TRIAL SETTING ORDER

YVONNE GONZALEZ ROGERS, District Judge.

On April 30, 2014, the Court convened a regularly scheduled status conference. Keslie Stewart appeared on behalf of the government. Ismail Ramsey appeared on behalf of defendant Burton Benson who was present and out of custody.

The government filed a second superseding indictment on March 27, 2014 which accuses Benson of wire fraud, theft from an employee pension benefit plan, and money laundering, among other counts. (Dkt. No. 98.)

Having considered the record in this action, the arguments of all parties, and, for good cause shown, the Court enters the following orders:

1. Trial Date and Schedule:

The trial of this matter is scheduled to begin on November 2, 2015 at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 1 of the above-referenced Court. Parties are advised that jury selection may be advanced to Friday, October 30, 2015. The Court will make the final determination on this issue at the pre-trial conference.

The trial schedule will be generally as follows: Monday through Thursday, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with two 15-minute breaks. Additional time may be scheduled for matters outside the presence of the jury as necessary and determined by the Court. Sidebars are not permitted. Counsel should be prepared to anticipate issues so that they may be addressed outside of normal trial hours.

2. Pre-Trial Conference:

A pre-trial conference shall be held on Friday, October 9, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. The parties shall comply with Local Rule 17.1-1(b) and the Court's Standing Order in Criminal Cases. However, the parties shall file the pre-trial conference statement addressing all fifteen (15) issues identified therein and all related filings by September 25, 2015. Attachment A is a list of proposed Procedural Stipulations. To the extent agreed upon, the parties shall sign and file said document no later than the pre-trial conference.

3. Motions in Limine:

A motion in limine refers "to any motion, whether made before or during trial, to exclude anticipated prejudicial evidence before the evidence is actually offered." Luce v. United States, 469 U.S. 38, 40, n.2 (1984).

Not less than twenty-one (21) days prior to the pre-trial conference, the parties shall serve, but not file, motions in limine. Not less than fourteen (14) days prior to the pre-trial conference, the parties shall serve any oppositions thereto. The parties shall then meet and confer to resolve the motions. Any motions not resolved shall be filed not less than ten (10) days prior to the pre-trial conference. The parties shall submit one JOINT CHAMBERS set including collating the motion with the respective opposition. The proponent of the motion shall also submit a COMPREHENSIVE proposed form of order summarizing each motion and the requested relief.

The Court hereby orders that witnesses shall be excluded until testimony is completed. Parties are ordered to admonish witnesses of the Court's rulings. Failure to comply with a ruling by the Court may result in sanctions, including without limitation the striking of the witness's entire testimony.

4. Exhibits and Exhibit Lists:

No witness may be shown any document or other object until it has been marked for identification using an exhibit number. The jury may not be shown any exhibits until admitted into evidence or stipulated by the parties as to admissibility without the express permission of the Court. The parties shall meet and confer in good faith to stipulate to the admissibility and/or authenticity of documents, even if for a limited purpose, in order to streamline the trial.

To the extent agreed upon, the parties shall file Exhibit Lists identifying those for which a stipulation of admissibility exists with an "S" in the appropriate box. When printing and providing these documents to the Court, please use the "portrait" orientation only. (Do not use "landscape" orientation.) A sample format is provided below:

To the extent that the Court must resolve document-related issues at the pre-trial hearing, a copy (electronic or hard) must be provided. Physical evidence must also be pre-marked. For purposes of the Court's binder of anticipated exhibits, a picture of any physical evidence should be taken and placed in the binder.

Parties are advised to review their exhibits critically and determine whether sub-designations are appropriate for both the record and rulings on any potential objections. For instance, if an exhibit consists of a series of pictures, rather than designate the exhibit collectively as Exhibit 1, each picture should have a designation, i.e. Exhibit 1-A, 1-B, 1-C, 1-D, 1-E and 1-F. Further, to the extent that the evidence are voluminous records, the Court may not need a copy set of the entire exhibit and will consider proposals for reducing the amount of paper necessary to be included, including use of digital forms of media and/or summaries.

5. Jury Selection:

The Court conducts a comprehensive voir dire. The Court will allow each side twenty (20) minutes to conduct follow up voir dire. The parties shall provide the Court with a list of all potential witnesses to be placed on an overhead projector, read to the petit jury panel, and organized alphabetically. Because it will be published, the list shall be formatted simply with a header which identifies the case name and case number and shall not identify which party intends to call any such witness. The list shall not exceed one page. Attachment B is the general form of Jury Questionnaire to be provided on the day of voir dire.

The Court will seat a total of twelve (12) jurors and two (2) alternates. Pursuant to Rule 24 of the Criminal Rules of Civil Procedure, because the offense charged is punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, the government is allocated six (6) peremptory challenges and the defendant is allocated ten (10) peremptory challenges. Accordingly, peremptory challenges shall be exercised in the following sequence:

In addition, each party shall be allocated one additional peremptory challenge for the two alternate jurors empanelled. The additional peremptory challenge may be used against an alternate juror only. The initial set of peremptory challenges may not be used for alternate jurors.

Batson motions must be made in a timely fashion. Argument on the same shall be made outside the presence of the jury panel.

6. Equipment and Logistics:

Parties shall meet and confer on the joint use of computers, projectors, screens, and similar equipment. All equipment should be tested in the courtroom prior to the day when it will be used. To the extent such equipment and/or supplies, including water and food, are sought to be brought into the courthouse, the United States Marshals require a court order. Any party needing such an order must file a request and proposed order. The defense may reserve a conference room for the trial with sufficient advance notice to court staff. Arrangements may be made with the Courtroom Deputy, Frances Stone, at (510) 637-3540.

7. Trial Decorum and Procedure:

Counsel, parties, and witnesses are expected to conduct themselves at all times—on or off the record and whether or not in the presence of a jury—in a professional and courteous manner during trial. Do NOT approach other parties' witnesses without permission.

8. Failure to Comply:

Failure to comply with the obligations set forth in this order will result in sanctions appropriate to the gravity of the failure.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

PROCEDURAL STIPULATIONS

PLEASE INITIAL AND SIGN as acceptable:

It is stipulated that the Defendant will be deemed present with counsel, and each of the jurors will be deemed present, upon reconvening after each adjournment or recess, unless the contrary is noted for the record.

It is stipulated that the Jury Instructions and the Exhibits may go into the Jury Room during deliberations.

It is stipulated that the parties need not be present when, during jury deliberations, the jurors are excused for lunch, return from lunch, and/or are discharged in the evening and resume in the morning.

It is stipulated that, during jury deliberations, the jury may recess without further admonition and without assembling in the jury box, and that they may resume their deliberations upon the Deputy Clerk's determination that all jurors are present.

In the absence of the trial judge, any judge of this court may receive the verdict.