(PDF); (PDF); (PDF); (PDF); (PDF); (PDF)

=== (PDF) ===

PRACTICE STANDARDS FOR CIVIL CASES Judge Daniel D. Domenico United States District Court for the District of Colorado Courtroom A1002 Chambers A1038 Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse 901 19th Street Denver, CO 80294 Telephone: (303) 335-2468 Email: [email protected] Revised: December 2025 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. GENERAL PROCEDURES .............................................................. 1 A. Applicable Rules ......................................................................... 1 B. Communications with Chambers ............................................... 1 C. Citations ...................................................................................... 2 D. Typeface ...................................................................................... 2 E. Settlement ................................................................................... 2 II. COURTROOM PROCEDURES ........................................................ 3 A. Courtroom Operations ................................................................ 3 B. Recording of Proceedings ............................................................ 3 C. Exhibits ....................................................................................... 4 III. MOTIONS AND OBJECTIONS PRACTICE ................................... 4 A. Length Limitations ..................................................................... 4 B. Responses and Replies ................................................................ 6 C. Proposed Orders .......................................................................... 7 D. Exhibits ....................................................................................... 7 E. Emergency Motions .................................................................... 8 F. Motions to Continue Hearings and Trials ................................. 8 G. Preliminary Motions – Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 .................................. 9 H. Motions to Amend Pleadings – Fed. R. Civ. P. 15 ..................... 9 I. Motions for Summary Judgment – Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 ............. 10 J. Motions to Exclude Expert Testimony – Fed. R. Evid. 702 .... 13 K. Untimely or Noncomplying Papers .......................................... 14 IV. TRIALS ............................................................................................ 14 A. Trial Scheduling and Preparation ........................................... 14 B. Jury Trials ................................................................................. 15 - ii - I. GENERAL PROCEDURES A. Applicable Rules 1. Those appearing in the District Court must know and follow: a. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; b. The Federal Rules of Evidence; c. The Local Rules of Practice of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado; d. The Electronic Case Filing Procedures (Civil Cases) of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado; and e. These Practice Standards for Civil Cases. 2. Failure to comply with the foregoing rules or procedures or these Practice Standards may result in appropriate sanctions. B. Communications with Chambers 1. Please do not call Chambers. Instead, inquiries to Chambers (e.g., questions about procedure or clarifications to these Practice Stand- ards) should be made via email to Domenico_Chambers@cod. uscourts.gov. Email messages to Chambers should identify the case number and name in the subject line and copy all counsel of record. Chambers staff cannot give legal advice or grant informal requests not made via motion, so please do not contact Chambers about substantive matters. 2. For questions about filing documents electronically, please con- tact the ECF Help Desk at (303) 335-2050, (866) 365-6381, or cod_ [email protected]. For other case filing and docketing ques- tions, please contact the Court’s Case Administration Specialist at (303) 335-2074. - 1 - C. Citations 1. Citation and formatting may be in Bluebook form or in any form that consistently, accurately, and understandably conveys the authori- ties necessary to support a party’s legal argument. 2. These Practice Standards may be cited as “DDD Civ. P.S. XX” (e.g., “DDD Civ. P.S. III(A)(1)”). 3. Whenever practicable, a citation to an unpublished opinion should include its Westlaw® citation. If an unpublished opinion is not readily available on Westlaw® or LexisNexis®, attach it as an exhibit to the brief or other paper. D. Typeface 1. All papers filed with the Court must be in a proportionally spaced, serif font. E. Settlement 1. If a settlement is reached, the parties must file a notice of settle- ment that includes the anticipated time required to file dismissal papers or other papers sufficient to resolve the matter. If a partial settlement is reached, the parties must file a notice of the partial settlement or a stipulation of dismissal specifying the claims, counterclaims, cross- claims, defenses, or parties affected by the partial settlement. 2. If a settlement is reached on the eve of a hearing or trial, please also promptly advise Chambers via email copying all counsel of record, with a subject line containing “Settlement” and the case number and name. No deadline, hearing, or trial is vacated or continued unless and until the Court issues an order. If a settlement is reached after noon on the last business day before a jury trial, jury costs may be assessed in accordance with Local Civil Rule 54.2. - 2 - 3. The Court generally will not retain jurisdiction (including through open-ended administrative closure) over cases that have been settled. The proper mechanism for enforcing a settlement agreement is, in almost all cases, through a new action. Any motion or stipulation for dismissal requesting that the Court retain jurisdiction after dismissal must explain in detail the circumstances necessitating such an ap- proach. II. COURTROOM PROCEDURES A. Courtroom Operations 1. For information regarding the courtroom, including instructions on how to proceed by telephone conference or video teleconference, court- room equipment and technology, courtroom protocol, trial preparation and submission of trial exhibits, and the use of exhibits and deposition transcripts at hearings or trial, please contact the Courtroom Deputy, Robb Keech, at [email protected]. B. Recording of Proceedings 1. To order transcripts of proceedings, please contact the Court Re- porter, Tamara Hoffschildt, at [email protected]. Re- quests for real-time, daily, or hourly copy must be made at least thirty days before the trial or hearing. 2. Not later than five business days before any hearing, trial, or other proceeding, counsel and any pro se party must file a glossary of any difficult, unusual, scientific, or technical words, names, places, terms, or phrases. - 3 - C. Exhibits 1. Counsel must confer and agree from the commencement of dis- covery on a numbering system that will avoid confusion and duplication, and that will allow the same exhibit number to be used for each exhibit for deposition and trial purposes (e.g., the employment contract at issue would be the same exhibit with the same number for all depositions and at trial). All exhibits should be identified by number only (e.g., “Ex- hibit 1,” not “Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1”). Numbers for trial exhibits need not be consecutive. 2. Each party must pre-mark all exhibits that will be used or iden- tified for the record at a hearing or trial. The case number must appear on each exhibit sticker or label. III. MOTIONS AND OBJECTIONS PRACTICE A. Length Limitations 1. Excluding motions filed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 or 65(a) or (b) and papers filed in AP Cases (see Local AP R. 1.1(c , all motions, objections (including objections to the recommendations or or- ders of United States Magistrate Judges), responses, and briefs must not exceed 4,000 words. Reply briefs must not exceed 2,700 words. If a party elects to file more than one preliminary motion under Rule 12, the motions and response briefs must not exceed 4,000 words total for all such motions/briefs (not each such motion/brief) filed by each party; reply briefs must not exceed 2,700 words total. - 4 - 2. Motions for summary judgment or partial summary judgment, motions for preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order, and related response briefs must not exceed 5,500 words. Reply briefs must not exceed 2,700 words. If a party elects to file more than one Rule 56 motion, the motions and response briefs must not ex- ceed 5,500 words total for all such motions/briefs (not each such mo- tion/brief) filed by each party; reply briefs must not ex- ceed 2,700 words total. 3. In social-security appeals, the length limitations of paragraph (1) above apply to motions, and the length limitations of Local AP Rule 16.1(c)(2) apply to appellate briefs. In bankruptcy appeals, the length limitations of Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 8013(f) ap- ply to motions, and the length limitations of Rule 8015(a)(7) apply to appellate briefs. In appeals of agency action under 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706, the length limitations of paragraph (1) above apply to motions, and the length limitations of paragraph (2) above apply to appellate briefs. 4. These length limitations include footnotes, but exclude the case caption, any table of contents or table of authorities, signature block, certificate of service, and certificate of compliance with the applicable length limitation. Motions and opening briefs must be combined in a single document and will be considered one paper for purposes of the applicable length limitation. 5. All motions, objections, responses, and briefs must contain a sep- arate statement, immediately after the signature block, certifying that the paper complies with the applicable length limitation set forth in these Practice Standards (e.g., “I hereby certify that the foregoing paper complies with the length limitation set forth in DDD Civ. P.S. III(A)(1).”). - 5 - 6. A party may file a motion to exceed the applicable length limita- tion explaining the reasons why additional length is necessary. Any such motion must be filed no later than three business days before the date the motion, response, reply, or other paper is due. 7. For any party who does not have access to a word-processing sys- tem with a word-count function, typewritten or legibly handwritten pa- pers are subject to page limits instead of the word limits of para- graphs (1) and (2) above. The following equivalents should be used: a. 2,700 words = 10 pages; b. 4,000 words = 15 pages; and c. 5,500 words = 20 pages. B. Responses and Replies 1. A response must clearly and completely identify by title and CM/ECF docket number the antecedent motion, objection, or other pa- per to which the response is made. Similarly, a reply must clearly and completely identify by title and CM/ECF docket number the antecedent paper the reply supports and the antecedent response to which the reply is made. No sur-reply or supplemental brief is permitted without leave of Court. 2. A party may respond to another party’s objections to a magistrate judge’s recommended disposition of a dispositive pretrial matter as pro- vided by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72(b)(2). A party may respond to another party’s objections to a magistrate judge’s order on a nondis- positive pretrial matter within fourteen days after being served with a copy of the objections. No reply is permitted without leave of Court. - 6 - 3. A notice of supplemental authority may be filed if new relevant authority is issued after briefing closed on a motion, objection, or other pending issue. Such a notice must be limited to (a) a citation to the new authority including the date of issuance, and (b) a single-sentence refer- ence to the issue to which the filing party believes the new authority pertains (including a citation to the location(s) in previously filed brief- ing where the issue was raised). If the new authority is not readily avail- able on Westlaw® or LexisNexis®, attach it as an exhibit to the notice. No comment, briefing, or response as to the significance or interpreta- tion of the new authority is permitted without leave of Court. No notice of supplemental authority regarding any authority that issued before the close of briefing may be filed without leave of Court. C. Proposed Orders 1. Proposed orders submitted pursuant to the Local Rules of Prac- tice or at the direction of the Court must be filed via CM/ECF and emailed to [email protected] in editable Word for- mat, copying all counsel of record. The subject line of the email should identify the case number and name and the CM/ECF docket number of the underlying motion. D. Exhibits 1. Exhibits to motions, objections, responses, and briefs must be la- beled in the CM/ECF system both by exhibit number and by name (e.g., “Exhibit 1 - Smith Affidavit”). - 7 - 2. Copies of documents attached as exhibits to a motion, objection, or other opening brief should not be attached as exhibits to the response, and copies of documents attached as exhibits to a response should not be attached as exhibits to a reply. Any additional exhibit should be at- tached to the corresponding response or reply and consecutively num- bered. 3. Voluminous exhibits are discouraged. Parties should limit exhib- its to essential portions of documents. E. Emergency Motions 1. Emergency motions are only those necessary to avoid imminent, irreparable harm. Counsel filing an emergency motion should ensure that: (1) the caption of the motion begins with the word “Emergency”; (2) the motion is electronically filed using the CM/ECF drop-down menu option entitled “Emergency” on the docket-text modification screen; and (3) Chambers is notified of the motion by email to Domenico_Cham- [email protected] and copying all counsel of record, with a subject line containing “Emergency Motion,” the case number and name, and the CM/ECF docket number of the motion. F. Motions to Continue Hearings and Trials 1. Motions to continue (including motions to vacate or reset) hear- ings and trials will be determined pursuant to Rogers v. Andrus Trans- portation Services, 502 F.3d 1147 (10th Cir. 2007) and United States v. West, 828 F.2d 1468, 1469-70 (10th Cir. 1987). Oral or written motions to continue made at the time of a hearing or trial may not be entertained by the Court. Stipulated motions for continuance are not effective unless and until approved by the Court. - 8 - G. Preliminary Motions – Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 1. Rule 12 motions are discouraged if the defect is correctable by the filing of an amended pleading. Except in cases where a party is proceed- ing pro se, counsel must confer prior to the filing of a motion under Rule 12(b), (c), (e), or (f) to discuss whether an asserted deficiency is cor- rectable by amendment (e.g., failure to plead fraud with specificity) and should exercise their best efforts to stipulate to appropriate amend- ments. If the parties are unable to resolve the dispute(s), the moving party must describe in the motion, or in a certificate attached to the mo- tion, the specific efforts taken to comply with this duty to confer and the position of each party at the time the conferral process broke down. 2. If matters outside the pleadings are submitted in support of or opposition to a Rule 12 motion, the filing party must address the basis for the Court to consider such matters. Rule 12(b)(6) or 12(c) motions should not be stated in the alternative as a Rule 56 motion for summary judgment. H. Motions to Amend Pleadings – Fed. R. Civ. P. 15 1. When a party seeks leave to amend a pleading on or before the applicable scheduling-order deadline, the Court will freely grant leave to amend. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). Parties are discouraged from op- posing a timely request to amend a pleading on the basis of futility of the proposed amendment; futility arguments are better addressed through an appropriate Rule 12 motion filed after the amended pleading is in place. - 9 - I. Motions for Summary Judgment – Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 1. Rule 56 motions must comply with the following: a. In a section of the brief required by Local Civil Rule 56.1(a) styled “Statement of Undisputed Facts,” the movant must set forth in simple, declarative sentences, separately numbered and para- graphed, each material fact that the movant believes is not in dispute and that supports the movant’s claim that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Each material fact must be accompa- nied by a specific reference to material in the record that establishes that fact. General references to pleadings, depositions, or documents are usually insufficient if the document is more than one page in length. A general reference is sufficient only if the nature of the ma- terial fact does not permit a specific reference (e.g., “The contract con- tains no provision for termination.”). 2. Responses to Rule 56 motions must comply with the following: a. In a section of the response brief styled “Response to State- ment of Undisputed Facts,” the opposing party must admit or deny each of the movant’s asserted material facts. Each admission or de- nial must be made in a separate paragraph numbered according to the corresponding paragraph in the movant’s “Statement of Undis- puted Facts.” Any denial must be accompanied by a brief factual ex- planation of the reason(s) for the denial and a specific reference to material in the record supporting the denial. - 10 - b. If the party opposing the motion believes that there are addi- tional material facts that have not been adequately addressed in its “Response to Statement of Undisputed Facts” (e.g., facts concerning an affirmative defense), the party must, in a separate section of the brief styled “Statement of Additional Facts,” set forth in simple, de- clarative sentences, separately paragraphed and numbered continu- ing from the previous list, each additional material fact that under- cuts the movant’s claim that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Each such fact must be accompanied by a specific reference to material in the record establishing the fact or demonstrating that it is in genuine dispute. 3. Any reply brief in support of a Rule 56 motion must comply with the following: a. In a section of the brief styled “Reply Concerning Undisputed Facts,” the movant must include any factual reply it cares to make regarding the facts asserted in its motion to be undisputed, sup- ported by specific references to material in the record. Each reply must be made in a separate paragraph numbered according to the corresponding paragraph in its motion and the opposing party’s re- sponse. b. If the response brief contains a “Statement of Additional Facts” pursuant to subparagraph (2)(b) above, the movant must, in a separate section of the reply brief styled “Response to Statement of Additional Facts,” with respect to each additional fact the opposing party asserts or claims to be in dispute, either admit the fact or that it is in genuine dispute or supply a brief factual explanation for its position that the fact is undisputed, supported by a specific reference to material in the record establishing the fact is undisputed. This must be done in separate paragraphs numbered according to the cor- responding paragraphs in the opposing party’s response. - 11 - 4. In any admission or denial, the party must admit or deny the fac- tual substance of the other party’s assertion, unless doing so would vio- late a recognized privilege. To this end, the following restrictions apply: a. A party may not deny an assertion on grounds of inadmissibil- ity. A party “may object that the material cited to support or dispute a fact cannot be presented in a form that would be admissible in evi- dence,” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(2), and any party so objecting must in- clude a concise explanation of its objection, but the party must still admit or deny the factual substance of the assertion. b. The opposing party may not deny an assertion for lack of knowledge, unless the party states within the body of its response a well-grounded request for additional discovery under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(d) and attaches to the response the affidavit or declaration required by that Rule. c. A party may not admit an assertion in terms such as “admitted that John Doe claims such-and-such,” unless the assertion itself is framed in terms of what John Doe “claims.” d. A party may not respond that a quoted or summarized docu- ment “speaks for itself,” or similar phrases. When faced with such assertions, the opposing party must address their substance, includ- ing, for example, an admission or denial that the relevant portion of the document has been quoted or summarized accurately or com- pletely. - 12 - 5. The sole purpose of these procedures is to establish facts and de- termine which of them are in genuine dispute. Legal argument is not permitted in the sections of the briefs submitted pursuant to subpara- graphs (1)-(3) above, and instead should be reserved for separate por- tions of the briefs. If, for example, a party believes that an established fact is immaterial, that belief should be expressed in the part of the brief devoted to legal argument, and the fact should be admitted. If, on the other hand, a party believes that the reference to material in the record does not support the claimed fact, that fact may be denied, and factual argument may appropriately be made pursuant to these procedures. 6. Failure to follow these procedures may result in an order striking or denying the motion or brief, and it will have to be re-submitted. Re- peated failures may result in an order granting other proper relief. J. Motions to Exclude Expert Testimony – Fed. R. Evid. 702 1. A party objecting to the admissibility of opinion testimony by an expert witness must file a written motion seeking its exclusion. If a deadline for filing such motions is not set in the scheduling order, such motions must be filed thirty days after the deadline for disclosure of rebuttal expert witnesses. The time for filing responses and replies is governed by Local Civil Rule 7.1(d). Failure to raise an issue concerning a putative expert witness (whether under Federal Rule of Evidence 401, 403, 702, and/or 704) in the time and manner set forth herein will con- stitute a waiver or forfeiture of the issue. 2. The motion must identify with specificity each opinion the moving party seeks to exclude. The motion must also identify the specific ground(s) on which each opinion is challenged, e.g., qualifications, help- fulness, sufficiency of facts or data, reliability of methodology or its ap- plication. See Fed. R. Evid. 702. - 13 - 3. If the opinion was disclosed in a written expert report pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B), a complete copy of the report must be attached as an exhibit to the motion. K. Untimely or Noncomplying Papers 1. Motions, objections, responses, replies, briefs, or other papers that are untimely, noncomplying, or filed without a certification when required under Local Civil Rule 7.1(a) or these Practice Standards may be denied without prejudice or stricken sua sponte. IV. TRIALS A. Trial Scheduling and Preparation 1. The Court generally will contact the parties to set a trial date and Final Pretrial Conference/Trial Preparation Conference date(s) after the dispositive-motions deadline has passed and the Court has issued rul- ings on all pending motions. If there are no pending motions and the Court has not contacted the parties or issued an order regarding trial scheduling within one month after the dispositive-motions deadline has passed, counsel and pro se parties may email Chambers at Domenico_ [email protected] and politely inquire regarding trial sched- uling. Such email messages should identify the case number and name in the subject line and copy all counsel of record. 2. In most cases, the Court will set the Federal Rule of Civil Proce- dure 16(e) Final Pretrial Conference approximately three to four weeks before trial and a separate Trial Preparation Conference the week before trial. Counsel who will try the case must attend both conferences. 3. The Court will issue a trial preparation order specifying the pre- trial tasks to be completed (e.g., proposed Final Pretrial Order, motions in limine, proposed jury instructions, etc.) and the deadlines for those tasks. - 14 - B. Jury Trials 1. Challenges pursuant to Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), must be made after peremptory challenges have concluded and before the jury is sworn. A party that wants to preserve a Batson challenge should request that the Court not release any jurors subject to the chal- lenge. 2. Jurors will be permitted to take notes during the trial. 3. Each juror will be given a copy of the written jury instructions for use during deliberations. - 15 -

=== (PDF) ===

PRACTICE STANDARDS FOR CIVIL CASES (Civil Cases) Judge Daniel D. Domenico United States District Court for the District of Colorado Courtroom A1002702 Chambers A1038 Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse Chambers A738, Seventh Floor 901 19th Street. Denver, CO 80294 Telephone: (303) 335-2468 Email: [email protected] Revised: December 202519 - ii - TABLE OF CONTENTS I. GENERAL PROCEDURES .............................................................. 1 A. Applicable Rules ......................................................................... 1 B. Communications with Chambers ............................................... 1 C. Citations ...................................................................................... 2 D. Typeface ...................................................................................... 2 E. Settlement ................................................................................... 2 II. COURTROOM PROCEDURES ........................................................ 3 A. Courtroom Operations ................................................................ 3 B. Recording of Proceedings ............................................................ 3 C. Exhibits ....................................................................................... 4 III. MOTIONS AND OBJECTIONS PRACTICE ................................... 4 A. Length Limitations ..................................................................... 4 B. Responses and Replies ................................................................ 6 C. Proposed Orders .......................................................................... 7 D. Exhibits ....................................................................................... 7 E. Emergency Motions .................................................................... 8 F. Motions to Continue Hearings and Trials ................................. 8 G. Preliminary Motions – Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 .................................. 9 H. Motions to Amend Pleadings – Fed. R. Civ. P. 15 ..................... 9 I. Motions for Summary Judgment – Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 ............. 10 J. Motions to Exclude Expert Testimony – Fed. R. Evid. 702 .... 13 K. Untimely or Noncomplying Papers .......................................... 14 IV. TRIALS ............................................................................................ 14 A. Trial Scheduling and Preparation ........................................... 14 B. Jury Trials ................................................................................. 15 - iii - I. GENERAL PROCEDURES A. Applicable Rules 1. Those appearing in the District Court must know and follow: a. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; b. The Federal Rules of Evidence; c. The Local Rules of Practice of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado; d. The Electronic Case Filing Procedures (Civil Cases) of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado; and e. These Practice Standards for Civil Cases. 2. Failure to comply with the foregoing rules or procedures or these Practice Standards of this Court may result in appropriate sanctions. B. Communications with Chambers 1. Please do not call Chambers. Instead, inquiries to Chambers (e.g., questions about procedure or clarifications to these Practice Stand- ards) should be made via email to Domenico_Chambers@cod. uscourts.gov. Email messages to Chambers should identify the case number and name in the subject line and copy all counsel of record. Please do not call Chambers. Chambers staff cannot give legal advice or grant informal requests not made via motion, so please do not contact Chambers about substantive matters. 1.2. For informationquestions about filing documents electroni- cally, please contact the ECF Help Desk at (866) 365-6381 or (303) 335-2050, (866) 365-6381, or [email protected]. For other case filing and docketing questions, please contact the Court’s Case Administration Specialist at (303) 335-2074. - 1 - C. Citations 1. Citation and formatting may be in Bluebook form or in any form that consistently, accurately, and understandably conveys the authori- ties necessary to support a party’s legal argument. 2. Though it is not mandatory, counsel may wish to consult the short citation guide prepared by Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, a copy of which is available at https:// www.law.gmu.edu/assets/files/faculty/Posner_citation_format- ting_rules.pdf. 3.2. These Practice Standards may be cited as “DDD Civ. P.S. XX” (e.g., “DDD Civ. P.S. III(A)(1)”). 4.3. Whenever practicable, a citation to an unpublished opinion should include its Westlaw® citation. If an unpublished opinion is not readily available on Westlaw® or LexisNexis®, attach it as an exhibit to the brief or other paper. D. Typeface 1. All papers filed with the Court mustshall be in a proportionally spaced, serif font. E.A. Proposed Orders Proposed orders submitted pursuant to the Local Rules of Practice or at the direction of the Court shall be filed via CM/ECF and emailed to [email protected] in editable Word format. The email message should identify the case name and number in the subject line and refer to the underlying motion by CM/ECF number. - 2 - G.A. Continuances of Hearings and Trials Motions to continue (including motions to vacate or reset) hearings and trials shall be determined pursuant to United States v. West, 828 F.2d 1468, 1469-70 (10th Cir. 1987). Oral or written motions to continue made at the time of a hearing or trial may not be entertained by the Court. Stipulations for continuance shall not be effective unless and un- til approved by the Court. I.A. Emergency Motions Emergency motions are only those necessary to avoid imminent, ir- reparable harm. Counsel filing an emergency motion should ensure that: (1) the caption of the motion begins with the word “emergency”; (2) the motion is electronically filed using the CM/ECF drop-down menu option entitled “Emergency” on the docket text modification screen; and (3) Chambers is notified of the motion by email at Domenico_Cham- [email protected], with a subject line containing “Emergency Mo- tion,” and the case name and number. K.E. Settlement 1. If a settlement is reached, the parties must file a notice of settle- ment that includes the anticipated time required to file dismissal papers or other papers sufficient to resolve the matter. If a partial settlement is reached, the parties must file a notice of the partial settlement or a stipulation of dismissal specifyingshall promptly notify the Court and request approval of the partial settlement or dismissal and shall specify the claims, counterclaims, cross-claims, defenses, or parties affected by the partial settlement. - 3 - 1. beforeIf a settlement is reached on the eve of a hearing or trial, please also promptly advise Chambers via email copying all counsel of recordpromptly, with a subject line containing “Settlement,” and the case number and name and number. No deadline, hearing, or trial is vacated or continued unless and until the Court issues an order. If coun- sel are unable to file dismissal papers or other papers sufficient to re- solve the matter before the hearing or trial, the Court may in its discre- tion require the parties to appear at the scheduled hearing or trial to place the settlement on the record. RegardingIf a settlement is reached after noon on the last business day before a jury trials, jury costs may be assessed in accordance with Local Civil Rule 54.2 if a matter is re- solved after noon on the last business day before trial. If a matter is resolved the weekend before trial, please file a notice via CM/ECF as soon as possible. 2. Settlement discussions are encouraged. However, hearings, tri- als, and pretrial deadlines will generally not be continued or vacated to facilitate settlement negotiations or alternative dispute resolution. 3.2. If a partial settlement is reached, the parties shall promptly notify the Court and request approval of the partial settlement or dis- missal and shall specify the claims, counterclaims, cross-claims, de- fenses, or parties affected by the partial settlement. 4.3. The Court generally will not retain jurisdiction (including through open-ended administrative closure) over cases that have been settled. The proper mechanism for enforcing a settlement agreement is, in almost all cases, through a new action. Any motion or stipulation for dismissal requesting that the Court retain jurisdiction after dismissal mustshall explain in detail the circumstances necessitating such an ap- proach. - 4 - II. COURTROOM PROCEDURES A. Courtroom Operations 1. For information regarding the courtroom, including instructions on how to proceed by telephone conference or video teleconferencetele- phonic connection, courtroom equipment and technology, courtroom pro- tocol, trial preparation and submission of trial exhibits, and the use of exhibits and deposition transcripts at hearings or trial, the submission of trial exhibits and witness lists, and the use of exhibits at trial, please contact the Courtroom Deputy, Patricia GloverRobb Keech, at Robb [email protected](303) 335-2185. B. Recording of Proceedings 1. The realtime reporter assigned to the Court is Tracy Weir at (303) 335-2358. Transcripts of proceedings may be ordered from Ms. Weir. To order transcripts of proceedings, please contact the Court Re- porter, Tamara Hoffschildt, at [email protected]. Re- quests for real-time, daily, or hourly copy must be made at least 30thirty days before the trial or hearing. For further details, contact Ms. Weir. 2. Not later than five business days before any hearing, trial, or other proceeding, counsel and any pro se party mustshall file and pro- vide the Court, the court reporter, courtroom deputy clerk, opposing counsel, and any pro se party with a glossary of any difficult, unusual, scientific, or technical words, names, places, terms, or phrases. C. Exhibits 1. Each party must pre-mark all exhibits that will be used or iden- tified for the record in a hearing or trial. The case number shall appear on each exhibit sticker or label. - 5 - 1. Counsel mustshall confer and agree from the commencement of discovery on a numbering system that will avoid confusion and duplica- tion, and that will allow the same exhibit number to be used for each exhibit for deposition and trial purposes (e.g., the employment contract at issue would be the same exhibit with the same number for all deposi- tions and at trial). All exhibits should be identified by number only (e.g., “Exhibit 1,” not “Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1”). Counsel shall confer and agree from the commencement of discovery on a numbering system that will avoid confusion and duplication, and that will allow the same exhibit number to be used for each exhibit for deposition and trial purposes (e.g., the employment contract at issue would be the same exhibit with the same number for all depositions and at trial). Numbers for trial exhibits need not be consecutive. 2. Each party must pre-mark all exhibits that will be used or iden- tified for the record atin a hearing or trial. The case number mustshall appear on each exhibit sticker or label. III. MOTIONS AND OBJECTIONS PRACTICE A. Length Limitations 1. Excluding motions filed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 or 65(a) or (b) and papers filed in AP Cases (see Local AP R. 1.1(c , all motions, objections (including objections to the recommendations or or- ders of United States Magistrate Judges), responses, and briefs must- shall not exceed 4,000 words. Reply briefs mustshall not ex- ceed 2,700 words. If a party elects to file more than one preliminary motion under Rule 12(b) motion, the motions and response briefs must- shall not exceed 4,000 words total for all such motions/briefs (not each such motion/brief) filed by each party; reply briefs must not ex- ceed 2,700 words total. - 6 - 2. Motions for summary judgment or partial summary judgment, motions for preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order, and related response briefs mustshall not exceed 5,500 words. Reply briefs mustshall not exceed 2,700 words. If a party elects to file more than one Rule 56 motion, the motions and response briefs mustshall not ex- ceed 5,500 words total for all such motions/briefs (not each such mo- tion/brief) filed by each party; reply briefs must not ex- ceed 2,700 words total. 3. In social-security appeals, the length limitations of paragraph (1) above apply to motions, and the length limitations of Local AP Rule 16.1(c)(2) apply to appellate briefs. In bankruptcy appeals, the length limitations of Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 8013(f) ap- ply to motions, and the length limitations of Rule 8015(a)(7) apply to appellate briefs. In appeals of agency action under 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706, the length limitations of paragraph (1) above apply to motions, and the length limitations of paragraph (2) above apply to appellate briefs. 3.4. These lengthtype-volume limitations shall include footnotes, but shall exclude the case caption, any table of contents or table of au- thorities, signature block, certificate of service, and certificate of compli- ance with the applicable lengthtype-volume limitations. Motions and opening briefs mustshall be combined in a single document and willshall be considered one paper for purposes of the applicable lengthtype-vol- ume limitations. - 7 - 4.5. All motions, objections, responses, and briefsEach pleading must contain a separate statement, immediately after the signature block, certifying that the paperpleading complies with the applicable lengthtype-volume limitations set forth in these Practice Standards (e.g., “I hereby certify that the foregoing paperpleading complies with the lengthtype-volume limitation set forth in DDD Civ. P.S.Judge Do- menico’s Practice Standard III(A)(1).”). 5.6. A party may file a motion to exceed the applicable lengthword limitation explaining the reasons why additional length iswords are nec- essary. Any such motion mustshall be filed no later than three busi- ness days before the date the motion, response, reply, or other paper is due. 6.7. For any party who does not have access to a word-processing system with a word-count function, typewritten or legibly handwritten paperspleadings are subject to page limitations instead of the word lim- its of paragraphs (1) and (2) above. The following equivalents should be used: a. 2,700 words = 10 pages; b. 4,000 words = 15 pages; and c. 5,500 words = 20 pages. B.A. Untimely or Noncomplying Motions, Objections, Responses, or Replies 3.1. Pleadings that are untimely, noncomplying, or filed without a certification when required under Local Civil Rule 7.1(a) or these Prac- tice Standards may be denied without prejudice or stricken sua sponte. - 8 - D.B. Responses and Replies 1. A response mustshall clearly and completely identify by title, andcourt CM/ECF docket number, and date filed, the antecedent mo- tion, objection, or other paper or petition to which the response is made. Similarly, a reply mustshall clearly and completely identify by title, and- court CM/ECF docket number, and date filed, the antecedent paper the reply supports and the antecedent response to which the reply is made. No sur-reply or supplemental brief is permitted without leave of Court. 2. A party may respond to another party’s objections to a magistrate judge’s recommended disposition of a dispositive pretrial matter as pro- vided by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72(b)(2). A party may respond to another party’s objections to a magistrate judge’s order on a nondis- positive pretrial matter within fourteen days after being served with a copy of the objections. No reply is permitted without leave of Court. 1.3. A notice of supplemental authority may be filed if new rele- vant authority is issued after briefing closed on a motion, objection, or other pending issue. Such a notice must be limited to (a) a citation to the new authority including the date of issuance, and (b) a single-sentence reference to the issue to which the filing party believes the new author- ity pertains (including a citation to the location(s) in previously filed briefing where the issue was raised). If the new authority is not readily available on Westlaw® or LexisNexis®, attach it as an exhibit to the notice. No comment, briefing, or response as to the significance or inter- pretation of the new authority is permitted without leave of Court. No notice of supplemental authority regarding any authority that issued before the close of briefing may be filed without leave of Court. - 9 - C. Proposed Orders 1. Proposed orders submitted pursuant to the Local Rules of Prac- tice or at the direction of the Court mustshall be filed via CM/ECF and emailed to [email protected] in editable Word for- mat, copying all counsel of record. The subject line of the email message should identify the case number and name and number in the subject line and refer to the CM/ECF docket number of the underlying motion by CM/ECF number. D. Exhibits 1. Exhibits to motions, objections, responses, and briefs must be la- beled in the CM/ECF system both by exhibit number and by name (e.g., “Exhibit 1 - Smith Affidavit”). 2. Copies of documents attached as exhibits to a motion, objection, or other opening brief should not be attached as exhibits to the response, and copies of documents attached as exhibits to a response should not be attached as exhibits to a reply. Any additional exhibit should be at- tached to the corresponding response or reply and consecutively num- bered. 3. Voluminous exhibits are discouraged. Parties should limit exhib- its to essential portions of documents. - 10 - E. Emergency Motions 1. Emergency motions are only those necessary to avoid imminent, irreparable harm. Counsel filing an emergency motion should ensure that: (1) the caption of the motion begins with the word “eEmergency”; (2) the motion is electronically filed using the CM/ECF drop-down menu option entitled “Emergency” on the docket- text modification screen; and (3) Chambers is notified of the motion by email atto Domenico_Cham- [email protected] and copying all counsel of record, with a subject line containing “Emergency Motion,” and the case number and name, and the CM/ECF docket number of the motion. F. Continuances of Motions to Continue Hearings and Trials 1. Motions to continue (including motions to vacate or reset) hear- ings and trials willshall be determined pursuant to Rogers v. Andrus Transportation Services, 502 F.3d 1147 (10th Cir. 2007) and United States v. West, 828 F.2d 1468, 1469-70 (10th Cir. 1987). Oral or written motions to continue made at the time of a hearing or trial may not be entertained by the Court. Stipulated motions for continuance shallare not be effective unless and until approved by the Court. - 11 - E.G. Preliminary Motions to Dismiss – Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b) 1. Rule 12(b) motions are discouraged if the defect is correctable by the filing of an amended pleading. Except in cases where a party is pro- ceeding pro se, counsel must confer prior to the filing of the motiona motion under Rule 12(b), (c), (e), or (f) to discuss whether an asserted deficiency is correctable by amendment (e.g., failure to plead fraud with specificity) and should exercise their best efforts to stipulate to appro- priate amendments. If the parties are unable to resolve the dispute(s), the moving party must describe in the motion, or in a certificate at- tached to the motion, the specific efforts taken to comply with this duty to confer and the position of each party at the time the conferral process broke down. 1.2. If matters outside the pleadings are submitted in support of or opposition to a Rule 12 motion, the filing party must address the basis for the Court to consider such matters. Rule 12(b)(6) or 12(c) motions should not be stated in the alternative as a Rule 56 motion for summary judgment. For Rule 12(b) motions, the following format should be used: - 12 - . For each claim for relief that the movant seeks to have dismissed, clearly enumerate each element that the movant contends must be alleged, but was not. . The respondent should utilize the same format for each chal- lenged claim. If the respondent disputes a particular element, it should be identified as “DISPUTED” and briefed. If the respond- ent contends that a sufficient factual allegation has been made in the complaint, the respondent should identify the page and para- graph containing the required factual allegation. . If matters outside the pleadings are submitted in support of or opposition to a Rule 12(b) motion, the party should discuss whether the 12(b) motion should be converted to a summary judg- ment motion. H. Motions to Amend Pleadings – Fed. R. Civ. P. 15 1. When a party seeks leave to amend a pleading on or before the applicable scheduling-order deadline, the Court will freely grant leave to amend. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). Parties are discouraged from op- posing a timely request to amend a pleading on the basis of futility of the proposed amendment; futility arguments are better addressed through an appropriate Rule 12 motion filed after the amended pleading is in place. - 13 - I. Motions for Summary Judgment – Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 1. Due the voluminous factual materials often submitted with Rule 56 motions, all such motions must comply with the following: a. In a section of the brief required by Local Civil Rule 56.1(a) styled “Statement of Undisputed Material Facts,” the movant must- shall set forth in simple, declarative sentences, separately numbered and paragraphed, each material fact that the movant believes is not in dispute and that supports the movant’s claim that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. b. Each material fact must be accompanied by a specific refer- ence to material in the record that establishes that fact. General ref- erences to pleadings, depositions, or documents are usually insuffi- cient if the document is more than one page in length. c.a. A general reference is sufficient only if the nature of the material fact does not permit a specific reference (e.g., “The contract contains no provision for termination.”). 2. Responses to Rule 56 motions must comply with the following: a. Any party opposing the motion for summary judgment shall, iIn a section of the response brief styled “Response to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts,” the opposing party must admit or deny each of the movant’s asserted material facts. TheEach admission or denial mustshall be made in a separate paragraph numbered accord- ing to the correspondingly numbered paragraph in the movant’s “Statement of Undisputed Facts.” Any denial mustshall be accompa- nied by a brief factual explanation of the reason(s) for the denial and a specific reference to material in the record supporting the denial. - 14 - b. If the party opposing the motion believes that there are addi- tional disputed questions of factmaterial facts that have not been ad- equately addressed in its “Response to Statement of Undisputed Facts”the submissions made pursuant to subparagraph (d) above (e.g., disputed facts concerning an affirmative defense), the party mustshall, in a separate section of the brief styled “Statement of Ad- ditional Disputed Facts,” set forth in simple, declarative sentences, separately numbered and paragraphed and numbered continuing from the previous list, each additional, material disputed fact that undercuts the movant’s claim that it is entitled to judgment as a mat- ter of law. Each such fact mustshall be accompanied by a specific ref- erence to material in the record establishing the fact or demonstrat- ing that it is in genuine disputed. 2.3. Any reply brief in support of a Rule 56 motion must comply with the following: a. In a separate section of the brief styled “Reply Concerning Un- disputed Facts,” the movant mustshall include any factual reply it cares to make regarding the facts asserted in its motion to be undis- puted, supported by specific references to material in the record. TheEach reply mustwill be made in a separate paragraphs numbered according to the corresponding paragraph in its motion and the op- posing party’s response. - 15 - b. If the response brief contains a “Statement of Additional Facts” pursuant to subparagraph (2)(b) above, the movant must, iIn a separate section of the reply brief styled “Response to Statement of AdditionalConcerning Disputed Facts,” (with respect to each addi- tional fact that the opposing party asserts or, pursuant to subpara- graph (e) above, claims to be in dispute), the movant shall either ad- mit that the fact or that it is in genuine disputed or supply a brief factual explanation for its position that the fact is undisputed, sup- portedaccompanied by a specific reference to material in the record establishing the fact is undisputed. This mustwill be done in separate paragraphs numbered according to the corresponding paragraphs in with the opposing party’s responseparagraph numbering. 3.4. In any admission or denial, the party must admit or deny the factual substance of the other party’s assertion, unless doing so would violate a recognized privilege. To this end, the following restrictions ap- ply: a. The opposingA party may not deny an assertion on grounds of evidentiary admissibility or other reasons for inadmissibility (includ- ing, irrelevance, immateriality, lack of authenticity, lack of founda- tion, incompleteness, waiver, or estoppel). The opposingA party “may object that the material cited to support or dispute a fact cannot be presented in a form that would be admissible in evidenceat trial,” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(2), and any party so objecting must include a concise explanation of its objection, but the party must still admit or deny the factual substance of the assertion. b. The opposing party may not deny an assertion for lack of knowledge, unless the party states within the body of its response a well-grounded request for additional discovery under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(d) and attaches to the response the affidavit or declaration required by that Rule. - 16 - c. The opposingA party may not admit an assertion in terms such as “admitted that John Doe claims such-and-such,” unless the assertion itself is framed in terms of what John Doe “claims.” d. The opposingA party may not respond that a quoted or sum- marized document “speaks for itself,” or similar phrases. When faced with such assertions, the opposing party must address their sub- stance, including, for example, an admission or denial that the rele- vant portion of the document has been quoted or summarized accu- rately or completely. 4.5. The sole purpose of these procedures is to establish facts and determine which of them are in genuine dispute. Legal argument is not permitted herein the sections of the briefs submitted pursuant to sub- paragraphs (1)-(3) above, and instead should be reserved for separate portions of the briefs. If, for example, a party believes that an estab- lished fact is immaterial, that belief should be expressed in the part of the brief devoted to legal argument, and the fact should be admitted. If, on the other hand, a party believes that the reference to material in the record does not support the claimed fact, that fact may be denied, and factual argument may appropriately be made pursuant to these proce- dures. e. See Local Civil Rule 56.1(c) regarding submission and mark- ing of summary judgment exhibits. All summary judgment exhibits shall be labeled in the CM/ECF system both by exhibit number or letter and by name (e.g., “Exhibit 1 - Smith Affidavit”). 6. Failure to follow these procedures may result in an order striking or denying the motion or brief, and it will have to be re-submitted. Re- peated failures may result in an order granting other proper relief. - 17 - J. Motions to Exclude Expert Testimony – Fed. R. Evid. 702 1. A party objecting to the admissibility of opinion testimony by an expert witness mustshall file a written motion seeking its exclusion. If a deadline for filing such motions is not set in the scheduling order, such motions must be filed thirty days after the deadline for disclosure of rebuttal expert witnesses. The time for filing responses and replies is- shall be governed by Local Civil Rule 7.1(d). Failure to raise an issue concerning a putative expert witness (whether under Federal Rule of Evidence 401, 403, 702, and/or 704) in the time and manner set forth herein will constitute a waiver or forfeiture of the issue.(The failure of an opponent to file such a motion, however, does not relieve the propo- nent of its burden to show that the proffered testimony is admissible at trial.) 2. The motion mustshall identify with specificity each opinion the moving party seeks to exclude. The motion mustshall also identify the specific ground(s) on which each opinion is challenged, e.g., relevan- cyqualifications, helpfulness, sufficiency of facts andor data, reliability of methodology or its application. See Fed. R. Evid. 702. 3. If the opinion(s) wasere disclosed in a written expert report pur- suant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B), a complete copy of the report mustshall be attached as an exhibit to the motion. 4.3. If a deadline for filing such motions is not set in the scheduling order, such motions must be filed thirty days after the deadline for dis- closure of rebuttal expert witnesses. The time for filing responses and replies shall be governed by Local Civil Rule 7.1(d). - 18 - K. Untimely or Noncomplying PapersMotions, Objections, Responses, or Replies 1. PleadingsMotions, objections, responses, replies, briefs, or other papers that are untimely, noncomplying, or filed without a certification when required under Local Civil Rule 7.1(a) or these Practice Standards may be denied without prejudice or stricken sua sponte. IV. TRIALS A. Trial Scheduling and PreparationFinal Pretrial Conference/Trial Preparation Conference 1. The Court generally will generally contact the parties to set a trial date and Final Pretrial Conference/Trial Preparation Conference date(s) after the dispositive- motions deadline has passed and the Court has issued rulings on all pendingsuch motions. If there are no pending mo- tions and the Court has not contacted the parties or issued an order re- garding trial scheduling within one month after the dispositive-motions deadline has passed, counsel and pro se parties may email Chambers at [email protected] and politely inquire regarding trial scheduling. Such email messages should identify the case number and name in the subject line and copy all counsel of record. 2. In most cases, the Court will combineset the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(e) Final Pretrial Conference with a Trial Preparation Con- ference, held approximately three to four weeks before trial and a sepa- rate Trial Preparation Conference the week before trial. Counsel who will try the case must attend both conferences. - 19 - 2.3. Once a trial date and Final Pretrial Conference/Trial Prepara- tion Conference date(s) have been set, tThe Court will issue a trial prep- arationn order specifying the pretrial tasks to be completed (e.g., pro- posed Final Pretrial Order, motions in limine, proposed jury instruc- tions, etc.) and the deadlines for those tasks. B. Jury Trials 1. The jury in civil cases will normally consist of nine jurors. Pursu- ant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 47(b) and 28 U.S.C. § 1870, each side shall have three peremptory challenges. 2.1. Challenges pursuant to Batson v. Kentucky, (1986), mustshall be made and considered after peremptory challenges haveare concluded and before the jury is sworn. A party that wants to preserve a Batson challenge should request that the Court not to release any jurors subject to the challenge. 3.2. Jurors will be permitted to take notes during the trial. 4.3. The jury will be instructed before closing argument, and eEach juror will be given a copy of the written jury instructions for use during deliberations. - 20 -

=== (PDF) ===

PRACTICE STANDARDS FOR CRIMINAL CASES Judge Daniel D. Domenico United States District Court for the District of Colorado Courtroom A1002 Chambers A1038 Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse 901 19th Street Denver, CO 80294 Telephone: (303) 335-2468 Email: [email protected] Revised: December 2025 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. GENERAL PROCEDURES ................................................................ 1 A. Applicable Rules ............................................................................ 1 B. Communications with Chambers ................................................. 1 C. Citations ........................................................................................ 2 D. Typeface ......................................................................................... 2 II. COURTROOM PROCEDURES ......................................................... 2 A. Courtroom Operations .................................................................. 2 B. Recording of Proceedings .............................................................. 2 C. Exhibits .......................................................................................... 3 III.MOTIONS AND OBJECTIONS PRACTICE .................................... 3 A. Length Limitations........................................................................ 3 B. Responses and Replies .................................................................. 4 C. Proposed Orders ............................................................................ 5 D. Exhibits .......................................................................................... 5 E. Emergency Motions ....................................................................... 6 F. Motions to Continue Hearings and Trials .................................... 6 G. Speedy Trial Act ............................................................................ 7 IV. TRIALS ............................................................................................... 7 A. Trial Scheduling and Preparation ................................................ 7 B. Jury Trials ..................................................................................... 7 V. PLEA AGREEMENTS ........................................................................ 8 A. Treatment of Notice of Disposition ............................................... 8 ii I. GENERAL PROCEDURES A. Applicable Rules 1. Those appearing in the District Court must know and follow: a. The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure; b. The Federal Rules of Evidence; c. The Local Rules of Practice of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado; d. The Electronic Case Filing Procedures (Criminal Cases) of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado; and e. These Practice Standards for Criminal Cases. 2. Failure to comply with the foregoing rules or procedures or these Practice Standards may result in appropriate sanctions. B. Communications with Chambers 1. Please do not call Chambers. Instead, inquiries to Chambers (e.g., questions about procedure or clarifications to these Practice Stand- ards) should be made via email to Domenico_Chambers@cod. uscourts.gov. Email messages to Chambers should identify the case number and name in the subject line and copy all counsel of record. Chambers staff cannot give legal advice or grant informal requests not made via motion, so please do not contact Chambers about substantive matters. 2. For questions about filing documents electronically, please con- tact the ECF Help Desk at (303) 335-2050, (866) 365-6381, or cod_ [email protected]. For other case filing and docketing ques- tions, please contact the Court’s Case Administration Specialist at (303) 335-2074. - 1 - C. Citations 1. Citation and formatting may be in Bluebook form or in any man- ner that consistently, accurately, and understandably conveys the sup- porting authorities necessary to support a party’s legal argument. 2. These Practice Standards may be cited as “DDD Crim. P.S. XX” (e.g., “DDD Crim. P.S. III(A)(1)”). 3. Whenever practicable, a citation to an unpublished opinion should include its Westlaw® citation. If an unpublished opinion is not readily available on Westlaw® or LexisNexis®, attach it as an exhibit to the brief or other paper. D. Typeface 1. All papers filed with the Court must be in a proportionally spaced, serif font. II. COURTROOM PROCEDURES A. Courtroom Operations 1. For information regarding the courtroom, including instructions on how to proceed by telephone conference or video teleconference, court- room equipment and technology, courtroom protocol, trial preparation and submission of trial exhibits, and the use of exhibits and deposition transcripts at hearings or trial, please contact the Courtroom Deputy, Robb Keech, at [email protected]. B. Recording of Proceedings 1. To order transcripts of proceedings, please contact the Court Re- porter, Tamara Hoffschildt, at [email protected]. Re- quests for real-time, daily, or hourly copy must be made at least thirty days before the trial or hearing. - 2 - 2. Not later than five business days before any hearing, trial, or other proceeding, counsel and any pro se party must file a glossary of any difficult, unusual, scientific, or technical words, names, places, terms, or phrases. C. Exhibits 1. Counsel must confer and agree from the commencement of dis- covery on a numbering system that will avoid confusion and duplication, and that will allow the same exhibit number to be used for each exhibit for hearing and trial purposes (e.g., the employment contract at issue would be the same exhibit with the same number for all hearings and at trial). All exhibits should be identified by number only (e.g., “Exhibit 1,” not “Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1”). Numbers for trial exhibits need not be con- secutive. 2. Each party must pre-mark all exhibits that will be used or iden- tified for the record at a hearing or trial. The case number must appear on each exhibit sticker or label. III. MOTIONS AND OBJECTIONS PRACTICE A. Length Limitations 1. All motions, objections, responses, and briefs must not exceed 4,000 words. Reply briefs must not exceed 2,700 words. 2. These length limitations include footnotes, but exclude the case caption, any table of contents or table of authorities, signature block, certificate of service, and certificate of compliance with the applicable length limitation. Motions and opening briefs must be combined in a single document and will be considered one paper for purposes of the applicable length limitation. - 3 - 3. All motions, objections, responses, and briefs must contain a sep- arate statement, immediately after the signature block, certifying that the paper complies with the applicable length limitation set forth in these Practice Standards (e.g., “I hereby certify that the foregoing paper complies with the length limitation set forth in DDD Crim. P.S. III(A)(1).”). 4. A party may file a motion to exceed the applicable length limita- tion explaining the reasons why additional length is necessary. Any such motion must be filed no later than three business days before the date the motion, response, reply, or other paper is due. 5. For any party who does not have access to a word-processing sys- tem with a word-count function, typewritten or legibly handwritten pa- pers are subject to page limits instead of the word limits of paragraph (1) above. The following equivalents should be used: a. 2,700 words = 10 pages; b. 4,000 words = 15 pages; and c. 5,500 words = 20 pages. B. Responses and Replies 1. A response must clearly and completely identify by title and CM/ECF docket number the antecedent motion, objection, or other pa- per to which the response is made. Similarly, a reply must clearly and completely identify by title and CM/ECF docket number the antecedent paper the reply supports and the antecedent response to which the reply is made. No sur-reply or supplemental brief is permitted without leave of Court. - 4 - 2. A notice of supplemental authority may be filed if new relevant authority is issued after briefing closed on a motion, objection, or other pending issue. Such a notice must be limited to (a) a citation to the new authority including the date of issuance, and (b) a single-sentence refer- ence to the issue to which the filing party believes the new authority pertains (including a citation to the location(s) in previously filed brief- ing where the issue was raised). If the new authority is not readily avail- able on Westlaw® or LexisNexis®, attach it as an exhibit to the notice. No comment, briefing, or response as to the significance or interpreta- tion of the new authority is permitted without leave of Court. No notice of supplemental authority regarding any authority that issued before the close of briefing may be filed without leave of Court. C. Proposed Orders 1. Proposed orders submitted pursuant to the Local Rules of Prac- tice or at the direction of the Court must be filed via CM/ECF and emailed to [email protected] in editable Word for- mat, copying all counsel of record. The subject line of the email should identify the case number and name and the CM/ECF docket number of the underlying motion. D. Exhibits 1. Exhibits to motions, objections, responses, and briefs must be la- beled in the CM/ECF system both by exhibit number and by name (e.g., “Exhibit 1 - Smith Affidavit”). - 5 - 2. Copies of documents attached as exhibits to a motion, objection, or other opening brief should not be attached as exhibits to the response, and copies of documents attached as exhibits to a response should not be attached as exhibits to a reply. Any additional exhibit should be at- tached to the corresponding response or reply and consecutively num- bered. 3. Voluminous exhibits are discouraged. Parties should limit exhib- its to essential portions of documents. E. Emergency Motions 1. Emergency motions are only those necessary to avoid imminent, irreparable harm. Counsel filing an emergency motion should ensure that: (1) the caption of the motion begins with the word “Emergency”; (2) the motion is electronically filed using the CM/ECF drop-down menu option entitled “Emergency” on the docket-text modification screen; and (3) Chambers is notified of the motion by email to Domenico_Cham- [email protected] and copying all counsel of record, with a subject line containing “Emergency Motion,” the case number and name, and the CM/ECF docket number of the motion. F. Motions to Continue Hearings and Trials 1. Motions to continue (including motions to vacate or reset) hear- ings and trials will be determined pursuant to United States v. West, 828 F.2d 1468, 1469-70 (10th Cir. 1987). If a party seeks to continue a hear- ing or trial outside of Speedy Trial Act deadlines, it will also be decided pursuant to the Speedy Trial Act. Oral or written motions to continue made at the time of a hearing or trial may not be entertained by the Court. Stipulated motions for continuance are not effective unless and until approved by the Court. - 6 - G. Speedy Trial Act 1. Every motion filed must include a statement concerning the sta- tus of, and the impact the motion may have, on the Speedy Trial Act clock. IV. TRIALS A. Trial Scheduling and Preparation 1. The Court generally will set a trial date and Trial Preparation Conference date after the Arraignment and Discovery Hearing and the issuance of the Discovery Conference Memorandum. If the Court has not contacted the parties or issued an order regarding trial scheduling within two business days after the Discovery Conference Memorandum has issued, counsel and pro se parties may email Chambers at Domeni [email protected] and politely inquire regarding trial scheduling. Such email messages should identify the case number and name in the subject line and copy all counsel of record. 2. In most cases, the Court will set a Trial Preparation Conference the week before trial. Counsel who will try the case must attend. 3. The Court’s order setting the trial date and Trial Preparation Conference date will specify the pretrial tasks to be completed (e.g., mo- tions in limine, proposed jury instructions, etc.) and the deadlines for those tasks. B. Jury Trials 1. Challenges pursuant to Batson v. Kentucky, (1986), must be made after peremptory challenges have concluded and before the jury is sworn. A party that wants to preserve a Batson challenge should request that the Court not release any jurors subject to the chal- lenge. - 7 - 2. Jurors will be permitted to take notes during the trial. 3. Each juror will be given a copy of the written jury instructions for use during deliberations. V. PLEA AGREEMENTS A. Treatment of Notice of Disposition 1. Any notice of disposition filed pursuant to Local Criminal Rule 11.1(a) will be considered to trigger the exclusion of Speedy Trial Act time pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(1)(G). - 8 -

=== (PDF) ===

PRACTICE STANDARDS FOR CRIMINAL CASES (Criminal Cases) Judge Daniel D. Domenico United States District Court for the District of Colorado Courtroom A1002702 Chambers A1038 Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse Chambers A738, Seventh Floor 901 19th Street. Denver, CO 80294 Telephone: (303) 335-2468 Email: [email protected] Revised: December 202519 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS I. GENERAL PROCEDURES ................................................................ 1 A. Applicable Rules ............................................................................ 1 B. Communications with Chambers ................................................. 1 C. Citations ........................................................................................ 2 D. Typeface ......................................................................................... 2 II. COURTROOM PROCEDURES ......................................................... 2 A. Courtroom Operations .................................................................. 2 B. Recording of Proceedings .............................................................. 2 C. Exhibits .......................................................................................... 3 III.MOTIONS AND OBJECTIONS PRACTICE .................................... 3 A. Length Limitations........................................................................ 3 B. Responses and Replies .................................................................. 4 C. Proposed Orders ............................................................................ 5 D. Exhibits .......................................................................................... 5 E. Emergency Motions ....................................................................... 6 F. Motions to Continue Hearings and Trials .................................... 6 G. Speedy Trial Act ............................................................................ 7 IV. TRIALS ............................................................................................... 7 A. Trial Scheduling and Preparation ................................................ 7 B. Jury Trials ..................................................................................... 7 V. PLEA AGREEMENTS ........................................................................ 8 A. Treatment of Notice of Disposition ............................................... 8 iii I. GENERAL PROCEDURES A. Applicable Rules 1. Those appearing in the District Court must know and follow: a. The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure; b. The Federal Rules of Evidence; c. The Local Rules of Practice of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado; d. The Electronic Case Filing Procedures (Criminal Cases) of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado; and e. These Practice Standards for Criminal Cases. 2. Failure to comply with the foregoing rules or procedures or these Practice Standards of this Court may result in the imposition of appro- priate sanctions. B. Communications with Chambers 1. Please do not call Chambers. Instead, inquiries to Chambers (e.g., questions about procedure or clarifications to these Practice Stand- ards) should be made via email to Domenico_Chambers@cod. uscourts.gov. Please do not call Chambers. Email messages to Cham- bers should identify the case number and name in the subject line and copy all counsel of record. Chambers staff cannot give legal advice or grant informal requests not made via motion, so please do not contact Chambers about substantive matters. 1.2. For informationquestions about filing documents electroni- cally, please contact the ECF Help Desk at (866) 365-6381 or (303) 335-2050, (866) 365-6381, or [email protected]. For other case filing and docketing questions, please contact the Court’s Case Administration Specialist at (303) 335-2074. - 1 - C. Citations 1. Citation and formatting may be in Bluebook form or in any man- ner that consistently, accurately, and understandably conveys the sup- porting authorities necessary to support a party’s legal argument. 2. Though it is not mandatory, counsel may wish to consult the short citation guide prepared by Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, a copy of which is available at https:// www.law.gmu.edu/assets/files/faculty/Posner_citation_formatting_ rules.pdf. 3.2. These Practice Standards may be cited as “DDD Crim. P.S. XX” (e.g., “DDD Crim. P.S. III(A)(1)”). 4.3. Whenever practicable, a citation to an unpublished opinion should include its Westlaw® citation. If an unpublished opinion is not readily available on Westlaw® or LexisNexis®, attach it as an exhibit to the brief or other paper. D. Typeface 1. All papers filed with the Court mustshall be in a proportionally spaced, serif font. E.A. Proposed Orders 1. Proposed orders submitted pursuant to the Local Rules of Prac- tice or at the direction of the Court shall be filed via CM/ECF and emailed to [email protected] in editable Word for- mat. The email message should identify the case name and number in the subject line and refer to the underlying motion by CM/ECF number. - 2 - F.A. Continuances of Hearings and Trials 1. Motions to continue (including motions to vacate or reset) hear- ings and trials shall be determined pursuant to United States v. West, 828 F.2d 1468, 1469-70 (10th Cir. 1987). If a party seeks to continue a hearing or trial outside of Speedy Trial Act deadlines, it will also be de- cided pursuant to the Speedy Trial Act. Oral or written motions to con- tinue made at the time of a hearing or trial may not be entertained by the Court. Stipulations for continuance shall not be effective unless and until approved by the Court. G.A. Emergency Motions 1. Emergency motions are only those necessary to avoid imminent, irreparable harm. Counsel filing an emergency motion should ensure that: (1) the caption of the motion begins with the word “emergency”; (2) the motion is electronically filed using the CM/ECF drop-down menu option entitled “Emergency” on the docket text modification screen; and (3) Chambers is notified of the motion by email at Domenico_Cham- [email protected], with a subject line containing “Emergency Mo- tion,” and the case name and number. II. COURTROOM PROCEDURES A. Courtroom Operations 1. For information regarding the courtroom, including instructions on how to proceed by telephone conference or video teleconferencetele- phonic connection, courtroom equipment and technology, courtroom pro- tocol, trial preparation and submission of trial exhibits, and the use of exhibits and deposition transcripts at hearings or trial, the submission of trial exhibits and witness lists, and the use of exhibits at trial, please contact the Courtroom Deputy, Patricia GloverRobb Keech, at Robb [email protected](303) 335-2185. - 3 - B. Recording of Proceedings 1. The realtime reporter assigned to the court is Tracy Weir at (303) 335-2358. Transcripts of proceedings may be ordered from Ms. Weir. To order transcripts of proceedings, please contact the Court Re- porter, Tamara Hoffschildt, at [email protected]. Re- quests for real-time, daily, or hourly copy must be made at least 30thirty days before the trial or hearing. For further details, contact Ms. Weir. 2. Not later than five business days before any hearing, trial, or other proceeding, counsel and any pro se party mustshall file and pro- vide the Court, the court reporter, courtroom deputy clerk, opposing counsel, and any pro se party with a glossary of any difficult, unusual, scientific, or technical words, names, places, terms, or phrases. C. Exhibits 1. Each party must pre-mark all exhibits that will be used or iden- tified for the record in a hearing or trial. The case number shall appear on each exhibit sticker or label. - 4 - 2.1. Counsel mustshall confer and agree from the commencement of discovery on a numbering system that will avoid confusion and dupli- cation, and that will allow the same exhibit number to be used for each exhibit for hearingdeposition and trial purposes (e.g., the employment contract at issue would be the same exhibit with the same number for all hearingsdepositions and at trial). All exhibits should be identified by number only (e.g., “Exhibit 1,” not “Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1”). Counsel shall confer and agree from the commencement of discovery on a numbering system that will avoid confusion and duplication, and that will allow the same exhibit number to be used for each exhibit for deposition and trial purposes (e.g., the employment contract at issue would be the same ex- hibit with the same number for all depositions and at trial). Numbers for trial exhibits need not be consecutive. 2. Each party must pre-mark all exhibits that will be used or iden- tified for the record atin a hearing or trial. The case number mustshall appear on each exhibit sticker or label. III. MOTIONS AND OBJECTIONS PRACTICE A. Length Limitations 1. All motions, objections, responses, and briefs mustshall not ex- ceed 4,000 words. Reply briefs mustshall not exceed 2,700 words. 2. These lengthtype-volume limitations shall include footnotes, but shall exclude the case caption, any table of contents or table of authori- ties, signature block, certificate of service, and certificate of compliance with the applicable lengthtype-volume limitations. Motions and opening briefs mustshall be combined in a single document and willshall be con- sidered one paper for purposes of the applicable lengthtype-volume lim- itations. - 5 - 3. All motions, objections, responses, and briefsEach pleading must contain a separate statement, immediately after the signature block, certifying that the paperpleading complies with the applicable lengthtype-volume limitations set forth in these Practice Standards. (e.g., “I hereby certify that the foregoing paperpleading complies with the lengthtype-volume limitation set forth in Judge Domenico’s Practice Standard DDD Crim. P.S. III(A)(1).”). 4. A party may file a motion to exceed the applicable lengthword limitation explaining the reasons why additional length iswords are nec- essary. Any such motion mustshall be filed no later than three busi- ness days before the date the motion, response, reply, or other paper is due. 5. For any party who does not have access to a word-processing sys- tem with a word-count function, typewritten or legibly handwritten pa- perspleadings are subject to page limitations instead of the word limits of paragraph (1) above. The following equivalents should be used: a. 2,700 words = 10 pages; b. 4,000 words = 15 pages; and c. 5,500 words = 20 pages. B. Responses and Replies 1. A response mustshall clearly and completely identify by title and, court CM/ECF docket number, and date filed, the antecedent motion, objection, or other paper or petition to which the response is made. Sim- ilarly, a reply mustshall clearly and completely identify by title and, court CM/ECF docket number, and date filed, the antecedent paper the reply supports and the antecedent response to which the reply is made. No sur-reply or supplemental brief is permitted without leave of Court. - 6 - 1.2. A notice of supplemental authority may be filed if new rele- vant authority is issued after briefing closed on a motion, objection, or other pending issue. Such a notice must be limited to (a) a citation to the new authority including the date of issuance, and (b) a single-sentence reference to the issue to which the filing party believes the new author- ity pertains (including a citation to the location(s) in previously filed briefing where the issue was raised). If the new authority is not readily available on Westlaw® or LexisNexis®, attach it as an exhibit to the notice. No comment, briefing, or response as to the significance or inter- pretation of the new authority is permitted without leave of Court. No notice of supplemental authority regarding any authority that issued before the close of briefing may be filed without leave of Court. C. Proposed Orders 1. Proposed orders submitted pursuant to the Local Rules of Prac- tice or at the direction of the Court mustshall be filed via CM/ECF and emailed to [email protected] in editable Word for- mat, copying all counsel of record. The subject line of the email message should identify the case number and name and number in the subject line and refer to the CM/ECF docket number of the underlying motion by CM/ECF number. D. Exhibits 1. Exhibits to motions, objections, responses, and briefs must be la- beled in the CM/ECF system both by exhibit number and by name (e.g., “Exhibit 1 - Smith Affidavit”). - 7 - 2. Copies of documents attached as exhibits to a motion, objection, or other opening brief should not be attached as exhibits to the response, and copies of documents attached as exhibits to a response should not be attached as exhibits to a reply. Any additional exhibit should be at- tached to the corresponding response or reply and consecutively num- bered. 3. Voluminous exhibits are discouraged. Parties should limit exhib- its to essential portions of documents. E. Emergency Motions 1. Emergency motions are only those necessary to avoid imminent, irreparable harm. Counsel filing an emergency motion should ensure that: (1) the caption of the motion begins with the word “eEmergency”; (2) the motion is electronically filed using the CM/ECF drop-down menu option entitled “Emergency” on the docket- text modification screen; and (3) Chambers is notified of the motion by email atto Domenico_Cham- [email protected] and copying all counsel of record, with a subject line containing “Emergency Motion,” and the case number and name, and the CM/ECF docket number of the motion. F. Motions to Continueances of Hearings and Trials 1. Motions to continue (including motions to vacate or reset) hear- ings and trials willshall be determined pursuant to United States v. West, 828 F.2d 1468, 1469-70 (10th Cir. 1987). If a party seeks to con- tinue a hearing or trial outside of Speedy Trial Act deadlines, it will also be decided pursuant to the Speedy Trial Act. Oral or written motions to continue made at the time of a hearing or trial may not be entertained by the Court. Stipulated motions for continuance areshall not be effec- tive unless and until approved by the Court. - 8 - C.G. Speedy Trial Act 1. Every motion filed mustshall include a statement concerning the status of, and the impact the motion may have, on the sSpeedy tTrial Act clock. IV. TRIALS A. Trial Scheduling and Preparation Conference 1. The Court generally will generally contact the parties to set a trial date and Trial Preparation Conference date after the Arraignment and Discovery Hearing and the issuance of the Discovery Conference Mem- orandumcounsel for both sides have entered an appearance. If the Court has not contacted the parties or issued an order regarding trial schedul- ing within two business days after the Discovery Conference Memoran- dum has issued, counsel and pro se parties may email Chambers at Do [email protected] and politely inquire regarding trial scheduling. Such email messages should identify the case number and name in the subject line and copy all counsel of record. 2. In most cases, the Court will set aThe Trial Preparation Confer- ence the week before trialwill usually be held approximately four to seven days before trial. Counsel who will try the case must attend. 2.3. The Court’s order setting the trial date and Trial Preparation Conference date will specify the pretrial tasks to be completed (e.g., mo- tions in limine, proposed jury instructions, etc.) and the deadlines for those tasks. B. Jury Trials 1. The jury in criminal cases will normally consist of twelve jurors, and the Court may in its discretion impanel alternate jurors pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 24(c). Each side shall have the number of peremptory challenges prescribed by Fed. R. Crim. P. 24(b) and (c)(4). - 9 - 2.1. Challenges pursuant to Batson v. Kentucky, (1986), mustshall be made and considered after peremptory challenges haveare concluded and before the jury is sworn. A party that wants to preserve a Batson challenge should request that the Court not to release any jurors subject to the challenge. 3.2. Jurors will be permitted to take notes during the trial. 4.3. The jury will be instructed before closing argument, and eEach juror will be given a copy of the written jury instructions for use during deliberations. V. PLEA AGREEMENTS A. Treatment of Notice of Disposition 1. Any notice of disposition filed pursuant to Local Criminal Rule 11.1(a) willshall be considered to trigger the exclusion of Speedy Trial Act time pursuant tobe a proposed plea agreement within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(1)(G) for the purpose of computing time under the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 3161-74. - 10 -

=== (PDF) ===

CASE CAPTION: _______________________________________ CASE NO.: _____________________ EXHIBIT LIST OF: _____________________________________ (Name and Party Designation) Exhibit Witness Brief Description Stipulation Offered Admitted Refused Court Use Only Exhibit Witness Brief Description Stipulation Offered Admitted Refused Court Use Only

=== (PDF) ===

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO Judge Daniel D. Domenico Case No. _________________________ Date:_________________ Case Title: ____________________________________________________________ _______________________________ WITNESS LIST (Plaintiff/Defendant) WITNESS ESTIMATED DATE(S) AND LENGTH OF TESTIMONY __________________________________ _____________________ __________________________________ _____________________ __________________________________ _____________________ __________________________________ _____________________ __________________________________ _____________________ __________________________________ _____________________ __________________________________ _____________________ __________________________________ _____________________ __________________________________ _____________________ __________________________________ _____________________ __________________________________ _____________________ __________________________________ _____________________ __________________________________ _____________________