General:The Court's general philosophy is to provide litigants with a fast and efficient framework for the just resolution of their cases. The judge shall be accessible in person or via teleconference throughout the discovery period to address discovery disputes or other discovery related issues. All parties to a case are provided with a trial date at the initial case management conference. Parties should expect that, absent a conflict with another case on the Court's docket, trial shall go forward on the trial date as scheduled. Parties should feel free to contact the Court during the week preceding the trial date to keep apprized of potential conflicts.

Pre-Trials: The Court generally will set only one final pretrial prior to the trial date. The purpose of the final pretrial is to provide the Court with each side's assessment of the case and report on the status of settlement discussions. Such discussions should be initiated by the attorneys before the final pretrial. Additional pretrials will be set only upon the request of either party by contacting the Court's staff attorney.

Motion Practice: Parties deserve timely rulings on all pending motions. The Court shall make every effort to rule quickly after a matter becomes ripe. Parties are encouraged to contact the Court's staff attorney on any matter they perceive as ripe for ruling. The Court may permit oral arguments on motions to dismiss and summary judgment motions upon the request of either party.

Discovery: The Court intends to provide each litigant with ample time to engage in full and meaningful discovery. The Court prefers to deal with discovery disputes as soon as possible after attorneys have exhausted all efforts to resolve matters on their own. Parties are required to contact the staff attorney and initiate a telephone conference prior to filing a motion to compel discovery. Parties will be provided a full opportunity to make a record of any perceived discovery violations.

Settlement Conference: The Court will set a settlement conference at any time at the request of the parties.

Calendaring and Continuances: The Court will generally extend discovery deadlines freely(with the exception of expert deadlines) as long as they do not interfere with the trial date of the case. Trial Date Continuances shall be considered only upon written motion. Last minute continuances shall not be granted unless an unavoidable emergency exists.

Trials: The Court does not permit speaking objections during trial unless the basis can be reduced to one word, i.e. hearsay, relevance, leading. . . Parties who wish to address a legal objection further must request a sidebar. Juror note-taking shall be permitted at the request of either party. Questions from the jury during trial shall be permitted in some cases if requested by a party in advance of trial. The Court, if requested in advance, shall permit witnesses to be presented via video teleconference in the Court's Educational Center located on the 12th floor of the Justice Center.

Voir Dire: The Court will begin by conducting a limited voir dire of the twelve/eight panel members seated in the jury box. Attorneys for each side are subsequently permitted an opportunity to question the same panel members. Peremptory challenges are exercised in open court by thanking and excusing jurors from the jury box who are then replaced by panel members from the back of the courtroom. Jury questionnaires shall be permitted if they are submitted at least seven days in advance for consideration by the Court.

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