(a) Multidistrict
Litigation.
When it is brought to the attention of the Executive Committee that proceedings
similar to those in a case pending in this District are pending in one or more
other districts and that coordinated or consolidated pretrial discovery
proceedings should be conducted, the Committee will notify each judge upon
whose calendars such cases appear of the proceedings in the other district or
districts. Each such judge will transfer the case or cases to the
calendar of the Executive Committee. The Committee will reassign the
cases to a judge designated by the Committee for the purpose of hearing and
determining any and all motions in connection with such multi-district
litigation. The judge to whom the cases are so assigned shall have the
power to transfer them for the purpose of discovery to another district, either
in this or in another circuit, when it is deemed necessary to promote
multi-district discovery, provided that in those instances where the transfer
of cases to other districts is being considered by the Panel for Multi-District
Litigation, the case shall not be transferred until such time as the Panel has
made its determination.
Cases reassigned under this
procedure that require trial following the completion of the consolidated
discovery shall be transferred to the Executive Committee for reassignment to
the judge from whose calendar they were initially transferred. If that
judge is no longer sitting, the cases shall be reassigned by lot.
(b) Fugitive Calendar. The Executive Committee shall
maintain a calendar called the Fugitive Calendar. Defendants in criminal
cases shall be assigned to that calendar in accordance with the procedures set
out in this section. Where appropriate, the term “judge” used in this
section shall mean both district judge and magistrate judge.
(1) Reassignment of cases
to the Fugitive Calendar. Whenever
a defendant in a criminal case is fugitive for more than 30 consecutive
days or whenever short of said 30 days the judge determines that a defendant is
fugitive, the judge to whom the case is assigned shall transfer the defendant
to the Fugitive Calendar. Such transfer shall be made even in those
instances where other defendants in the case are not fugitive and the case is
proceeding as to them, provided that where the judge determines that the
presence of the fugitive defendant in such multiple defendant case is required
for the trial of the non-fugitive defendants, and an order is entered to that
effect, the fugitive defendant shall remain on the calendar of the judge.
(2) Procedures for
removing cases from the Fugitive Calendar. Where a defendant on the Fugitive
Calendar is arrested or appears and the judge to whom the case was assigned is
still sitting and hearing criminal cases, the clerk shall promptly transfer the
defendant from the Fugitive Calendar to the calendar of that judge. If
the judge is either no longer sitting or is no longer receiving assignment of
criminal cases, the following procedures shall be followed:
(A) Where the defendant is to be brought
before a judge immediately following arrest or appearance, the United States
Attorney shall have the defendant brought before the emergency judge who shall
order the clerk to notify the Executive Committee of the need to have the
defendant reassigned from the Fugitive Calendar.
(B) On being informed of the arrest or
appearance of the defendant either as provided in (2)(A) or through other
notification, the clerk shall promptly notify the Executive Committee of
the need for an order directing the reassignment of the defendant.
(3) Deferred Prosecution
and the Fugitive Calendar.
Whenever subsequent to the filling of an indictment or information the judge
approves a deferred prosecution for one or more of the defendant in the
case and the case is not to be dismissed until the completion of the period
covered by the deferred prosecution, the judge shall transfer the case to
the Executive Committee for reassignment to the Fugitive Calendar.
Following successful completion of the conditions of deferred prosecution or
where the United States Attorney indicates that the conditions have not
been met and prosecution should be continued, the judge from whose
calendar the case was reassigned shall notify the clerk of the need for an
order of the Executive Committee reassigning the case from the Fugitive
Calendar to the calendar of that judge.
(4) Calendar call of the
Fugitive Calendar.
The Executive Committee may assign one or more judges for the purpose of making
a periodic call of the cases on the Fugitive Calendar. The judge or
judges assigned shall from time to time consult with the United States
Attorney and the Attorney General to ascertain whether dismissals of particular
criminal actions shall be deemed available.
(c)
Reassignments and Assignments of Cases to the Chief Judge and Senior Judges.
From time to time the Executive Committee may assign cases to the chief judge
or to any senior judge. Such assignments may be performed in any of the
following ways:
(1) The Executive Committee may
direct the clerk to assign cases to the chief judge or to a senior judge in the
same manner as cases are assigned to a regular active judge but limit the
number of categories so assigned.
(2) The Executive Committee may direct the
clerk to include the name of the chief judge or senior judge in the assignment
process of one or more assignment categories. In any order directing the
assignment of new filings to the chief judge or a senior judge, the Executive
Committee shall fix the frequency with which the name of the chief judge or
senior judge shall appear in the process for the assignment category
specified. The order shall also direct the clerk to assign cases in the
assignment categories specified whenever that judge’s name appears.
(3) The Executive Committee may,
with the consent of the judge to whom such case or cases is assigned,
direct that one or more cases be reassigned to the chief judge or to any
senior judge.
(4) Where a case is reassigned from
a senior judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§294(b), the case shall be reassigned by lot to a regular active district
judge.
(d) Reassignment by
Agreement.
Where two or more judges agree that the reassignment of one or more cases to
one of them will enable the case or cases to be more efficiently administered
and will serve to save judicial time, the cases involved may be transferred to
the Executive Committee with a request for such reassignment. The request
shall indicate briefly the reasons for such reassignment and specify whether or
not the judge receiving the case is to return any case or cases to the
Committee for reassignment to the transferring judge. If the Committee
finds that the reassignment will enable a more efficient administration of the
cases, it may then order the reassignment.
(e) Coordinated
Pretrials in Complex Cases Not Involving Multi-District Litigation. The Executive Committee may
determine that it would be in the best interests of efficient judicial
administration to hold a coordinated pretrial proceeding in a group of cases
which either (1) are not related within the meaning or LR40.4(a) or (2) are related within the meaning of LR40.4(a) but reassignment is not appropriate under LR40.4(b). Where such a determination is made, the
Committee will designate a judge to hold such a proceeding. The cases
shall remain on the calendars of the judges to whom they were assigned at the
start of the coordinated proceeding and only matters specified in the order of
coordination shall be brought before the designated judge. All judges
affected by such a coordinated pretrial proceeding shall be notified by the
clerk.
(f) Recusals.
(Amended July 7, 2000)
(1) General Procedures. Except as otherwise provided in
this section, whenever a case is transferred to the Executive Committee for
reassignment following a recusal, the Committee shall direct the clerk to
reassign the case by lot to a judge other than the judge who entered the
recusal. A judge receiving a case on reassignment following a
recusal shall promptly determine whether or not to enter a recusal.
Where a recusal is entered, the judge shall promptly transfer the case
back to the Committee which shall thereupon direct the clerk to reassign
the case by lot to a judge other than those previously entering recusals. Where
a recusal is not entered, the judge may transfer to the Committee for reassignment
to the judge entering the initial recusal a case requiring a like amount of
judicial effort for disposition. The Committee will reassign that case
subject to verification that it will require like judicial effort.
(2) Recusals with
Equalization. Where
the reason for the recusal is included in one of the categories specified in
this subsection, the judge entering the recusal may request that in lieu of
receiving a like case from the receiving judge, the recusal be made part of the
calendar equalization set out in IOP11(b). The categories of recusals for which
this procedure may be used are as follows:
(A) cases in which a recusal is
entered because a relative of the judge works for a law firm, or the U.S.
Attorney’s Office, which represents or is one of the parties to the case; and
(B) cases in which one of the parties is
or was represented by a law firm with which the judge was associated within the
previous five years.
(C) cases in which the judge determines
that a recusal is required because one of the parties was previously
represented by the judge.
(g) Calendar of
Short Civil Trials.
The calendar of short civil trials is a program intended to provide a list of
cases that are ready for trial and where the trial is expected to take no more
than five days. Cases on the list can be handled by visiting judges or by
judges of the Court who as a result of unanticipated settlements find that they
have available time to try a case.
(1) The following definitions shall
apply to section (g):
(A) Judge: Any district
judge of this Court on whose calendar there are civil cases pending.
(B) Listing form: A form approved by the
Executive Committee to be used by the assigned judge to effect the addition or
removal of a case to or from the short civil trial calendar.
(C) Ready for trial:
A short civil trial
case is ready for trial if (i) the final pretrial order has been entered and
(ii) there are no unresolved pending motions other than motions in limine
reserved for ruling at trial.
(D) Requesting judge: A judge who requests a case
from the short civil trial calendar or to whom such a case has been transferred
but not reassigned.
(E) Short civil trial
case: A short
civil trial case is a civil case that is ready for trial and it is estimated by
the assigned judge at the time of entering the pretrial order that the
trial will last no more than five days, including jury selection.
(F) Short civil trial
calendar: All
cases in which a listing form has been received by the clerk that are still
pending and available for reassignment to a requesting judge.
(G) Short civil trial
calendar judge:
The chief judge, or a judge designated by the chief judge, will be the short
civil trial calendar judge. The short civil trial calendar judge will be
responsible for coordinating the trial of cases on the short civil trial
calendar.
(2) Any judge may place a short
civil trial case on the short civil trial calendar by sending a completed
listing form to the clerk. In order to assist the court in determining
whether or not placing a case on the short civil trial calendar might be
inappropriate, counsel will include in the final pretrial order form
information concerning the anticipated circumstances of the trial that might
impact scheduling.
(3) On receiving the listing form,
the clerk shall forthwith docket the form and notify counsel and parties of the
docketing in the manner provided by Fed.R.Civ.P
77(d) for notice of orders or judgments. The clerk will include with
the notice a reminder to parties of their right to consent to a reassignment of
the case to the designated magistrate judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§636(c) and LR73.1(b).
(4) Any judge, including any senior
district judge or visiting judge designated to hold court in this District, who
is available to try a short civil case may request such a trial from the short
civil trial calendar judge. The short civil trial calendar judge
will forward the earliest filed case on the short civil trial calendar that
fits the available trial time of the requesting judge. Any case so
selected will be transferred to the requesting judge for pretrial review.
Such transfer will serve as authority for the requesting judge to
act in the case as if the case had been reassigned, although the case will
remain on the docket of the assigned judge. The case will be reassigned
to the requesting judge for all purposes if it is settled by that judge, or if
that judge starts a trial in the case.
(5) If the requesting judge
determines that a transferred case is not ready for trial, that judge will so
inform the short civil trial calendar judge. The short civil trial
calendar judge will so notify the assigned judge and may thereupon remove the
case from the short civil trial calendar.
(6) Nothing in this rule shall
preclude the assigned judge from settling or trying a case the judge has listed
on the short civil trial calendar. If the assigned judge is able to
resolve the case, the judge will forward a completed listing form to the
clerk. The clerk will notify the short civil trial calendar judge that
the case is to be removed from the short civil trial calendar.
(7) Motions brought in cases listed
on the short civil trial calendar prior to its transfer to a requesting judge
shall be heard by the assigned judge. Motions brought after the transfer
but before the reassignment of the case to the requesting judge will be brought
before the requesting judge. The requesting judge may thereupon send the
motions to the assigned judge.
(8) When a case is disposed of
following a trial conducted by a requesting judge who routinely participates in
the assignment of civil cases filed in the Eastern Division, then that judge
shall receive equalization in the form of one skip in the assignment deck
of the same category as that of the case closed.
(h) Transfer of
Motions by Agreement.
A judge may with the agreement of the receiving judge transfer one or more pending
motions to be ruled upon by the receiving judge without transferring the
case. The transferring judge shall notify the Executive Committee of any
transfer made under this rule. Such notice will be on a form approved by
the Committee.
Notice of any transfer under
this rule shall be sent to the parties. The notice shall indicate the
name of the receiving judge. Any motion challenging the transfer on
grounds other than the recusal of the receiving judge will not be
entertained. Any such motion shall be filed with the receiving
judge. Any motion for rehearing of a ruling by the receiving judge shall
be presented to the receiving judge.
(i) Reassignment of
Criminal Cases with Multiple Defendants. Except as provided by the Executive Committee’s
order reassigning a criminal case with multiple defendants, the reassignment
order shall include all defendants.
(j) Other
Reassignments and Transfers.
If a case is reassigned from a judge who is temporarily not receiving cases
pursuant to an order of the Executive Committee, the judge to whom the case is
reassigned shall receive equalization in the form of one skip in the assignment
deck of the category in which the case was initially assigned. If a case
is transferred to the Executive Committee for any reason not otherwise provided
for in local rules or the internal operating procedures and the Committee
agrees that the case should be reassigned, it shall cause the case to be
reassigned by lot. If the name of the transferring judge is drawn, another
drawing shall be made. The judge who receives the case may transfer to
the Committee a case or cases requiring a like amount of judicial effort to
dispose of it or them, with the recommendation that it or they be reassigned to
the calendar of the transferring judge.
(k) Order of
Reassignment.
Where one or more cases are to be reassigned pursuant to LR40.4, LR40.5, or sections (a), (b), (c), (d), (f), or (i) of this
IOP, the assigned judge shall complete the appropriate reassignment transfer
form. If the assigned judge is no longer sitting, the clerk shall
complete the form. The transfer form will be given to the clerk who shall
promptly transmit it to the chief judge. The chief judge may on receipt
of the form enter an order on behalf of the Executive Committee to review the
requested reassignment at the next meeting. A case will be deemed
reassigned following the docketing of the order of the Executive Committee
directing its reassignment.
Amended
March 3, 2011; February 27, 2014; May 23, 2014; December 23, 2014