Requirements

=== Requirements === United States District Judge Henry Edward Autrey Courtroom 10N Address 111 S. 10th Street, Suite 10.148 St. Louis, MO 63102 Phone (314) 244-7450 Fax (314) 244-7459 Judicial Assistant Beverly Goff Case Management Team Chelsea Hutson Team Leader (314) 244-7911 Jennifer Bailey (314) 244-7584 Heather Aubuchon (314) 244-6743 Jessica Zupnik (314) 244-7449 ___________________ Law Clerks Mindy Finan Lynn Reid Court Reporter Angela Daley (314)-244-7978 Requirements NOTE TO ATTORNEYS Judge Autrey is participating in the Jury Evidence System (JES) for jury trials. The Jury Evidence System allows jurors to review evidence (documentary, photo, or video exhibits) on a large LED monitor using a touch screen PC during their deliberations. By using the Jury Evidence System, jurors can jointly view evidence multiple times, control playback of video evidence, and zoom in on photographic evidence at their own pace as needed from the jury deliberation room. Attorneys will be requested to provide digitized copies of all exhibits agreed upon and accepted by the Judge to the Clerk on Duty.

Upon request from the Jurors, those documents will then be loaded into the Jury Evidence System for Jurors to have access to during deliberation. Documents should be saved in Microsoft word or PDF, photos should be saved as JPEG, and videos should be saved as WMV, or MP4. If you have questions or concerns, please contact the Case Management Team at 314-244-7533.

INFORMALS

All informals shall be submitted in writing and filed in CM/ECF. All informals will be submitted to Judge Autrey and the ruling will be sent to all attorneys of record via CM/ECF. Informals are given to Judge Autrey within 24 hours of filing. If an informal needs more immediate attention or a conference is being requested, please call Judge Autrey’s judicial assistant, or a member of Judge Autrey's Case Management Team.

ATTORNEY ADMISSIONS

Please contact Judge Autrey’s judicial assistant, or the Case Management Team, to schedule an admission.

COURT DOCKET

The court docket is managed by the Judge’s judicial assistant and the Judge’s Case Management Team in the Clerk's Office. The Judicial Assistant or Case Management Team will handle all questions regarding the docket.

TRIAL DOCKET

Judge Autrey's trial docket is a one-week docket. All cases are set on Monday and ride the docket for the week, which means the parties/litigants are to be ready for call to trial anytime during the setting week. Criminal cases take a priority over Civil cases for trial. Attorneys or pro se parties should notify the Judicial Assistant or Team Leader, well in advance of the date of trial, if their case requires special attention by the Court.

All cases are set for trial on a date certain. Cases will be tried in the order best suited for the docket with consideration given to such factors as the age of the case, the anticipated length of the trial, etc. If a case settles, the next case on the docket is expected to be ready for trial. Attorneys and pro se parties are encouraged to keep in contact with the Judicial Assistant or Team Leader for an update of the current docket. In the event that a case gets bumped due to the trial of another matter the parties will be informed of same and will be provided with a new trial setting.

RULE 16 CONFERENCES Judge Autrey conducts most Rule 16 conferences in person when necessary but will conduct some via telephone upon request of the parties if an attorney is farther away than 100 miles. An Order Setting Rule 16 Conference is issued requiring the parties to meet and to prepare a proposed Joint Scheduling Plan (JSP). The JSP is to be filed with the court no later than 10 days prior to the scheduled Rule 16. Unless otherwise ordered, the plaintiff is responsible for initiating the meeting and filing the JSP.

The court encourages cooperation between the parties in preparing and filing the JSP. A lack of cooperation does not relieve a party from complying with the requirement to file a JSP. If a party finds the need to file a separate JSP, a memorandum should be attached to the JSP explaining why a joint plan cannot be filed. The Rule 16 conference will be at a scheduled time and any problems the parties have in working together will be addressed.

In the event the Rule 16 conference is to be conducted via telephone, the court will initiate the conference call. The Rule 16 conference in cases involving a pro se party will be held in the courtroom and on the record. After the Rule 16 conference, a Case Management Order (CMO) will be issued.

CASE MANAGEMENT ORDERS A

Case Management Order (CMO) is entered pursuant to the discussion at the Rule 16 conference. Any requests for changes, modification, or amendment of a CMO shall be made in writing and filed in the Clerk's Office for submission to Judge Autrey for ruling. Requests for changes in the CMO with respect to trial dates and deadlines for dispositive motions are not routinely granted and must be supported by statements of good cause. SEALED DOCUMENTS/PROTECTIVE ORDERS Proposed protective orders and motions for protective orders submitted to the court for approval shall be filed and consistent in form and substance with the provisions of Local Rule 13.05 as it may relate to the public access of court records.

Protective orders shall contain a date certain as to when the seal will be lifted or the documents returned to the parties. A proposed protective order lacking a date certain for the lifting of the seal or the return of documents to the parties will be denied without prejudice.

PATENT CASES

The Eastern District has implemented Local Rules applicable to Patent Cases. The Local Patent Rules are located under Local Rules. Judge Autrey requests counsel in Patent cases to familiarize themselves with the Local Patent Rules in particular.

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Civil cases (except habeas corpus) will be referred to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) upon request by the parties. Plaintiff’s counsel, or any counsel the parties agree to, will be designated as lead counsel who shall work with opposing counsel to select a neutral and notify the court clerk of the agreed upon neutral, no later than twenty days from the start of the referral. Please note that once the case has been referred to ADR, those deadlines are binding and may only be extended by order of the Court. Lead counsel will be contacted by the Court if deadlines have expired.

A list of approved neutrals and the Court’s ADR referral procedure may be obtained from the Clerk’s Office. The Court retains the authority to appoint a neutral other than one from the list of approved neutrals. If a settlement is reached, the Court shall be notified immediately and parties shall file a Stipulation for Dismissal within thirty days. The Court shall also be notified immediately if a settlement is not reached so the case can proceed to trial.

PRETRIAL CONFERENCES

The Court will, in its discretion, conduct pretrial conferences in criminal and civil cases. In the event a pretrial conference is required, it shall occur no later than seven (7) days before trial.

VOIR DIRE IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CASES

After initial questions by the Court, counsel may conduct the voir dire subject to time limits. The voir dire specifics, such as time limits, will be outlined at the pretrial conference. In every case, the Court reserves the right to conduct the voir dire. In such cases, counsel will be encouraged to submit voir dire questions to the Court no later than five (5) days before trial.