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Pretrial Procedures
(Civil): Click a topic below for more information. Motion
Practice Settlement
Pretrial Conference
A.
Motion
Practice
Most dispositive motions are scheduled for
oral argument. Counsel
is expected to appear in person at the hearings.
Hearings are set by the courtroom deputy clerk, Linda
McGovern (618/482-9309). Motion hearings are usually held on Monday but may, on
occasion, be set on different days.
If a motion is uncontested, counsel shall promptly advise
chambers.
By Local Rule, a supporting memorandum is
required for motions to remand, to dismiss, for judgment on the pleadings,
and all post-trial motions, but the motion and brief may be
combined into a single paper.
Proposed orders, jury instructions and other documents (for which leave is sought to be filed) are to be emailed to the Court at GPMpd@ilsd.uscourts.gov. All proposed documents must be in WordPerfect compatible format, and the subject line of the email must include the case name, the case number, the corresponding document number, and a brief description of the proposed document. Proposed documents, except for settlement statements (which are submitted ex parte to the Magistrate Judge), should also be served on all parties. For additional information, see the CM/ECF User’s Manual at page 2.6.
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B.
Settlement
Settlement
conferences are handled by the Magistrate Judge.
There are no penalties for settlement immediately before,
during, or after trial, but ongoing settlement discussions are
not reason for delaying the start of trial.
On certain occasions, when all parties consent, Judge
Murphy will become involved in settlement discussions.
The
parties need not certify their settlement efforts, and there are
no formal procedures to encourage or implement alternative
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C.
Pretrial
Conference
JUDGE
MURPHY DOES NOT REQUIRE A FINAL PRETRIAL ORDER. The parties
must only abide by the disclosure requirements of Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure 26 (view Rule 26 Notice).
The
proposed jury instructions shall be brought to the Final
Pretrial Conference. Judge Murphy has very detailed
guidelines relating to preparation of the proposed
instructions (view jury
instruction rules).
The parties will be provided with an exhibit list
template via email. This is normally done when the Final Pretrial Conference is scheduled (view FPT Notice). The parties may also request the template by contacting Linda McGovern
at "Linda_McGovern@ilsd.uscourts.gov".
The parties are directed to return the completed
template to the courtroom deputy clerk via email prior to the Final
Pretrial Conference, unless other arrangements have been made in advance.
Exhibits
should be sequentially numbered.
For example, if Plaintiff’s Exhibits are numbered 1
through 22, Defendant’s exhibits should begin with the number
23. NO DUPLICATE
EXHIBITS ARE PERMITTED. That
is, if an exhibit is offered by Plaintiff, Defendant should not
offer the same Exhibit. The
goal is to have ONE set of exhibits. Group exhibits are encouraged. For example, if you have a stack of photos, give them a number with the short description "photos." Do NOT list each photo and give a description. Rather, you can mark the individual photos alphabetically and identify them to the jury in that fashion. (This method can be used for medical records, invoices, etc.).
The Court
encourages the parties to assemble exhibit books for the Court
and for the witness to view while being examined.
This procedure expedites the examination process.
Counsel
should contact the courtroom deputy clerk, Linda McGovern
(618/482-9309), for specific questions concerning exhibits.
Ordinarily, the Court will rule on objections to exhibits
during the Final Pretrial Conference.
Motions in limine should be filed prior to the Final Pretrial Conference when possible.
In most cases, Judge Murphy will address the motions in
limine at the Final Pretrial Conference.
Judge Murphy will, however, allow the parties to file
motions in limine at any time.
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