Henry Edward Autrey - United States District Judge

United States District Court - Eastern District of Missouri
111 South Tenth Street, Suite 3.300, St Louis, MO 63102
St. Louis Phone: (314)244-7900 - Cape Girardeau Phone: (573)335-8538
Clerk of Court: Jim Woodward, jim_woodward@moed.uscourts.gov

Requirements

INFORMALS: All informals shall be submitted in writing and filed in the Clerk's Office. All informals will be submitted to Judge Autrey and the ruling will be sent to all attorneys of record via CM/ECF. Informals are given to Judge Autrey within 24 hours of filing with the Clerk's Office. If an informal needs more immediate attention or a conference is being requested, please call Judge Autrey’s judicial assistant, or a member of Judge Autrey's Case Management Team.
ATTORNEY ADMISSIONS: Please contact Judge Autrey’s judicial assistant, or the Case Management Team, to schedule an admission.
COURT DOCKET: The court docket is managed by the Judge’s judicial assistant and the Judge’s Case Management Team in the Clerk's Office.; The Judicial Assistant or Case Management Team will handle all questions regarding the docket.
TRIAL DOCKET: Judge Autrey's trial docket is a one week docket. All cases are set on Monday and ride the docket for the week. Criminal cases take a priority over Civil cases for trial.; Attorneys or pro se parties should notify the Judicial Assistant or Team Leader, well in advance of the date of trial, if their case requires special attention by the Court.; All cases are set for trial on a date certain. Cases will be tried in the order best suited for the docket with consideration given to such factors as the age of the case, the anticipated length of the trial, etc. If a case settles, the next case on the docket is expected to be ready for trial. Attorneys and pro se parties are encouraged to keep in contact with the Judicial Assistant or Team Leader for an update of the current docket. In the event that a case gets bumped due to the trial of another matter the parties will be informed of same and will be provided with a new trial setting.
RULE 16 CONFERENCES: Judge Autrey conducts most Rule 16 conferences in person but will conduct same via telephone upon request of the parties if an attorney is farther away than 100 miles. An Order Setting Rule 16 Conference is issued requiring the parties to meet and to prepare a proposed Joint Scheduling Plan (JSP). The JSP is to be filed with the court no later than 10 days prior to the scheduled Rule 16. Unless otherwise ordered, the plaintiff is responsibe for initiating the meeting and filing the JSP. The court encourages cooperation between the parties in preparing and filing the JSP. A lack of cooperation does not relieve a party from complying with the requirement to file a JSP. If a party finds the need to file a separate JSP, a memorandum should be attached to the JSP explaining why a joint plan cannot be filed. The Rule 16 will be held as scheduled and any problems the parties have in working together will be addressed. In the event the Rule 16 conference is to be conducted via telephone, the court will initiate the conference call. The Rule 16 conference in cases involving a pro se party will be held in the courtroom and on the record. After the Rule 16 conference, a Case Management Order (CMO) will be issued.
CASE MANAGEMENT ORDERS: A Case Management Order (CMO) is entered pursuant to the discussion at the Rule 16 conference. Any requests for changes, modification, or amendment of a CMO shall be made in writing and filed in the Clerk's Office for submission to Judge Autrey for ruling. Requests for changes in the CMO with respect to trial dates and deadlines for dispositive motions are not routinely granted and must be supported by statements of good cause.
SEALED DOCUMENTS/PROTECTIVE ORDERS: Proposed protective orders submitted to the court for approval shall contain a date certain as to when the seal will be lifted or the documents returned to the parties. A proposed protective order lacking a date certain for the lifting of the seal or the return of documents to the parties will be denied without prejudice.
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION: Civil cases (except habeas corpus) will be referred to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) upon request by the parties. Plaintiff’s counsel, or any counsel the parties agree to, will be designated as lead counsel who shall work with opposing counsel to select a neutral and notify the court clerk of the agreed upon neutral, no later than twenty days from the start of the referral. Please note that once the case has been referred to ADR, those deadlines are binding and may only be extended by order of the Court. Lead counsel will be contacted by the Court if deadlines have expired.; A list of approved neutrals and the Court’s ADR referral procedure may be obtained from the Clerk’s Office. The Court retains the authority to appoint a neutral other than one from the list of approved neutrals.; If a settlement is reached, the Court shall be notified immediately and parties shall file a Stipulation for Dismissal within thirty days. The Court shall also be notified immediately if a settlement is not reached so the case can proceed to trial.
VOIR DIRE IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CASES: After initial questions by the Court, counsel may conduct the voir dire subject to time limits. The voir dire specifics, such as time limits, will be outlined at the pretrial conference. In every case, the Court reserves the right to conduct the voir dire. In such cases, counsel will be encouraged to submit voir dire questions to the Court no later than two days before trial.