Judge M. B. Smith

	Judge M. Bruce Smith
	Clerk: Reporter: L. Whipple Leslie Bjerke Telephone: Telephone: Fax: 457-6318 457-4971 457-4942

1. Trial days are Monday through Thursday, 8:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on Monday and to 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday through Thursday.
2. All Counsel shall be punctual and ready to proceed on time.
3. Exhibits shall be exchanged between all counsel before commencement of trial and should be pre-marked in the anticipated order of presentation.  Absent unforeseen circumstances, exhibits are to be marked outside the presence of the jury either at the beginning of the day or prior to resuming trial at 1:30 pm. Unless previously marked during discovery, exhibits should be marked “Court Exhibit ‘1 -Infinity’. Counsel shall meet and confer before trial to agree upon foundational issues, to the extent possible.
4. Counsel may not show any exhibit to a witness for any purpose unless it has been pre-marked for identification.  Absent a stipulation, counsel may not display any exhibit to the jury unless it has first been received into evidence.
5. Counsel shall provide the clerk with a list of prospective witnesses and post the names of potential witnesses on the wall/board prior to jury selection.
6. The Court is to be informed in advance, if possible, of any unusual legal issues or evidentiary matters that are anticipated during the trial to avoid any unnecessary delays for the jury.
7. Counsel should meet and confer as to all possible factual stipulations on uncontroverted matters.
8. 18 prospective jurors will be seated for voir dire.  Voir dire has specific and limited purposes.  These do not include instructing the jury on the law or ingratiating counsel or counsel’s side with the jurors.  CCP § 222.5 will be strictly enforced with or without objection from opposing counsel.  Challenges for cause will be expressed in the hallway behind the court after all counsel have completed their voir dire.
9. Counsel may walk through the well and approach witnesses to discuss exhibits without permission.
10. Speaking objections and argument regarding objections are not permitted, unless invited by the Court.  State the legal objection only.  Likewise, counsel should never suggest to any witness, with a speech appended to the objection, what the witness should say or has forgotten to say.
11. Jury instructions and verdict forms must be submitted by plaintiff before the first witness is called.  Counsel must meet and confer and submit a packet of all requested instructions to which there is no objection and a separate packet of instructions as to which there are objections.  If objections are made to any jury instructions on other than relevancy grounds, the objecting party must also submit an instruction that is believed to be non-objectionable.  Each instruction must indicate the party requesting it, all blanks must be filled in and any irrelevant portions redacted.
12. Counsel should discuss and inform the court if willing to stipulate as follows:
1. Unless otherwise noted on the record, whenever the court is in session, all jurors, alternates, and counsel are present.
2. Waiving the statutory language of the admonition to the jury at separation (CCP § 611) so that after the Court gives the required admonition at the outset of the trial, it need not repeat it at each recess or adjournment.
13. Counsel should lodge with the clerk all depositions to be used in the trial.  No reading from depositions (other than for impeachment) is permitted without reasonable notice of each page and line reference to the court and other counsel. 
14. Motions in Limine must be in writing. 
15. A short, non-argumentative neutral statement of the case for reading to the jury during jury selection must be jointly filed unless the parties agree to give “Mini Opening Statements”. 
16. Court reporter fees are to be posted on Thursday of each week for that current week. If a transcript is requested by any party, this fee is separate from the Court Reporter fees and is payable directly to Ms. Bjerke, the Court Reporter.
17. Witnesses must be available when needed.   Witnesses should be standing by at all times. No delays or continuances will be permitted due to witness unavailability. Counsel to inform the court immediately of any witness-scheduling problem.  If counsel does not comply with this procedure and there are no witnesses available to testify it is the equivalent of “resting.”
18. Witnesses who are excused by the court following their testimony are not subject to recall unless requested by counsel or for good cause shown. (Evidence Code §778.)
19. If deposition transcripts are to be read to the jury, counsel are expected to meet and confer in advance regarding any objections that will be offered to any of such testimony so as not to take up the time of the court or the jury.  If objections to any of the testimony are raised, they must be addressed outside of the jury’s presence and without inconveniencing the jury.
20. Bench conferences are generally not permitted and hallway conferences are strongly discouraged.  No record is made of such conferences unless counsel requests it at the following recess.