Judge Kimberly J. Mueller

 

 United States District Court - Eastern District of California

501 I Street, Suite 4-200

Sacramento, CA 95814

 

Courtroom Deputy, Casey Schultz

Phone: (916) 930-4193

 

TRIAL INFORMATION

Jury Selection - Judge Mueller typically utilizes the following method for jury selection.  The court first conducts voir dire, then allows short voir dire by counsel, and then ascertains if any potential juror will be excused for cause.  If a potential juror is excused for cause, a new name is selected, and that person is voir dired before jury selection continues.  Once voir dire is completed and all challenges for cause have been ruled on, the attorneys are given a strike sheet to exercise their peremptory challenges outside the presence of the potential jurors.  Once the peremptory challenges are marked, the Judge excuses those jurors and then the highest numbered jurors still in the box until the desired number of jurors remains.

 

Trial Hours (Presumptive) - Subject to adjustment by the court, the presumptive trial hours are as follows: Mondays, 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM, additional days Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 8:30 AM - 1:30 PM, and dark on Fridays.  Lunch on full days, if any, is 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM, and breaks on other days are approximately 10:15 AM and 11:45 AM. 

 

Jury Instructions - The parties should review the court’s standard jury instructions noted below and submit only their proposed modifications of these instructions along with any special instructions. Submissions shall be filed on the docket. Proposed jury instructions shall also be emailed in a Microsoft Word processing version to kjmorders@caed.uscourts.gov.

 

 

Audio/Visual Equipment - The Clerk’s Office has a variety of audio/visual equipment available to use for trial purposes.  Please refer to Electronic Evidence Submission / Presentation  page for additional information.

No less than one to two weeks prior to trial, attorneys should arrange, through the Courtroom Deputy, a single time for all attorneys to view the courtroom and meet with Court Information Technology Staff to verify the availability of courthouse electronics and for training/testing with electronic equipment.

 

Conference Rooms - Conference rooms are available on either side of the courtroom (out in the public hallway) for use during trial.  They will be opened during trial hours.  Counsel can make arrangements to have the conference rooms available outside of trial hours by contacting the Courtroom Deputy directly, or through the Court Security Officers at (916) 930-2080.

 

Deposition Transcripts - Sealed original copies of any deposition transcripts to be used at trial shall be lodged with the Courtroom Deputy on the first day of trial.

 

Exhibit and Witness Lists - As provided by the Final Pretrial Order (Civil)/Trial Confirmation Order (Criminal), exhibit and witness lists shall be filed on the docket.  A copy of the exhibit and/or witness list shall also be emailed in a Microsoft Word processing version to: kjmorders@caed.uscourts.gov.

Exhibit Lists shall be in table format and include two columns on the right side of the table, one labeled “offered” and the last labeled “admitted”.  Parties are to use the following template for exhibit lists: EXHIBIT LIST TEMPLATE.

 

Statement of the Case - As provided by the Final Pretrial Order(Civil)/Trial Confirmation Order (Criminal), a Statement of the Case shall be filed on the docket.  A copy of the Statement of the Case shall also be emailed in a Microsoft Word processing version to kjmorders@caed.uscourts.gov.

 

Trial Exhibits - Trial exhibits shall be pre-marked.  Counsel shall comply with the court’s Final Pretrial Order (Civil) / Trial Confirmation Order (Criminal) regarding the preparation and submission of trial exhibits.  The parties are advised to mark their trial exhibits exactly as outlined in the Final Pretrial Order (Civil)/Trial Confirmation Order (Criminal).  Exhibit stickers, if used, may be obtained from the Clerk’s Office located at 501 I Street, Suite 4-200, Sacramento, California, 95814.

To bring large physical items or demonstrative exhibits, to the courtroom, counsel shall make arrangements through the Court Security Officers at (916) 930-2080.

 

Voir Dire (Proposed) - As provided by the Final Pretrial Order (Civil)/Trial Confirmation Order (Criminal), proposed voir dire questions may be submitted.  Proposed voir dire questions shall also be emailed in a Microsoft Word processing version to kjmorders@caed.uscourts.gov.

 

Verdict (Proposed) - As provided by the Final Pretrial Order (Civil)/Trial Confirmation Order (Criminal), a proposed Verdict shall be filed.  A copy of the proposed Verdict shall also be emailed in a Microsoft Word processing version to kjmorders@caed.uscourts.gov.

 

Young Attorneys - Given the value the court places on training young attorneys, the court encourages lead counsel to permit a young attorney to examine witnesses and have an active role in the trial.

 

If you have any other questions or need further information, please contact Courtroom Deputy Casey Schultz at cschultz@caed.uscourts.gov (preferred) or (916) 930-4193.