• A Brief Summary of the case

• A joint list of issues which are in dispute.

• A joint list of pending motions, pending requests for discovery and proposed motions in limine. Unless otherwise allowed, Motions in Limine not filed at or before the conference will be heard only at the discretion of the trial judge.

• A list of exhibits reasonably expected to be introduced by each party, indexed by P plus number for plaintiff(s) and by D plus number of defendant(s). The list shall briefly describe each exhibit and indicate whether any party objects to the admission of such exhibit and the grounds for such objection. After the trial management conference and prior to the commencement of trial, all exhibits listed must be marked with a court clerk as full exhibits or for identification.

• A list of all witnesses reasonably expected to be called by each party, in sequence in which they will be called, including the name and the relationship of each witness to the case (e.g. party, eyewitness, expert) and whether there is a scheduling problem as to the testimony of any such witness. Rebuttal witnesses, i.e. those whose testimony is meant to rehabilitate, explain, qualify, negate or contradict that which has been presented during the defendant's case, need not be listed by the plaintiff. Likewise, surrebuttal witnesses, i.e. those whose testimony is meant to refute the plaintiff's rebuttal evidence, need not be listed by the defendant.

• A joint estimate of the days required for jury selection and the days required for trial..

• Parties are required to submit preliminary requests to charge on issues of liability at the commencement of evidence. These may be provided on an IBM formatted floppy disk as a WordPerfect document. Final requests to charge will be submitted at the direction of the trial judge.

• Parties are required to submit proposed verdict forms at the commencement of evidence.

Failure to comply with this order may result in a judgment of nonsuit, default, exclusion of exhibits or witnesses at trial or other sanctions.

Per order of Presiding Judge

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Trial Readiness Order

The following order is entered for all court and jury trials. This order applies to each counsel and self-represented litigant individually. For purposes of this order, the start date of trial means the first day of evidence.

EXHIBITS

1. Counsel shall assemble all documents or items that counsel reasonably anticipates using in evidence at trial. On or before 11:00 A.M. on the business day before the start date of trial, counsel shall have accomplished the following:
   1. Pre-marked (for ID only, unless counsel stipulate as to its admissibility) each document and thing sequentially with an exhibit sticker, numbers for plaintiffs, letters for defendants.
   2. Created a table of contents for the entire assembled packet, describing each item fully: Example: “Exhibit 5 – Report of Dr. Jones (2 pages) dated March 12, 2002
      Exhibit 6 – Photograph of intersection of Main and Elm St. north view
      Exhibit 7 – Office notes and chart notations of Dr. Smith (8 pages) re plaintiff for period April 8/August 15, 1999
      Exhibit 8 – Photocopy of pages from defendant’s deposition of February 4, 2004 – pages 6, line 13 through p. 7, line 9, with cover page and signature page (4 pages total).”
   3. Photocopied the set of assembled, pre-marked documents and items with the table of contents attached, one copy for each other party in the case, and a courtesy copy for the court.
   4. Delivered the completed copy set, as above, to counsel for each party in the case and to each self-represented litigant no later than 11:00 A.M. on the business day before the start date of trial. The courtesy copy for the court may be delivered to the trial court clerk at 9:45 A.M. on the start date of trial.
2. Any document to be offered in evidence to which the opposing party may reasonably be expected to lodge a valid objection to some, but not all, of its contents shall be prepared as above in a redacted version. The redacted version need not be included in the above packet but shall be available beginning on the start date. Common examples are in PR-1s (police motor vehicle accident reports) where insurance information is noted or moving violations are issued, or emergency room or EMT records that contain statements by non-party lay persons.
3. The recipient of the packet of another party shall promptly review it for authenticity, if necessary comparing copies to the originals or to copies of such documents as may have been produced or exchanged in pre-trial discovery. The originals of each packet shall be available for inspection or comparison at the office of the counsel or party who prepared it as of the time of delivery of copies to the other parties and thereafter on the day of trial in the courtroom beginning at 9:45 on the day the trial starts. All parties shall use available time outside the presence of the court and the jury to satisfy themselves, if they choose, that the photocopied packets conform to the original pre-marked exhibits.
   

WITNESSES

Each counsel shall prepare a list of all witnesses that that party reasonably anticipates will be called to testify at trial with each witness’s current addresses and phone numbers. If a subpoena has been served or is sought to be served on that witness, a copy of the complete subpoena shall be appended to the list. A copy of the completed list shall be delivered to each party on or before 11:00 A.M. on the business day before the start of trial.

REQUESTS TO CHARGE

All requests to charge and any other material that a party wishes the court to present to the jury shall be submitted to the court no later than at 9:45 A.M. on the day the trial starts. At that time, a photocopy shall be hand-delivered to each other party. Each party shall retain the submitted version on Word, Word Perfect or Adobe format for electronic submission to the Court upon the Court’s request.

STIPULATIONS

The parties are requested to confer and to stipulate to the admissibility of all pre-marked exhibits as to which there are no objections, including life expectancy tables, business records, properly redacted police reports, and the like.

COURTROOM DECORUM

Counsel shall use last names, not first names, in referring to or addressing anyone. Counsel shall stand when addressing the court. Counsel shall refrain from engaging in colloquy with one another, but shall address any such exchange through the court. Objections, when made, shall be briefly stated and shall not contain argument. If further argument is necessary, counsel should request a sidebar.

SANCTIONS

This pretrial order is entered to ensure that the trial proceeds efficiently and fairly and to assure that neither jurors nor the court will be made to wait while counsel acquaint themselves with proffered documents or while counsel make redactions or conformed copies.
Failure to abide by this ORDER may subject a party to sanctions, including preclusion of exhibits or witnesses, a dismissal, a default or a finding of contempt.

AUDIO VISUAL EQUIPMENT REQUESTS

Requests for use of any audio or visual equipment during the trial must be submitted in writing on Form JD-CL-90 available either under “Court Forms” at www.jud.ct.gov or at the Office of the Civil Caseflow Coordinator, Room 308. Said written requests must be submitted to the Presiding Judge or the Trial Judge at least 48 hours prior to the start date of trial.

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Presiding Judge of Civil Matters