Criminal Scheduling Order.

(a) Criminal Scheduling Order. On or about the day of arraignment, the magistrate judge shall enter a Criminal Scheduling Order in all felony criminal cases. A Criminal Scheduling Order promotes the policy underlying Fed. R. Crim. P. Rule 2 to provide just determination, simplicity, fairness in administration, and eliminate unjustifiable expense and delay. The Criminal Scheduling Order also will initiate self-executing discovery procedures, provide a case with an appropriate trial date and deadlines, facilitate effective assistance of counsel, and reduce other expenses and delays.

Counsel must prepare diligently for trial in a criminal case. Counsel are discouraged, absent good cause shown, from seeking multiple continuances of a trial. (b) Proposed Trial Dates and Continuances. The court seeks to set a realistic trial date as soon as practicable in criminal cases: (1) Before or during arraignment: counsel may jointly propose an alternative trial date to be reflected in the Criminal Scheduling Order, instead of a trial date under the Speedy Trial Act and related deadlines reflected in Subsection (d).

(2) After arraignment: counsel may stipulate to request a new trial date and, if approved by the district judge, the new trial date and related deadlines will be reflected in an Amended Criminal Scheduling Order. (3) If counsel propose an alternative trial date or seek to continue a current trial date, they are encouraged to work with the district judge’s staff or the duty magistrate judge. Once approved by the district judge, the trial date 2 and related deadlines in the case shall be reflected in a Criminal Scheduling Order or an Amended Criminal Scheduling Order. The parties shall submit any stipulation to continue the trial date to the district judge.

A stipulation to continue trial will include: a new trial date and related deadlines as approved by the district judge’s staff or the duty magistrate judge and, if necessary, an accompanying exclusion of time under the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3161. The district judge has the discretion to require a motion rather than a stipulation. (4) The court will set the related dates and deadlines for a Rule 16.1 Discovery Conference, motions and responses, joint pretrial statement, and any conferences before the duty magistrate judge or the district judge. When the court sets a trial date further out from arraignment than the ordinary course, it may afford lengthier periods between the motions, response deadlines, and the trial date.

(c) Complex Case. The government may file any motions to declare a case complex before arraignment so that the Criminal Scheduling Order can reflect dates and deadlines aligned with the case’s complexity and an accompanying exclusion of time under the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3161. If the government files a motion to declare a case complex and the court declares the case complex after arraignment, then the court will enter an Amended Criminal Scheduling Order. (d) Trial Date Under the Speedy Trial Act.

Unless an alternative trial date is proposed by the parties and approved by the court under Subsections (b) or (c), the Criminal Scheduling Order will reflect a trial date consistent with the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3161. 3 A trial date under this Subsection shall also include related dates and deadlines as set forth below: (1) Discovery Conference. On or about 14 days after arraignment, the parties shall have a Rule 16.1 Discovery Conference. (2) Motions.

On a date approximately six weeks prior to trial, the parties must file any dispositive or otherwise substantive motions, other than motions in limine. (3) Responses. On a date approximately one week after any motions are filed, responses are due.