Chambers Practices of
The Honorable Donna F. Martinez
United States Magistrate Judge

Magistrate Judge Martinez is paired with Chief Judge Chatigny and Judge Thompson.

PRETRIAL PREFERENCES

Oral Argument on Motions
In most cases, Magistrate Judge Martinez requires oral argument on discovery motions. Argument is sometimes scheduled on dispositive motions. She does not have a set motion day, and argument is usually scheduled for the morning.

Referral to Magistrate Judges/Special Masters
Magistrate Judge Martinez occasionally refers settlement conferences to special masters after consultation with counsel.

Rulings from the Bench
Magistrate Judge Martinez rarely rules from the bench.

Resolution by Conference Call
Magistrate Judge Martinez prefers that discovery issues be raised by written motion, unless an emergency requires contact by telephone.

Sur-reply Briefs
Magistrate Judge Martinez discourages the filing of sur-reply briefs.

Letter Briefs
Magistrate Judge Martinez does not believe that letters should be sent to the court, particularly because letter briefs are not part of the record.

Chambers' Copies
Chambers' copies should be provided only when time is critical and the court's immediate attention is required.

Motions for Extension of Time
Motions for extension of time should not be filed routinely. Magistrate Judge Martinez adheres to the Local Rules' requirement for a showing of good cause. She notes, however, that Rule 26(f) allows the parties to customize discovery, and, accordingly, urges the parties to determine their needs at the outset and to follow the self-imposed schedule if at all possible.

Special Proceedings
Magistrate Judge Martinez does not grant pre-judgment remedies and preliminary injunctions on an ex parte basis. She schedules a conference, in person, whenever possible, then sets a briefing and hearing schedule and, in appropriate circumstances, an expedited discovery schedule. In some instances, this procedure leads to the combining of a preliminary injunction hearing's with a trial on the merits.

Joint Trial Memoranda
Magistrate Judge Martinez has one pretrial order for bench trials and jury trials. She has given considerable thought to this order, and it is designed to provide notice and guidance to counsel. She has found that, inexplicably, many attorneys do not follow the form. Magistrate Judge Martinez believes that particular attention should be paid to evidentiary issues and proposed jury charge in the joint trial memorandum.

Dispositive Motions
Magistrate Judge Martinez has no standing rule regarding pre-filing conferences, as most civil cases are trial-ready when they come to her. However, she sometimes handles pre-filing conferences for Chief Judge Chatigny. The function of the conference depends on the case and its procedural posture. In some cases, the conference simply results in a briefing schedule. In others, it may narrow issues.

Discovery
Magistrate Judge Martinez's practice is to calendar discovery motions as soon as possible and to issue written rulings quickly. Discovery issues may also be raised at status conferences. She prefers written motions but is not adverse to handling discovery issues informally.

Settlement
Settlement conferences, which are often scheduled months in advance, constitute a significant portion of Magistrate Judge Martinez's workload. She requires ex parte submissions. Lawyers should be well prepared and clients with authority must be present and cannot participate by phone. The court will do whatever is possible to facilitate a settlement. Unless requested by the parties, it is not her practice to recommend a specific settlement number.

TRIAL PREFERENCES

Hours of Day for Trial
Magistrate Judge Martinez conducts trial from 10:OO a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with a lunch break from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Days of Week for Trial
Trial is conducted five days per week.

Time Limitations for Trial
Magistrate Judge Martinez usually holds a conference to schedule the case for trial. At that conference, she requires counsel to make a reasonable estimate of the amount of time they will need for trial. She allots trial time according to those estimates. Once the schedule has been established, Magistrate Judge Martinez expects counsel to complete the trial within the time allotted.

Time Limitations for Individual Examinations of Witnesses
Magistrate Judge Martinez does not impose time limits on witness examinations.

Opening Statements
Prior to the change in the local rule on opening statements, Magistrate Judge Martinez asked counsel to submit a jointly prepared opening statement which she read to the jury at the beginning of trial. With the recent amendment of the local rule regarding opening statements, Magistrate Judge Martinez intends to permit brief opening statements.

Closing Arguments
Magistrate Judge Martinez asks counsel for their views on how much time they believe is warranted for closing arguments in their case. She then sets a time limit for the length of closing arguments. Once a time limit is set, Magistrate Judge Martinez monitors the time to ensure that counsel abide by the established time limits.

Demonstrative Exhibits
Magistrate Judge Martinez treats demonstrative exhibits as she does all other exhibits.

Moving Exhibits into Evidence
Magistrate Judge Martinez requires counsel to exchange exhibits and to determine whether there are objections to the exhibits. If there is an objection, counsel must identify the grounds for the objection. Counsel are required to provide the court with two complete sets of pre marked exhibits. The judge leaves it to counsels' discretion as to whether they provide jurors with copies of the exhibits. In an effort to make the trial run as smoothly as possible and to allow counsel and the jury to focus on substantive issues in the case, at the start of trial the judge usually admits all exhibits to which there is no objection into evidence as full exhibits.

Pre-marking of Exhibits
Magistrate Judge Martinez requires counsel to pre-mark exhibits. Counsel must provide the court with an exhibit list containing the exhibit number, a brief description of the exhibit, and an indication of whether there is an objection to the exhibit.

Procedural Motions and Arguments
Procedural motions are addressed in Magistrate Judge Martinez's Pretrial Order. The filing date for such motions is set for a date prior to the final pretrial conference so that any such motions can be discussed at that conference. Counsel should expect to argue procedural motions at times that minimize the potential for disruption of the proceedings before the jury, e.g., before the 10:OO a.m. start of the trial day or during the lunch break.

Jury Profiles
Counsel have never raised issues regarding the use of juror profiles in any cases before Magistrate Judge Martinez.

Jury Selection
Magistrate Judge Martinez uses the "in the box" method of jury selection. She first poses basic, general questions to the entire venire. After that, a small number of venirepersons are placed in the jury box and additional questions are posed to those persons only. Counsel are required to submit written voir dire questions with their joint trial memorandum. The judge usually does not permit individual voir dire, but does give counsel an opportunity to suggest additional voir dire questions. Magistrate Judge Martinez permits jurors to answer voir dire questions at the bench if they are uncomfortable communicating an answer to a particular question in open court. Magistrate Judge Martinez is generous with the number of peremptory challenges she allots to each party.

Jurors in a Civil Case
Magistrate Judge Martinez usually seats six jurors and two alternates in a civil case. She will seat more if the case is expected to be unusually long.

Juror Notebooks
Magistrate Judge Martinez permits counsel to provide notebooks of exhibits to jurors.

Juror Notes
Jurors are permitted to take notes during the trial.

Jury Charge
Magistrate Judge Martinez requires counsel to submit proposed jury instructions and a proposed verdict form with the joint trial memorandum. She believes jury instructions are a facet of trial to which counsel should devote greater attention than they often do. In preparing instructions, counsel are asked to focus on the substantive legal issues in the case, and need not submit instructions on routine or standard portions of the charge for which the judge has already developed appropriate instructional language. The jury is permitted to take one copy of the charge into the jury room for their use during deliberations.

Post-verdict Communications with Jurors
After the verdict has been rendered, Magistrate Judge Martinez thanks the jurors personally in the jury room and entertains questions from them about the trial process.

Motions in limine
Magistrate Judge Martinez encourages the use of motions in limine, as they provide opposing counsel and the court advance notice of the relevant legal issues. The judge sets a deadline in the order for joint trial memorandum for the filing of in limine motions.

Technology
Magistrate Judge Martinez allows the use of technology in the courtroom, requiring counsel to advise the court and opposing counsel of the intended use in advance. Even with respect to simple blowups of documents, counsel are required to apprise opposing counsel in advance of the day of their use to ensure that any objections can be brought to the court's attention and the issue can be resolved efficiently.

Counsel Placement in Court
Magistrate Judge Martinez permits counsel to move about the courtroom to some extent during trial but expects counsel to ask to approach witnesses and to return to the counsel table when the purpose for approaching the witness is complete. She believes such an approach is necessary not only to ensure that counsel do not crowd the witness, but also to guarantee proper sound projection in the courtroom. For closing arguments, the lectern is moved to face the jury directly. Although she does not have any firm rule on the extent to which counsel can move away from the lectern during the closing, she believes it is appropriate for counsel to remain primarily at the lectern.

Miscellaneous
Magistrate Judge Martinez discourages speaking objections and will not permit arguments made simply for dramatic effect for the jury. If counsel actively fulfill their joint trial and pretrial conference obligations, the number of objections during trial should be substantially reduced as the parties and the court will have had an opportunity to address most issues in advance of the actual trial.

During jury trials, Magistrate Judge Martinez does not ask witnesses many questions herself. On occasion, where difficulty arises with the witness or if the judge finds it necessary as a part of the court's truth-seeking function, she will ask a question. She is inclined to ask more questions during a bench trial.