall holds a side-bar conference for follow-up with any individual juror where follow-up may be necessary.  Motions to strike potential jurors for cause are made at the sidebar.  Attorneys are encouraged to question prospective jurors at the sidebar and are permitted to rehabilitate or explore answers made in open court.

After the initial twelve jurors are selected, the Court will conduct voir dire in the same manner for alternates.  The number of alternates and strikes for alternates will be discussed at the Final Pretrial Conference. 

Any request to research jurors through any means during the jury selection process must be raised prior to the selection process at the Final Pretrial conference.

Opening Statement

Unless both sides agree, no exhibits will be shown during opening statement.   If exhibits are agreed upon and non-argumentative, they may be used in opening statement.  Opening statement is not argument. 

Examination of Witnesses

A copy of the witness list shall be provided to the Court during the Pretrial Conference.  There is no need to ask the Court to approach a witness.  All exhibits shown to witnesses shall be announced on the record as “Agreed” if there is no dispute regarding the admissibility of the exhibit.  In long trials, the Court may require the parties to estimate the number of hours for their witness examinations and may impose time limits.

Objections

Attorneys MUST STAND to make an objection.  No speaking objections are permitted.  The objection should precisely state the basis for the objection such as “Hearsay”  or “This goes to your pretrial ruling on this matter.”  Sidebars should be limited because all matters should have been addressed prior to the trial day or throughout the day at breaks.  However, the Court recognizes that trials are fluid and that issues may arise unexpectedly.  Sidebar requests should be limited to those unexpected situations.  No discovery objections may be made in front of the jury.

Exhibits

The parties shall use the electronic evidence system for all paper exhibits and shall address the need to use any other format for paper exhibits with the Court at the Final Pretrial Conference.  It is the responsibility of the parties to learn the electronic system and how to use it appropriately at trial BEFORE the first day of trial.  The parties shall make an appointment with the AV Technology Specialist by calling (312) 435-6045 or by email request in order to learn how to use the exhibit system.  The Court controls the publication of exhibits and therefore the Parties must request the Court to publish an exhibit.

In the rare event that binders are necessary, they shall be tabbed and shall have a sticker on the spine that indicates the case name and number and the contents.

Any other hard copy exhibits shall be distributed to the jury by the Court’s staff or the Court security officer.  Copies of such exhibits should be provided to the Court Reporter, the Judge, and one extra for the Court’s clerks.

The Court requests an alphabetical or numerical exhibit list from each party.  A copy of all exhibits will be given to the Court reporter in order to maintain a complete and accurate record of the trial.

The Court is experimenting with a computer system that the jury will use to review exhibits during deliberations called the Jury Evidence Recording System (JERS).  When trial is completed the parties shall certify that the exhibits going to the jurors are the exhibits that were entered during the trial.  This certification is made immediately upon the jury being instructed and therefore the review of final exhibits must be made PRIOR to closing arguments.  The parties shall work with the Courtroom Deputy to prepare the final exhibits to be uploaded to the Jury Evidence Recording System (JERS).  

Closing Arguments

The parties are permitted to use the Court’s instructions in closing argument. The proper way to do so is to  say, “Judge Kendall will instruct you that. . . .”  Time limits may be imposed on lawyers in certain cases but such time limits will be discussed prior to closing arguments.

Jury Instructions

The parties are to file three sets of instructions on the date given by the Court.  These instructions shall comprise:  1) one set of Plaintiffs instructions that are objected to by the Defendant;  2) one set by Defendant that is objected to by the Plaintiff; 3) one set of agreed instructions.  Sets one and two shall reference the opposing party’s proposed instruction if they are competing interpretations of the law.  The parties shall provide the Court with an electronic version of the sets of instructions by the Final Pretrial Conference by emailing them in WORD format to the Courtroom Deputy.  The Court will make rulings on instructions at the Final Pretrial Conference and throughout the course of the trial.

Deliberation

Jurors will deliberate Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. unless otherwise stated for a specific reason.  For security reasons, deliberation past 6:00 pm. will only be permitted in rare circumstances.

The attorneys shall provide the Courtroom Deputy with mobile phone numbers and office numbers where they can be reached if a question is received from the jury.

Transcripts

Please contact Judge Kendall's Court Reporter, Gayle McGuigan, at least five (5) business days before the start of any proceeding for which you anticipate needing daily copy transcript and/or a realtime feed or rough-draft transcript so that these services can be scheduled.  A deposit may be required. 

Contact Gayle at Gayle_McGuigan@ilnd.uscourts.gov