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Exhibits   Depositions   Jury Instructions   Jurors   Transcripts
  

Exhibits

In preparing exhibits, the parties should comply with the following instructions. 

1. Exhibits should be pre-marked.

2. Use individual arabic numerals for each exhibit without relying on an alphabetic denomination. (For example  use only #1, #2, #3, #4 do not use #1, #1a, #1b, #2, #2a, #2b). 

3. Do not designate any exhibits as "group" exhibits. 

4. Designate multiple page exhibits with one exhibit number,  using page numbers for further identifications. 

5. Do not group sets of multiple  photographs. 

6. Give each photograph a separate exhibit number. 

7. Do not  assume that the Court will allow any exhibits to be passed among the jurors. 

8. Publication will be handled by evidence presentation technology or by use of  juror notebooks.

Should it occur that an exhibit must be marked during trial, the exhibit shall be handed to the Courtroom Deputy clerk for marking. Leave need not be sought to approach the clerk. The court reporter does not mark exhibits.

In order to avoid confusion, counsel should move, while in his or her own case, for admission of an exhibit contemporaneously with the particular testimony establishing its admissibility. Counsel should maintain a list of admitted exhibits for comparison with the clerk’s when a question arises regarding admissibility or whether an exhibit is to be sent to the jury.

Admitted exhibits shall be placed on the table immediately in front of the clerk. Counsel who remove any exhibits are responsible for returning the exhibits promptly after their use.

No marking on any exhibit of an opposing party shall be made without the agreement of that party. In the case of such marking, counsel should clearly state for the record the exact nature of the marking.

Counsel shall examine all exhibits which are to be sent to the jury room prior to said conveyance. Failure to do so may waive an objection to the jury’s access to such an exhibit.

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Depositions

Counsel should confer prior to trial to work out which objections in  depositions can be resolved without the Court’s intervention. To the extent  some agreement can be achieved, all copies of the deposition should be  marked to strike testimony that will not be read to the jury. This includes the  Court’s original. If objections remain that need ruling upon by the Court,  counsel shall so advise the Court well in advance of the time the deposition is to be shown or read to the jury. Delays in the trial or forcing the jury to wait  beyond the normal break period for this purpose should be stridently avoided.  If the Court determines that too much time will be taken up by this vetting  process, it may determine that objections will be ruled upon as the deposition is shown or read. Video depositions are strongly encouraged in light of the  courtroom technology available. Likewise, agreeing prior to trial regarding  objections so that an edited version of the videotape can be played through  without interruption should be the rule. If the Court's ruling is required prior to  trial to accommodate this objection, call the Courtroom Deputy to make this  arrangement.

All too often, unnecessarily long depositions are presented to the jury. The most consistent complaint the Court hears from jurors are those relating to the showing or reading of depositions. Counsel should give close consideration to eliminating as much of the deposition as possible or of presenting a summary of the testimony to the jury rather than the entire deposition. The Court should be advised at the final pretrial conference of any depositions which are in excess of one hour. It is the Court’s intention to explore in each such case the possibility of reducing the quantity of such depositions, either by agreement or upon the Court’s order.

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Jury Instructions

The parties must submit jury instructions by 9:00 a.m. on the first day of trial. The parties shall tender to the Court an original and one copy of each proposed instruction. The originals shall be on 8½" x 11" plain white paper without any designation or number. The copies shall be numbered, shall indicate which party tenders them, shall contain a source (e.g., "IPI 2.01"), and shall include a legend indicating whether the instruction was:

____ withdrawn ____ given ____ given as modified ____ refused.

Instructions also must be submitted to the Court on disk in WordPerfect format. Counsel shall provide copies of all proposed instructions to opposing counsel at or before the time they are tendered to the Court. Counsel should submit to the Court copies of any cases relied on as authority for jury instructions.

The verdict forms shall have enough lines for all jurors originally selected for the trial to affix their signature with the top line designated for the foreperson.

Near the conclusion of the evidence the Court will hold an instruction  conference. However, prior thereto and at a time that will not delay the Court’s conference or the trial, counsel shall meet and confer for the purpose of  determining which instructions shall be given by agreement. During the initial  portion of the instruction conference, while off the record, the Court will inquire as to the areas of agreement and dispute. For those instructions in dispute, the Court will listen to argument and then decide which instruction will be given. In trials where counsel have demonstrated a propensity for  disagreement, the Judge likely will consider the instructions tendered and any others necessary in order to determine which are to be given without prior  consultation with counsel. After determining the complete set of instructions  to be read to the jury, the Court will, on the record, announce formally which  instructions it intends to give. Each party will be given an opportunity to  make his argument relative thereto, and the Court will announce whether its  prior decision stands or whether it has been persuaded to change its ruling.

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Jurors

Every effort must be made to avoid contact with jurors or potential jurors. Jurors must utilize public hallways and elevators. Counsel, in addition to being constantly aware of the potential for the presence of jurors, must advise clients and witnesses not to speak about the case in the common areas of the building. Any inadvertent contact must be reported to Judge Herndon or his Court Security Officer immediately.

Neither counsel nor parties shall be allowed to retain any of the computer printouts or questionnaires with juror demographic information. Following a jury verdict, Judge Herndon often speaks to the jury and will gladly discuss appropriate portions of that conversation with counsel. The Local Rules prohibit counsel and litigants from speaking with the jury.

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Transcripts

At least two weeks prior to trial, all parties shall provide to the court reporter a list of all words, terms, technical terminology, proper names (including all witness names), acronyms, and case citations that would not be found in a generic spell check computer dictionary. The court reporter will maintain the confidence of parties submitting this information so as not to unnecessarily reveal any trial strategies.

Parties who wish to receive daily transcript of testimony must make their own arrangements, at least two weeks prior to the start of trial, directly with the  court reporter, Laura Blatz, 618-482-9481. The court  reporter will provide daily copy, whenever possible, given the press of other  duties and the length of the trial. Parties should understand that the rate  charged under Judicial Council policy is at an increased rate per page.

Likewise, requests for transcripts following trial must be made directly with  the court reporter. It should not be assumed that she will automatically  produce a transcript. Requests for transcripts should be timely and well in  advance of appellate deadlines. Do not utilize the time it takes to produce a  transcript as a means to manipulate your briefing deadline to suit your  particular schedule.

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