Individual Rules of Practice - Criminal Cases; Individual Rules of Practice - Civil Cases; Protective Order - Criminal Cases; Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order

=== Individual Rules of Practice - Criminal Cases ===

Individual Rules of Practice John D. Russell United States District Judge Criminal Cases (Rev. August 5, 2024) Parties must act with the highest degree of professionalism and courtesy in their dealings with other parties, the Court and Court staff, and anyone else involved in the litigation. Abusive conduct of any kind will not be tolerated and should promptly be brought to the Court’s attention. For the avoidance of doubt, this provision applies to discovery communications and conduct in depositions. 1. Guidelines for All Submissions Amended or Corrected Filings. Any amended or corrected a. filing (including but not limited to amended pleadings) shall be filed with a redline showing all differences between the original and revised filing. Any motion to amend a pleading shall similarly be filed with a redline showing all differences between the operative pleading and the proposed amended pleading. 2. Initial Conferences The Court will hold an initial conference promptly after presentment and arraignment before a Magistrate Judge. At the initial conference, the Court will set a schedule for the completion of discovery, the filing of any motions, the filing of any notices required by the Federal Rules, and the trial. Where motions are permitted, the length and format of any memoranda of law must be in accordance with the Court’s Local Rules. 3. Pretrial Exchanges in Criminal Cases Each of the parties in a criminal case must, at least three business days before trial, deliver to the Clerk of Court for delivery directly to Chambers: (a) a final and binding list of the witnesses that the party expects to call (other than the defendant), in the likely order of appearance, and (b) a list of the exhibits that the party expects to offer on its direct case. Please note that this deadline differs from the deadline set forth in Local Criminal Rule 23. - 1 - 4. Trial Exhibits In all criminal trials, the parties during trial shall tender to the a. bench two copies of any exhibit a party seeks to offer into evidence at the same time the party hands the original exhibit to a witness during an examination. Plaintiff’s and defendant’s exhibits shall both be marked by numbers (e.g., “Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1,” “Defendant’s Ex- hibit 1”). At least three business days before trial, parties are required to b. provide the Court with copies of exhibits marked with the exhibit number. 5. Proposed Jury Instructions Proposed jury charges must be submitted to the Court at least one week before trial. Any proposed jury charge submitted thereafter will not be considered by the Court, except upon a showing that the proposed charge relates to an issue that could not reasonably have been expected to arise at trial. In addition, the Court’s standard practice is to give the jury a one-page preliminary instruction shortly before or after opening statements, highlight- ing some of the issues and legal requirements in the case. The parties should submit their proposals for preliminary instructions at least three business days before trial. 6. Proposed Voir Dire Requests Proposed voir dire requests must be submitted to the Court at least three business days before the start of jury selection. The jury will be selected by calling forward a total number of venire to account for all jurors and alter- nates plus the number of peremptory challenges based on the number of par- ties; once passed for cause, the parties must use all peremptory challenges to reduce the panel to the number of jurors plus alternates. The Court does not use jury questionnaires. Except in rare circumstances, the Court will conduct all questioning at voir dire. 7. Motions in Limine Motions in limine are not a matter of right and should be largely lim- ited to critical matters on which pre-trial rulings are critical. After a trial date is set, any party, without further leave of Court, may serve such a motion - 2 - directed at limiting the proof at trial, provided the motion is served upon all parties by no later than two weeks before trial and courtesy copies contempo- raneously submitted to chambers All oppositions to motions in limine must be filed, and courtesy copies submitted to Chambers, at least one week before trial. Any party referencing a proposed trial exhibit in such motion papers must submit a courtesy copy of that exhibit to the Court along with the mo- tion papers. Such motions will normally be resolved by the Court on the morning of the first day of trial. 8. Brady Disclosures Materials and information required to be disclosed pursuant to Brady v. Maryland and its progeny (“Brady Material”)—whether in written or rec- orded format, or otherwise—must be disclosed to defense counsel according to the following schedule: a. Brady Material known to the Government at the time of indict- ment—other than purely impeachment materials and information re- quired to be produced pursuant to Giglio v. United States and its prog- eny (“Giglio Material”)—must be produced to defense counsel no later than two weeks following the date of the filing of the indictment, regardless of whether the parties are engaged in plea discussions. Brady Material includes (simply by way of example) not only infor- mation that tends to exculpate a defendant or support a potential de- fense to the charged offense(s), but also information that tends to mit- igate the degree of the defendant’s culpability or to mitigate punish- ment. This requirement applies regardless of whether the Govern- ment credits the Brady Material. b. Brady Material (other than Giglio Material) that becomes known to the Government following filing of the indictment must be disclosed, absent exceptional circumstances, within two weeks of when it becomes known and, in any event, no later than four weeks prior to any trial or guilty plea. c. Absent exceptional circumstances, Giglio Material must be dis- closed four weeks prior to the date of the start of trial or guilty plea. Such material includes (simply by way of example) a witness’s prior inconsistent statements, written or oral; benefits given and promises - 3 - made to the witness; information that tends to show that the witness has a personal motive to inculpate the defendant; and information that tends to show that the witness has a physical or mental impairment that could affect the witness’s ability to perceive, recall, or recount rel- evant events. Giglio Material developed less than four weeks before trial (e.g., as a result of further interviews of witnesses) must be dis- closed immediately. To achieve adequate compliance with the foregoing rules, the d. Government has a continuing obligation to seek Brady Material and Giglio Material from law enforcement and regulatory agencies that are or have been involved in the prosecution of the defendant or in parallel proceedings or investigations involving the defendant. e. The above timetables, being necessary to fulfill the constitu- tional obligations imposed by Brady v. Maryland, Giglio v. United States, and their progeny, apply regardless of whether the Brady Mate- rial and Giglio Material also happen to be producible pursuant to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure or the Jencks Act and the time- tables applicable thereto. For good cause shown, the Government may seek a protective f. order delaying disclosure of such materials and information, but appli- cations for such orders should only be made in exceptional circum- stances. 9. Protective Orders The Court will not enter a protective order in criminal cases unless it is in the form found on Judge Russell’s information page on the Court’s web- site. If the parties request a Protective Order, please contact the Courtroom Deputy, and the Court will send a formatted order to counsel for the parties for execution. Upon receipt of a fully executed form, the Court will sign and enter the Protective Order. 10. Trial a. Local Rules: You are expected to be familiar with Local General Rule 3, concerning courtroom behavior, and adhere strictly to each of the requirements of this rule. - 4 - b. General Courtroom Protocol: (1) Do not leave the courtroom while trial is in progress without obtaining leave of Court. (2) Attorneys should not directly address opposing counsel in open court without leave of Court. (3) Computers may be used by counsel, as long as the use is unob- trusive and is cleared through the courtroom deputy prior to the morning of trial. (4) Do not place on the courtroom furniture, including chairs, con- ference tables, or benches, any objects which might scratch or mar the surfaces including briefcases with metal closures or feet, demonstrative aids, exhibits, etc. (5) Do not chew gum or eat mints, candy, etc. in the courtroom. (6) No beverages, including bottled water, are allowed in the court- room. (7) Coats, umbrellas, or briefcases of attorneys and litigants should be kept in the coat closet behind the defense counsel table. c. Prior to trial: (1) If you have reason to anticipate that any question of law or evi- dence is particularly difficult, give the Court as much advance no- tice as possible. (2) Objections to proposed jury instructions and pertinent case law should be provided to the Court prior to trial. d. Voir dire: If prior to trial the Court approves supplemental voir dire examination by counsel, the following rules will apply: (1) Voir dire examination may not be conducted in a manner de- signed to inform the jury of the anticipated evidence or the appli- cable law, nor to provide the type of information which is normally included in the opening statement. - 5 - (2) The only purpose of voir dire examination is to gain knowledge about a prospective juror which will aid in making an informed challenge. (3) A statement disguised as a question will not be permitted. (4) Counsel may not ask a question based on a hypothetical state- ment of the facts or the law. (5) Voir dire may not be used to explain the burden of proof. (6) Do not attempt to elicit promises or assurances of any kind from jurors nor ask them to give any indication of what their ver- dict would be based on certain conditions. (7) Each side is limited to 10-15 minutes unless additional time is approved by the Court prior to trial. e. Opening statements: Opening statement is to be used to outline the proposed evidence, not for argument. Take as much time as you dare. f. Exhibits: (1) Court time may not be used for marking exhibits. This must be done in advance of the court session. (2) Advise opposing counsel and the Court of the exhibits to be used in advance of the day’s court session. (3) Exhibits to which there is no objection should be offered and received in evidence without the necessity of formal identification. (4) If you intend to question a witness about a group of exhibits, avoid delay by having the witness notebook already on the witness stand. (5) While the Court permits exhibits to be passed to the jury, this procedure should be used sparingly and reserved for truly signifi- cant exhibits. Use of the Court’s electronic publication system is preferred. If possible, when you wish to publish an exhibit to the jury, have a copy for each juror. Juror exhibit books are encouraged and will be allowed with prior approval of the Court. - 6 - g. Witnesses: (1) Witnesses should be readily available to avoid needless delay. (2) Please stand whenever you address the Court or interrogate witnesses. (An exception is made for physical infirmity.) Use the lectern unless your comment is to be brief. (3) Examination of a witness will include direct examination, cross examination, one re-direct examination, and one re-cross examina- tion except in exceptional circumstances. (4) Attorneys will not interrupt each other or a witness except to assert an objection, and the attorneys will never interrupt the Court for any reason. (5) Do not greet or introduce yourself to adverse witnesses. Com- mence your cross-examination without preliminaries. Do not face or otherwise appear to address yourself to jurors when questioning a witness. (6) Except for children, address witnesses by their surnames, for example, Mr. A, Sergeant B, or Doctor C. (7) Never assert your personal opinion as to the credibility of a wit- ness or the guilt or innocence of an accused, nor as counsel assert personal knowledge of a fact in issue, nor assert a fact not in evi- dence. (8) Do not react to a statement by another counsel or a witness be- ing examined by another counsel by any gesture or facial expression signifying agreement, disagreement, approval or disapproval. Ad- vise your clients they are subject to this same limitation. (9) Where more than one attorney represents a party, only the at- torney handling the particular witness may respond to an objection or raise an objection in regard to his/her testimony. Likewise, only one opposing attorney should make or argue motions or other ob- jections as to that witness. h. Jury Protocol: - 7 - (1) Stand a respectful distance from the jury at all times. State- ments and arguments to the jury will be made from the lectern. (2) When you object in the presence of the jury, make your objec- tion short and to the point. Do not argue the objection in the pres- ence of the jury, and do not argue with the ruling of the Court in the presence of the jury. Do not make motions (e.g., motion for mistrial) in the presence of the jury. Bench conferences should be kept to a minimum. (3) Except in ruling on an objection, the Court will not, in the pres- ence of the jury, declare that a witness is qualified as an expert or qualified to render an expert opinion, and counsel should not ask the Court to do so. i. Juror Notebooks: In cases of appropriate complexity, the Court will permit the parties to distribute to each juror identical notebooks. (1) Counsel are required to confer on the contents of the notebooks prior to commencement of the trial. Any argument or disagree- ments should immediately be brought to the attention of the Court. (2) Juror Notebooks may include copies of the following: • The Court’s preliminary instructions; • Selected exhibits that have been ruled admissible or that the parties agree will be admitted without objection (or excerpts thereof ); • Stipulations of the parties; • With agreement of counsel, other material not subject to genuine dispute, which may include: o Photographs of parties, witnesses or exhibits; o Curricula vitae of experts; o Agreed upon glossaries; o Agreed upon chronologies or timelines; and o Blank paper for the jurors’ use in taking notes. - 8 - • During the course of the trial, the Court may permit the parties to supplement the materials in the notebooks with additional documents as they become relevant and after they have been ruled admissible or otherwise ap- proved by the Court for inclusion. - 9 -

=== Individual Rules of Practice - Civil Cases ===

Individual Rules of Practice John D. Russell United States District Judge Civil Cases (Rev. March 2, 2026) Parties must act with the highest degree of professionalism and courtesy in their dealings with other parties, the Court and Court staff, and anyone else involved in the litigation. Abusive conduct of any kind will not be tolerated and should promptly be brought to the Court’s attention. For the avoidance of doubt, this provision applies to discovery communications and conduct in depositions. 1. Guidelines for All Submissions Designation of Lead Trial Counsel. At the outset of each a. case, or upon reassignment of a matter to this Court, each party must identify to the Court one individual who shall serve as Lead Trial Counsel for that party. This designation must be provided to the Court in the party’s first submission (including in reassigned cases). The designation of Lead Trial Counsel cannot be changed absent prior ap- proval by the Court. As specified below, Lead Trial Counsel is required to personally attend all conferences before the Court and to be person- ally involved in discovery disputes before they are brought to the Court. Amended or Corrected Filings. Any amended or corrected b. filing (including but not limited to amended pleadings) shall be filed with a redline showing all differences between the original and revised filing. Any motion to amend a pleading shall similarly be filed with a redline showing all differences between the operative pleading and the proposed amended pleading. If amendment is permitted without a motion, the party shall submit the redline at the following email ad- dress: [email protected] with a copy to op- posing counsel. - 1 - Courtesy Copies of Filings. Each party must submit a cour- c. tesy copy of any filing that includes more than five exhibits or exceeds one hundred pages in length (inclusive of all exhibits). The courtesy copy must be a complete and exact duplicate of the filing after it was filed with the Court, including the case and docket number at the top of each page. However, where a filing includes exhibits that are filed separately or are filed under seal, the party should present the filing and its exhibits collectively, with exhibits presented in numerical order and separated by numbered tabs. All pages filed under seal must in- clude a watermark or other designation to that effect. Double-sided printing is encouraged. 2. Initial Conferences a. The Court will promptly set an initial conference. This initial conference can occur regardless of whether the issues have been joined. No later than three business days prior to the initial conference, b. the parties must email Chambers a written report of their agreements or disagreements regarding case management and discovery and a pro- posed Case Management Plan in a form corresponding to the Court’s Case Management Form (found on the Chambers web page). In for- mulating their Case Management Plan, the parties should bear in mind that all discovery and post-discovery motion practice must be com- pleted prior to the trial-ready date set by the Court, which will appear on the Case Management Form furnished to the parties along with the notice of the initial conference. This may not be the actual trial date, but it will be the date following which the parties will not be heard to complain that they are not ready for trial. At the initial conference, the Court will issue a binding Case Management Order that, in most cases, will require the case to be ready for trial within nine months (or less) of the date of the Case Management Order. If the parties submit a proposed case management plan that makes any modification to the Court’s Case Management Order Form other than filling in the blank lines, they must submit a redline indicating any change from the Court’s Form. Please note that these requirements differ from - 2 - those set forth in Rule 26(f ) of the Federal Rules of Civil Proce- dure and Local Civil Rule 16-1(b). 3. Trial-Pending Exchanges and Pretrial Orders in Civil Cases The trial-pending exchanges among the parties mandated by a. Rule 26(a)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure shall be strictly enforced, except that the disclosures prescribed therein may be made 21 (instead of 30) days before trial. b. In addition, in all civil cases, the parties shall jointly file with the Court, no later than one week prior to trial, a proposed Pretrial Order (plus a courtesy hard copy of the same for submission to Cham- bers) consisting of the following: (1) A joint overview of the case. (2) A statement of the factual and legal basis for the invocation of federal jurisdiction. (3) A particularized description of each party’s remaining claims, counterclaims, cross-claims, or third-party claims (failure to specify will be deemed a waiver). (4) A list of each admitted fact, including jurisdictional facts. If a party has an objection to the admissibility in evidence of any admitted fact, the party should set forth the objection. (5) A list of facts, though not admitted, that are not to be contested at the trial by evidence to the contrary. (6) A particularized statement of the specific facts, stipulations, admissions, and other matters on which the parties agree. (7) A list of issues of law that remain to be litigated upon the trial. Attorneys are expected to agree on which legal issues remain. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, each party’s separate list should be set out in the Pretrial Order. (8) Each party’s particularized contentions as to the specific facts that are disputed. (In addition, in non-jury cases, the parties, - 3 - following trial, will be required to submit proposed findings of fact, with citations to the record, and proposed conclusions of law.) (9) A particularized statement of the injunctive relief, declaratory relief, and/or damages claimed (including amounts) for each claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim. (10) A list of the names of the witnesses (both fact witnesses and expert witnesses) that each party intends to call, in the likely order of appearance. This should be a final and binding list, with- out qualifications or reservations. A witness whose name appears on the list of more than one party will testify only once but may be examined at that time by all parties on all relevant matters. (11) A list of all exhibits to be offered by each party, and particular- ized objections thereto noted in accordance with Rule 26(a)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (12) A list of all exhibits the parties agree to preadmit without ob- jection. (13) A list of exhibits the parties stipulate are admissible. (14) A final estimate of the length of trial (assuming a typical trial day of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday). 4. Discovery Disputes a. Any party wishing to raise a discovery dispute with the Court must first confer in good faith with the opposing party—in person, by videoconference, or by telephone—to resolve the dispute. This pro- cess must include at least one conference among Lead Trial Counsel for the parties involved in the dispute. b. Where a party raises a discovery dispute with the opposing party, the opposing party must, absent extenuating circumstances, make itself available to confer in good faith to resolve the dispute within two business days of a request for a conference. If a party re- quests a Lead Trial Counsel conference, Lead Trial Counsel for the - 4 - opposing party must, absent extenuating circumstances, make them- selves available within two business days. c. If the meet-and-confer process does not resolve the dispute within 10 business days of the dispute first being raised (or sooner, if an impasse has been reached), the party seeking discovery may file a motion to resolve the discovery dispute. The motion must specifically state that the required Lead Trial Counsel conference occurred. Counsel should seek relief in accordance with these procedures d. in a timely fashion. If a party waits until near the close of discovery to raise an issue that could have been raised earlier, the party is unlikely to be granted the relief that it seeks or more time for discovery. e. Privilege Logs and Privilege Log Disputes. Privilege logs should be sufficiently detailed to enable the receiving party to evaluate a claim of privilege, including identification of attorneys involved in the relevant documents or communications. Privilege logs must be promptly produced and updated on a rolling basis as documents are produced. Each log and update must include a certification from coun- sel that counsel has reviewed the withheld or redacted documents, and that there is a good-faith basis to assert privilege over those docu- ments. Disputes related to privilege logs are subject to the Court’s rules governing discovery disputes. The Court may on its own initia- tive order in camera production to the Court of unredacted documents from the producing party’s log where a dispute is raised. 5. Conduct in Depositions a. All objections during a deposition must be “stated concisely in a nonargumentative and nonsuggestive manner.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(c)(2). Witness coaching or disruptive commentary of any kind dur- ing questioning is prohibited. Objections to the form of a question (e.g., argumentative, asked and answered, calls for a narrative re- sponse, calls for a legal conclusion, compound, vague, ambiguous, calls for speculation) should be limited to “objection, form.” If the ex- amining attorney is unclear as to the nature of the form objection, they may seek further clarification from the objecting attorney. - 5 - b. If a dispute arises during a deposition, the parties may call Chambers or the assigned Magistrate Judge to raise the dispute with the Court during the deposition. If a party wishes to engage the Court in this manner, all parties in attendance at the deposition must make themselves available and call the Court jointly. 6. Participation by Junior Attorneys The Court encourages the participation of less-experienced attorneys in all proceedings—including pretrial conferences, hearings on discovery dis- putes, oral arguments, and examinations of witnesses at trial—particularly where that attorney played a substantial role in drafting the underlying filing or in preparing the relevant witness. The Court may be inclined to grant a request for oral argument, or a request for more than one attorney to speak on behalf of a party in a conference, where doing so would afford the oppor- tunity for a junior attorney to gain experience. 7. Proposed Jury Instructions Proposed jury charges must be submitted to the Court at least one week before trial. Any proposed jury charge submitted thereafter will not be considered by the Court, except upon a showing that the proposed charge relates to an issue that could not reasonably have been expected to arise at trial. In addition, the Court’s standard practice is to give the jury a one-page preliminary instruction shortly before or after opening statements, highlight- ing some of the issues and legal requirements in the case. The parties should submit their proposals for preliminary instructions at least three business days before trial. 8. Proposed Voir Dire Requests Proposed voir dire requests must be submitted to the Court at least three business days before the start of jury selection. The jury will be selected by calling forward a total number of venire to account for all jurors and alter- nates plus the number of peremptory challenges based on the number of par- ties; once passed for cause, the parties must use all peremptory challenges to reduce the panel to the number of jurors plus alternates. The Court does not use jury questionnaires. Except in rare circumstances, the Court will conduct all questioning at voir dire. - 6 - 9. Motions in Limine Motions in limine are not a matter of right and should be largely lim- ited to matters on which pre-trial rulings are critical. Any party may serve a motion directed at limiting the proof at trial provided the motion is served upon all parties by no later than the date set by the Court’s scheduling order. Absent leave of Court, a party should raise all motions in limine within a sin- gle brief. Any party referencing a proposed trial exhibit in such motion papers must submit a courtesy copy of that exhibit to the Court along with the mo- tion papers. Motions in limine will normally be resolved by the Court on the morning of the first day of trial. 10. Stipulations of Settlement and Discontinuance The Court will not strike a trial setting on the grounds of settlement unless the parties have submitted to Chambers a stipulation or letter on behalf of all parties affirming that the case has been finally settled and that the Court may dismiss the case with prejudice. Except for good cause shown, no such stipulation shall be accepted that provides for re-opening of the case more than 30 days after dismissal or that provides for the Court to retain jurisdic- tion for more than 30 days following dismissal except to enforce injunctive relief. 11. Summations in Civil Cases In all civil trials, plaintiff’s counsel will sum up first, followed by de- fendant’s counsel. Where there is only one defense summation, plaintiff’s counsel will normally not be permitted a rebuttal summation except in unu- sual circumstances. Where there are two or more defense summations, plain- tiff’s counsel will normally be permitted a brief rebuttal. 12. Protective Orders Protective orders will be governed by the Court’s Local Rules. 13. Trial a. Local Rules. You are expected to be familiar with Local General Rule 3, concerning courtroom behavior, and adhere strictly to each of the requirements of this rule. b. General Courtroom Protocol. - 7 - (1) Do not leave the courtroom while trial is in progress without obtaining leave of Court. (2) Attorneys should not directly address opposing counsel in open court without leave of Court. (3) Computers may be used by counsel, as long as the use is unob- trusive and is cleared through the courtroom deputy prior to the morning of trial. (4) Do not place on the courtroom furniture, including chairs, con- ference tables, or benches, any objects which might scratch or mar the surfaces including briefcases with metal closures or feet, demonstrative aids, exhibits, etc. (5) Do not chew gum or eat mints, candy, etc. in the courtroom. (6) No beverages, including bottled water, are allowed in the court- room. (7) Coats, umbrellas, or briefcases of attorneys and litigants should be kept in the coat closet on the East wall of the courtroom. c. Prior to trial. (1) If you have reason to anticipate that any question of law or evi- dence is particularly difficult, give the Court as much advance no- tice as possible. (2) Objections to proposed jury instructions and pertinent case law should be provided to the Court prior to trial. d. Voir dire. If prior to trial the Court approves supplemental voir dire examination by counsel, the following rules will apply: (1) Voir dire examination may not be conducted in a manner de- signed to inform the jury of the anticipated evidence or the appli- cable law, nor to provide the type of information which is normally included in the opening statement. (2) The only purpose of voir dire examination is to gain knowledge about a prospective juror which will aid in making an informed challenge. - 8 - (3) A statement disguised as a question will not be permitted. (4) Counsel may not ask a question based on a hypothetical state- ment of the facts or the law. (5) Voir dire may not be used to explain the burden of proof. (6) Do not attempt to elicit promises or assurances of any kind from jurors nor ask them to give any indication of what their ver- dict would be based on certain conditions. (7) Each side is limited to 10-15 minutes unless additional time is approved by the Court prior to trial. e. Opening statements. Unless the case is unusually complex, each party will be limited to 15-20 minutes, per side, except in multiple party cases, when time for the opening statement may be substan- tially reduced, per party. Any additional time is subject to prior ap- proval of the Court. Opening statement is to be used to outline the proposed evidence, not for argument. f. Exhibits. (1) Court time may not be used for marking exhibits. This must be done in advance of the court session. (2) Advise opposing counsel and the Court of the exhibits to be used in advance of the day’s court session. (3) Exhibits to which there is no objection should be offered and received in evidence without the necessity of formal identification. (4) If you intend to question a witness about a group of exhibits, avoid delay by having the witness notebook already on the witness stand. (5) While the Court permits exhibits to be passed to the jury, this procedure should be used sparingly and reserved for truly signifi- cant exhibits. Use of the Court’s electronic publication system is preferred. If possible, when you wish to publish an exhibit to the jury, have a copy for each juror. Juror exhibit books are encouraged and will be allowed with prior approval of the Court. - 9 - (6) In all civil trials, regardless of whether the parties provided ex- hibits to the Court in advance of trial, the parties shall tender to the bench a copy of any exhibit a party seeks to offer into evidence at the same time the party hands the original exhibit to a witness during an examination. Plaintiff’s and defendant’s exhibits shall both be marked by numbers (e.g., “Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1,” “Defend- ant’s Exhibit 1”). (7) Parties must provide the Court with copies of exhibits three business days in advance of trial. (8) The Court’s practice is to remove all exhibits not admitted into evidence and discussed or argued at trial from the jury’s exhibit binders prior to giving them to the jury, regardless of whether the exhibits have been preadmitted. If a party preadmits an exhibit, that party is responsible for ensuring that the exhibit is presented, discussed, or argued before the jury. Any exhibits not presented, discussed, or argued will not be provided to the jury during delib- erations and will not be considered by the Court when ruling on dispositive motions. g. Witnesses. (1) Witnesses should be readily available to avoid needless delay, including video depositions. (2) Please stand whenever you address the Court or interrogate witnesses. (An exception is made for physical infirmity.) Use the lectern unless your comment is to be brief. (3) Examination of a witness will include direct examination, cross examination, one re-direct examination, and one re-cross examina- tion except in exceptional circumstances. (4) Attorneys will not interrupt each other or a witness except to assert an objection, and the attorneys will never interrupt the Court for any reason. (5) Do not greet or introduce yourself to adverse witnesses. Com- mence your cross-examination without preliminaries. Do not face - 10 - or otherwise appear to address yourself to jurors when questioning a witness. (6) Except for children, address witnesses by their surnames, for example, Mr. A, Sergeant B, or Doctor C. (7) Never assert your personal opinion as to the credibility of a wit- ness or the culpability of a civil litigant, nor as counsel assert per- sonal knowledge of a fact in issue, nor assert a fact not in evidence. (8) Do not react to a statement by another counsel or a witness be- ing examined by another counsel by any gesture or facial expression signifying agreement, disagreement, approval or disapproval. Ad- vise your clients they are subject to this same limitation. (9) Where more than one attorney represents a party, only the at- torney handling the particular witness may respond to an objection or raise an objection in regard to his/her testimony. Likewise, only one opposing attorney should make or argue motions or other ob- jections as to that witness. (10) If a witness is not available for trial, a party may use/read the testimony of that witness from the deposition transcript portion which has been designated or cross-designated by any other party. At trial, except for good cause shown, the reader of the testimony of a single witness will remain the same and counsel shall agree as to who reads the designated questions. h. Jury Protocol. (1) Stand a respectful distance from the jury at all times. State- ments and arguments to the jury will be made from the lectern. (2) When you object in the presence of the jury, make your objec- tion short and to the point. Do not argue the objection in the pres- ence of the jury, and do not argue with the ruling of the Court in the presence of the jury. Do not make motions (e.g., motion for mistrial) in the presence of the jury. Bench conferences should be kept to a minimum. - 11 - (3) Except in ruling on an objection, the Court will not, in the pres- ence of the jury, declare that a witness is qualified as an expert or qualified to render an expert opinion, and counsel should not ask the Court to do so. i. Deposition designations and counter designations. The follow- ing rules are supplemental to those set forth in Local Civil Rule 30-1. Deposition designations and counter designations are ex- changed between counsel and are FILED as a pleading pursuant to Rule 26(a)(3)(A)(ii) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Local Civil Rule 30-1 with the name of the witness, page, line num- ber, and basis for the objection (not the transcript itself ). (1) The deposition transcripts are to be highlighted in different col- ors indicating the designations and the counter designations. (2) Objections, and the basis therefor, should be referenced or an- notated in the margins. The highlighted and annotated deposition transcripts should be SUBMITTED in hard copy (not filed) to the Court Clerk no later than seven days before trial. (3) Objections to any deposition designations and counter designa- tions will be considered by the Court only after a good faith effort to resolve such objections by means of a personal meeting between counsel. A high degree of cooperation between counsel is expected to minimize the number of objections. Subsequent to this meeting, any unresolved objections to deposition designations and counter designations are to be FILED no later than seven days before trial as separate pleadings (i.e., a motion or an objection) with a table setting out the page, line, and basis for the objections for each des- ignation of testimony as to each deponent without attachments of any deposition transcripts. (4) If a witness is not available for trial, a party may use/read the testimony of that witness from the deposition transcript portion which has been designated or cross-designated by any other party. At trial, except for good cause shown, the reader of the testimony of a single witness will remain the same and counsel shall agree as to who reads the designated questions. - 12 - j. Video testimony. (1) The Court will permit the parties to edit and present vide- otaped testimony organized by subject matter if it will assist the jury to understand the evidence or determine a fact in issue. (2) The testimony of a single witness, or of multiple witnesses, re- lating to designated subject matter may be combined into a single presentation. k. Juror Notebooks. In cases of appropriate complexity, the Court will permit the parties to distribute to each juror identical note- books. (1) Counsel are required to confer on the contents of the notebooks prior to commencement of the trial. Any argument or disagree- ments should immediately be brought to the attention of the Court. (2) Juror Notebooks may include copies of the following: • The Court’s preliminary instructions; • Selected exhibits that have been ruled admissible or that the parties agree will be admitted without objection (or excerpts thereof ); • Stipulations of the parties; • With agreement of counsel, other material not subject to genuine dispute, which may include: o Photographs of parties, witnesses or exhibits; o Curricula vitae of experts; o Agreed upon glossaries; o Agreed upon chronologies or timelines; and o Blank paper for the jurors’ use in taking notes. • During the course of the trial, the Court may permit the parties to supplement the materials in the notebooks with additional documents as they become relevant and - 13 - after they have been ruled admissible or otherwise ap- proved by the Court for inclusion. - 14 -

=== Protective Order - Criminal Cases ===

United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma Case No. 00- CR-000-JDR United States, Party, versus Plaintiff, Defendant. PROTECTIVE ORDER The United States of America, with the consent of the defendant and undersigned counsel, moves for the entry of a protective order over discovery to be produced in response to the request of the defendant under Fed. R. Crim. P. 16. The Court finds and orders as follows: Categories 1. Disclosure Material. The Government will make disclosure to the defendant of documents, objects and information, including electroni- cally stored information (“ESI”), pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Pro- cedure 16, 18 U.S.C. § 3500, and the Government’s general obligation to pro- duce exculpatory and impeachment material in criminal cases, all of which will be referred to herein as “Disclosure Material.” The Government’s Dis- closure Material may include material that (i) affects the privacy and confi- dentiality of individuals; (ii) may be produced with more limited redactions than would otherwise be necessary; and (iii) that is not authorized to be dis- closed to the public or disclosed beyond that which is necessary for the de- fense of this criminal case. No. 00-CR-0000 2. Sealed Material. Certain of the Government’s Disclosure Ma- terial, referred to herein as “Sealed Material,” contains information that iden- tifies, or could lead to the identification of, witnesses who may be subject to intimidation or obstruction, and whose lives, persons, and property, as well as the lives, persons and property of loved ones, will be subject to risk of harm absent the protective considerations set forth herein. NOW, THEREFORE, FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: Disclosure and Treatment 3. Disclosure Material shall not be disclosed by the defendant or defense counsel, including any successor counsel (“the defense”) other than as set forth herein, and shall be used by the defense solely for purposes of defending this action. The defense shall not post any Disclosure Material on any Internet site or network site, including any social media site such as Fa- cebook or X, formerly known as Twitter, to which persons other than the par- ties hereto have access, and shall not disclose any Disclosure Material to the media. 4. Sealed Material pertinent to any motion before the Court should initially be filed under seal, absent consent of the Government or Or- der of the Court, and may be disclosed by defense counsel to: a. b. The defendant; Personnel for whose conduct defense counsel is respon- sible, i.e., personnel employed by or retained by counsel, as needed for purposes of defending this action; and c. Prospective witnesses for purposes of defending this ac- tion. Other Provisions 5. This Order does not prevent the disclosure of any Disclosure Material in any hearing or trial held in this action, or to any judge or 2 No. 00-CR-0000 magistrate judge, for purposes of this action. All filings should comply with the privacy protection provisions of Fed. R. Crim. P. 49.1 and the above pro- visions. 6. The Government’s designation of material will be controlling absent contrary order of the Court. The parties shall meet and confer regard- ing any dispute over such designations, after which the defense may seek de- designation by the Court. The Government may authorize, in writing, disclo- sure of Disclosure Material beyond that otherwise permitted by this Order without further Order of this Court. 7. The defense shall provide a copy of this Order to prospective witnesses and persons retained by counsel to whom the defense has disclosed Disclosure Material. All such persons shall be subject to the terms of this Or- der. Defense counsel shall maintain a record of what information has been disclosed to which such persons. 8. Except for Disclosure Material that has been made part of the record of this case, the defense shall return to the Government or securely destroy or delete all Disclosure Material, including any ESI, within 30 days of the expiration of the period for direct appeal from any verdict in the captioned case; the period of direct appeal from any order dismissing any of the charges in the captioned case; and the granting of any motion made on behalf of the Government dismissing any charges in the captioned case, whichever date is later, subject to defense counsel’s obligation to retain client files under the Rules of Professional Conduct. If Disclosure Material is provided to any per- sonnel for whose conduct defense counsel is responsible or prospective wit- nesses, defense counsel shall make reasonable efforts to seek the return or destruction of such materials. 3 No. 00-CR-0000 Retention of Jurisdiction 9. The provisions of this order shall not terminate at the conclu- sion of this criminal prosecution and the Court will retain jurisdiction to en- force this Order following termination of the case. AGREED AND CONSENTED TO: Clinton J. Johnson United States Attorney by: [Attorney] [Title] [Attorney] Counsel for [Defendant] SO ORDERED. Date: Date: DATED this ___ day of ____ 2024. John D. Russell United States District Judge 4

=== Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order ===

United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma Case No. 00-cv-000-JDR-XXX Party, Party, versus Plaintiff, Defendant. CASE MANAGEMENT PLAN AND SCHEDULING ORDER The Court requires that this case shall be ready for trial on ____________. After consultation with counsel for the parties, the following Case Man- agement Plan is adopted. This plan is also a scheduling order pursuant to Rules 16 and 26(f ) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. A. The case (is) (is not) to be tried to a jury. [Circle as appropriate] B. Joinder of additional parties must be accomplished by __________________. C. Amended pleadings may be filed without leave of Court until __________________. D. Discovery (in addition to the disclosures required by Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a : 1. Documents. First request for production of documents, if any, must be served by _________________. Further document re- quests may be served as required, but no document request may be No. 00-cv-000 served later than 30 days prior to the date of the close of discovery as set forth in item 6, below. 2. Interrogatories. Interrogatories pursuant to LCvR 33-1 of the Local Civil Rules must be served by ___________________. No other interrogatories are permitted except upon prior express permission of the Court. No Rule 33 interrogatories need be served with respect to disclosures automatically required by Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a). 3. Experts. Every party-proponent of a claim or defense (including any counterclaim, cross claim, or third-party claim) that intends to offer expert testimony in respect of such claim or defense must make the dis- closures required by Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(2) by _______________. Every party-opponent of such claim or defense that intends to offer ex- pert testimony in opposition to such claim or defense must make the disclosures required by Fed.R.Civ.P.26(a)(2) by _______________. No expert testimony (whether designated as “rebuttal” or otherwise) will be permitted by other experts or beyond the scope of the opinions covered by the aforesaid disclosures except upon prior express permis- sion of the Court, application for which must be made no later than 10 days after the date specified in the immediately preceding sentence. All experts may be deposed, but such depositions must occur within the time limit for all depositions set forth below. 4. Depositions. All depositions (including any expert depositions, see item 3 above) must be completed by _________________. Unless counsel agree otherwise or the Court so orders, depositions shall not commence until all parties have completed the initial disclosures re- quired by Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(1) or until four weeks from the date of this Order, whichever is earlier. Depositions shall proceed concurrently, with no party having priority, and no deposition shall extend beyond one business day without prior leave of the Court. 2 No. 00-cv-000 5. Requests to Admit. Requests to Admit, if any, must be served by _______________ [insert date that is no later than 30 days prior to date of close of discovery as set forth in item 6 below]. 6. All discovery is to be completed by ____________________. Interim deadlines for items 1–5 above may be extended by the parties on consent without application to the Court, provided the parties are cer- tain they can still meet the discovery completion date set forth in this paragraph. The discovery completion date may be adjourned only upon a showing to the Court of extraordinary circumstances and may not be extended on consent. E. Post-discovery summary judgment motions in the form prescribed by the Court’s Local Rules and motions in limine may be brought without fur- ther consultation with the Court provided that the motion is filed no later than ________________, answering papers by ________________, and reply papers by _________________ [the last of these days being no later than six weeks following the close of discovery]. Each party must file its respective papers with the Clerk of the Court on the same date that such pa- pers are served. Additionally, on the same date that any papers are served and filed, counsel filing and serving the papers must arrange to deliver courtesy non-electronic hard copies to the Courthouse for delivery to Chambers. F. A final pre-trial conference, as well as oral argument on any post-discov- ery summary judgment motions, shall be held on _________________ [date to be inserted by the Court], at which time the Court shall set a firm trial date. The timing and other requirements for the Joint Pretrial Order and/or other pre-trial submissions shall be governed by the Court’s Individual Rules of Practice. G. All motions and applications shall be governed by Judge Russell’s Indi- vidual Rules of Practice. Counsel shall promptly familiarize themselves with 3 No. 00-cv-000 all of the Court’s Individual Rules, as well as with the Local Rules for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. H. The parties must participate in a settlement conference or private me- diation no later than ____________________. SO ORDERED. John D. Russell United States District Judge DATED: Tulsa, Oklahoma ___________________ (Rev. 02.16.2026) 4