Opinion
4:17-cv-553-DPM
06-22-2021
VANESSA COLE, As Personal Representative of the Estate of Roy Lee Richards Jr. PLAINTIFF v. DENNIS HUTCHINS DEFENDANT
ORDER
D.P. Marshall Jr., United States District Judge
1. Pretrial and Trial Architecture.
On the first day of trial, 9 August 2021, we'll have a final pretrial at noon. We'll start with the venire at 1:00 p.m. Counsel should be prepared to open Monday afternoon. Each side gets thirty minutes to open. We'll start the proof at 8:30 Tuesday morning. Each side will have forty-five minutes to close. This case can be well tried in one week. Counsel must tailor their proof. Each side will have ten hours for direct and cross examination and objections. We will instruct the jury, close, and give the case to the jury on Friday.
2. Jury Instructions.
The Court is attaching its working drafts of (1) the voir dire, (2) the preliminary instructions, (3) the final instructions - liability phase, (4) verdict no. 1, (5) the final instructions - excessive force and damages phase, and (6) verdict no. 2. Please file any objection to, or suggestion about, the draft instructions and verdict by 8 July 2021. Please comment then on the qualified-immunity-driven architecture. Please also submit amended pretrial disclosures by that date.
3. Witnesses and Exhibits.
By the close of business on Wednesday, 4 August 2021, the parties must submit their final lists of witnesses and exhibits, the original pre-marked exhibits, and the Court's courtesy copy, in three-ring binders to Little Rock chambers. Please also include an electronic copy of each item. And please use the Court's forms for both exhibit and witness lists. If the parties plan to use electronic exhibits, they should have paper copies available as a fall-back.
5. Voir Dire.
The Court will do most of the questioning, with follow-up by each side-ten to fifteen minutes at most. Please focus your questioning. Voir dire is not a time to explain the law or the burden of proof, to explain what the case is about, to seek commitments, or to pump the potential jurors full of fairness. Instead, please ask lean questions about potential jurors7 experiences and views to ferret out bias. If the parties would prefer to have the Court ask certain questions, please submit them to chambers for consideration by 8 July 2021.
6. Objections.
Avoid speaking objections during the trial. A word or two will do. If the Court needs to hear more, we'll have a bench conference.
So Ordered.