Chambers Practices of
The Honorable Alan H. Nevas
Senior United States District Judge

PRETRIAL PREFERENCES

Oral Argument on Motions
Judge Nevas encourages oral argument on dispositive motions and estimates that approximately 90 percent of the summary judgment motions before him have oral argument. He finds this very useful. He does not have a motion day, but rather fits oral arguments in as scheduling and time constraints permit. Judge Nevas has no set time limits for argument. Judge Nevas maintains that a request for oral argument does not affect the timing of a decision. He also believes that most summary judgment motions are heard in a timely fashion, and decisions are rendered quickly. Judge Nevas discourages attorneys from reading their briefs in their entirety at oral argument. Instead, he recommends that the attorney choose the most important issue and focus the argument on the disputed issues.

Referral to Magistrate Judges/Special Masters
Magistrate Judge Fitzsimmons is paired with Judge Nevas. He does not refer dispositive motions to the magistrate judge, but does refer approximately 95 percent of discovery disputes.

Rulings from the Bench
Judge Nevas occasionally rules from the bench. He will also, in appropriate cases, indicate from the bench when he is denying a motion and that a written ruling will follow.

26(f) Reports
Judge Nevas believes that most lawyers are reluctant to state in the 26(f) Report that they would like to work on early settlement, but he encourages lawyers in all cases to enter into settlement discussions early in the process to avoid the commitment of unnecessary time and resources.

Resolution by Conference Call
Conference calls for discovery disputes are usually handled by Magistrate Judge Fitzsirnmons.

Sur-reply Briefs
Judge Nevas occasionally permits sur-reply briefs, but he does not accept any motions or replies of any kind after the sur-reply. A party seeking to file such a brief should make a motion and show the court that there are special circumstances warranting additional motion practice. Some new fact or case that was previously unknown might justify the additional motion practice before the court.

Letter Briefs
Generally, Judge Nevas does not accept letter briefs. In rare instances, Judge Nevas will allow a letter brief for the purpose of advising the court of some new case or fact. This should not be perceived as a common practice.

Chambers' Copies
Judge Nevas does not require, nor want, chambers' copies of pleadings.

Motions for Extension of Time
Lawyers requesting extensions of time should file a motion with the court setting forth the request and its basis. Motions must satisfy all requirements of the Local Rules and should be made as early as possible, not on the day the attorney is supposed to respond. Second or third motions for extension of time for the same deadline are not likely to be granted.

Motions for Reconsideration
Lawyers must satisfy all requirements of the Local Rules when filing motions for reconsideration.

Special Proceedings
Judge Nevas requires all attorneys seeking a temporary restraining order to make a diligent effort to contact the other side to determine if they are represented by counsel. Further, counsel requesting the order should provide reasonable notice that would allow the other party or their counsel to be present at the hearing. Obviously, Judge Nevas understands that there are some instances where it is not possible or prudent to have the other side present. Notwithstanding that concern, Judge Nevas will not sign the temporary restraining order if a party is represented and has not received notice, except for the circumstances identified in Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(b)(1) and (2).

Joint Trial Memoranda
Judge Nevas has particular rules relating to trial memoranda, which counsel should follow.

Lawyer Affidavits
Although Judge Nevas believes that there are better ways for attorneys to identify documents, there are certain instances where an attorney's affidavit is the only viable means of identifying or authenticating documents and transcripts. Judge Nevas believes that, as with all aspects of motions, an attorney's credibility could be affected by what he or she chooses to authenticate or identify. Overall, he has no specific rules regarding the use of attorney affidavits for evidentiary purposes. He does not accept or expect to see arguments contained in the attorney's affidavit.

Dispositive Motions
Judge Nevas requires a pre-motion conference to be held prior to filing any dispositive motion. The goal of the conference is to avoid unnecessary motions, which are wasteful of the court's and parties' time. At this conference, Judge Nevas and the parties have a lengthy substantive discussion about whether the filing of the motion is appropriate. In approximately 50 percent of the cases, Judge Nevas is able to convince the moving party not to file the motion.

Judge Nevas does not operate under the so-called New Jersey Rule, a procedure begun and widely adopted by the New Jersey district courts. Judge Nevas has no preference as to how he receives evidentiary material in connection with summary judgment motions. Judge Nevas cautions counsel against spending five pages restating the summary judgment standard and reminds counsel that the analysis of relating the facts to the law is the most crucial aspect of the motion. Judge Nevas believes that many attorneys do not spend enough time analyzing the law and the facts in the specific case, as opposed to merely restating case law. Parties making substantive motions should refrain from overwhelming the court with non-material facts. Also, attorneys should not rely on the court to draw inferences from facts that are not readily apparent.

There are several other requirements, including some concerning the Local Rule 56(a) Statements, which are specifically addressed in Judge Nevas' Order on Pretrial Deadlines, a copy of which is attached. Judge Nevas requires strict compliance with the requirements of Local Rule 56(a).

Discovery
Judge Nevas typically refers discovery disputes to Magistrate Judge Fitzsimmons. Judge Nevas generally gets involved in discovery issues only in isolated cases that warrant his direct involvement.

Settlement
Judge Nevas encourages settlement conferences, mediation, and other dispute resolution efforts. Magistrate judges typically handle these conferences. When a settlement conference is scheduled with a magistrate judge, a calendar is issued setting forth the guidelines for the settlement conference. Clients are required to attend settlement conferences.

TRIAL PREFERENCES

Hours of Day for Trial
Judge Nevas generally sets trial hours from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Consistent with his practice of generally prohibiting sidebar conferences during jury trials (see "Procedural Motions and Arguments" section), Judge Nevas encourages trial counsel to take up evidentiary issues and procedural matters either prior to or after the conclusion of the presentation of evidence.

Days of Week for Trial
Judge Nevas conducts trials Monday through Friday with Mondays as a day off for lengthy trials.

Time Limitations for Trial
Judge Nevas does not impose time limitations for the presentation of evidence.

Time Limitations for Individual Examinations of Witnesses
Judge Nevas generally does not impose limitations on the examination of particular witnesses.

Judge Nevas has not used affidavits for the presentation of direct testimony in bench trials (or in preliminary injunction hearings).

Judge Nevas only orders the sequestration of witnesses upon request of a party.

Opening Statements
Judge Nevas does not hesitate to interrupt counsel during an opening statement, even in the absence of an objection, if he believes the statement has crossed into "argument." Judge Nevas generally imposes a time limit on opening statements.

In criminal cases, if parties wish to make opening statements they must seek permission of the court.

Closing Arguments
At the time of the charge conference, Judge Nevas reviews with counsel his requirements for closing arguments, including the length of time to be allotted. Judge Nevas generally accommodates any reasonable time requests.

Demonstrative Exhibits
Judge Nevas encourages counsel to exchange any demonstrative exhibits and to attempt to resolve any objections in advance of trial.

Moving Exhibits into Evidence
Judge Nevas encourages trial counsel to thoroughly prepare the foundation testimony required for the admission of exhibits. Consistent with his policy against sidebar conferences (see "Procedural Motions and Arguments" section), he asks counsel to anticipate objections and to bring those objections to the court's attention outside the presence of the jury.

Pre-marking of Exhibits
In accordance with the standard Pretrial Order, Judge Nevas requires exhibits to be pre marked and exchanged between counsel.

Judge Nevas does not require counsel to make a distinction between the written exhibits they"intend" to use versus those exhibits they "may" use.

Procedural Motions and Arguments
Judge Nevas will deny a request for a sidebar conference during a jury trial. As a consequence, it is the judge's practice to start each trial day by inviting counsel to deal with objections raised in the prior day's testimony or which counsel anticipate will be raised that day. In some instances, the judge will defer ruling on an evidentiary objection and ask counsel to argue the objection at a break in the evidence when the jury is out of the courtroom. On other occasions, Judge Nevas will ask counsel to indicate during an examination if counsel is moving into an area which the parties had previously identified to the court as triggering a possible evidentiary objection which requires court intervention. Judge Nevas will, on occasion, excuse a witness, have another witness called to the stand, and have that initial witness return only after an evidentiary objection has been resolved outside the jury's presence.

Objections
As indicated, if objections cannot be resolved immediately during a witness's testimony, Judge Nevas encourages the inquiring counsel to hold off asking the question until an objection can be resolved outside the jury's presence.

Judge Nevas requires counsel to state the basis for their objections but does not permit "speaking" objections.

Jury Profiles
Judge Nevas is not comfortable with the idea of trial counsel conducting online searches for background information on potential jurors.

Jury Selection
Judge Nevas does not employ the "strike" method.

Judge Nevas does not permit counsel to pose any questions to the venirepersons in the hearing of the entire panel. He does permit, consistent with the rule, the submission of written requests for questions to be read by the court.

In criminal cases, Judge Nevas asks both parties to waive the requirement of designating alternate juries in advance of the evidence. If both sides agree, Judge Nevas seats fourteen jurors. Assuming none are lost during the evidence, at the end of the evidence and at the conclusion of the reading of the jury instructions, the clerk selects two jurors randomly and they are excused.

Jurors in a Civil Case
Depending on the expected length of the trial, Judge Nevas selects eight or nine jurors.

Juror Notebooks
Judge Nevas permits counsel to provide jurors with exhibit binders. He limits the use of binders if he concludes they might give one party an unfair advantage over a party that does not provide similar exhibit notebooks.

Juror Notes
Judge Nevas actively encourages jurors to take notes. He provides jurors with pads and pens.

In civil cases, Judge Nevas also invites jurors to pose questions. His procedure is to have jurors write out any questions on a piece of paper and hand it to the clerk. He tells the jurors that he alone (and not counsel) will decide which of any such juror questions will be posed to witnesses. Judge Nevas tells the jurors to raise their hand when a witness has completed his or her testimony if they have any questions. If a written question is then handed up, Judge Nevas confers with counsel at sidebar. Assuming there is no objection, and a juror question is approved, Judge Nevas then reads the written question to the witness. The judge then allows counsel for all parties to question the witness-limited to follow-up to the juror-posed question.

Jury Charge
Judge Nevas usually provides counsel with his draft jury instructions two or three days prior to the anticipated conclusion of evidence. Judge Nevas encourages counsel to submit their requested instructions on a cd.

Judge Nevas also gives each juror a copy of the final version of the jury instructions and encourages all jurors to read along with the court's reading of the instructions. In addition, Judge Nevas permits jurors to keep their copies of the instructions during deliberations.

Judge Nevas has not experimented with requesting counsel to agree to have the jury instructions read to the jury prior to the closing arguments.

Post-verdict Communications with Jurors
In criminal matters, Judge Nevas usually does not mention the requirements of Local Rule 83.5. In civil cases, he occasionally reads or paraphrases the rule's provisions for the jury.

It is Judge Nevas' standard practice to meet with jurors in both criminal and civil cases after the verdict. He generally answers jurors' questions but avoids comment on specific testimony,, or evidence in a concluded trial.

Motions in limine
Judge Nevas generally will not rule on a pretrial motion in limine in advance of hearing the evidence in question. It is his experience that, in many instances, the issue raised in the motion will be moot by the time the evidence at issue is offered.

Technology
Judge Nevas has not yet presided over a completely paperless trial. He encourages the use of audiovisual equipment such as the Elmo.

Counsel Placement in Court
Judge Nevas does require counsel to stand at the podium when questioning a witness but does not insist that counsel ask permission each time they approach a witness.