Chapter 1 - § 1.2 COLORADO FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT PRACTICE

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 1.2 COLORADO FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT PRACTICE

Federal

In the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, each district court judge and magistrate judge has his or her own Practice Standards that parties must comply with in addition to complying with the District's Local Rules. The Practice Standards are available at www.cod.uscourts.gov/JudicialOfficers.aspx. The importance of the Practice Standards cannot be overstated, and you should carefully read and abide by the Practice Standards of the judge(s) presiding over your case, particularly at the pretrial phase, as many of the judges in this district have dedicated a significant portion of their Practice Standards to this subject. Special attention should be paid to submission deadlines provided in the Practice Standards that govern your case as there is a significant amount of variation between them.

➢ Final Pretrial Conference. Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governs pretrial procedure in the federal district courts. Federal judges are required to hold pretrial conferences and issue orders controlling the litigation from the outset. In the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, many judges require the parties to attend a Final Pretrial Conference as well as a Trial Preparation Conference during the weeks leading up to trial. Typically, the primary purpose of the Final Pretrial Conference is to complete and finalize the parties' Proposed Final Pretrial Order, whereas the Trial Preparation Conference is when parties should bring to the court's attention any issues that need to be resolved or addressed before trial commences or that may arise during the course of trial.

➢ District Court Judges and Magistrate Judges: Procedural Differences. Whether an action is presided over by a U.S. district court judge or magistrate judge (via consent jurisdiction pursuant to F.R.C.P. 73) impacts how the Final Pretrial Conference is conducted. In the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, the majority of the district court judges refer the Final Pretrial Conference to the magistrate judge assigned to the case. Thereafter, the district court judge presiding over the case will hold a Trial Preparation Conference with all parties closer in time to the actual trial date. Parties need to be prepared to discuss the following items at the Trial Preparation Conference: witnesses, exhibits, evidentiary issues, voir dire, jury instructions, verdict forms, trial testimony via deposition, COVID-19-related issues, and any outstanding motions. While deadlines vary between Practice Standards, final witness and exhibit lists must be exchanged between parties and submitted to the court prior to the Trial Preparation Conference.

➢ Proposed Final Pretrial Order. Parties to an action must meet and confer ahead of the Final Pretrial Conference to jointly develop

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