Thomas C. Mummert III - United States Magistrate Judge

Requirements

1. Informal Matters

I am generally available for informal matters on a daily basis. If you are in the courthouse and wish to step in, please do. If I am in, and not on the bench, I will handle your informal matter. If you wish to call and make an appointment to see me, that is also acceptable. If the matter is not by consent of all parties, opposing counsel must also be present or available by telephone. Oaths of Admission of new attorneys can be scheduled at your convenience. Please call for an appointment

2. Rule 16 Conferences

Unless otherwise notified, the Rule 16 Conferences are held in chambers. Attorneys are permitted to participate by telephone when they notify my office in advance of the Rule 16 Conference. Those wishing to participate by telephone must make the telephone call to chambers on the date and time of the conference. If more than one party intends to participate by telephone, the attorneys are responsible for setting up the conference call to my office on the date and time of the hearing. At the Rule 16 Conference be prepared to discuss your case and to specifically discuss any potential problems or unusual issues that your case presents.

3. Scheduling and Status Conferences

Counsel may request a scheduling or status conference when the need arises by calling my office and setting up an appointment.

4. Discovery Disputes

I schedule discovery motion hearings within two weeks of receipt of the motion. I do not wait for or require a response/reply brief unless the party requests that option. The discovery hearings are generally set at 8:30 in the morning and the motions are ruled on immediately. If the discovery issues involve complex matters of law this procedure is adjusted to fit the dispute.

5. Dates in the Case Management Order

Generally, the trial date and the date for filing dispositive motions are "etched in stone" and will not be moved absent exceptional circumstances. Other dates in the case management order may be changed by written order of court. If both parties agree to adjust dates other than the trial date or dispositive motion dates in the case management order, counsel may file a consent motion to amend the case management order detailing the requested changes. I will usually grant that motion on its face and the new dates will become part of the case management order.

6. Treating Physicians - Experts

My view is that when a party wishes to elicit testimony from a treating physician regarding causation, the treating physician becomes an expert witness and must be disclosed as such. If the treating physician simply testifies as to diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment, the physician is not an expert witness and must be disclosed as any other fact witness.

7. Final Pretrial Conference

I will set a final pretrial conference on the week preceding the trial. At that conference, scheduling issues, evidentiary problems, motions in limine, and any other relevant matters will be discussed. A record may be made on those issues requiring such a record. Counsel will also be advised of the starting time of the trial for the following Monday, usually either 9:00 am or 1:00 pm.

8. Jurors and Voir Dire

The venire panel is seated from left to right beginning in the back row of the jury box and moving down to the first row to the seats placed in front of the jury box.

Jury trials begin at either 9:00 am or 1:00 pm depending on the extent of the criminal docket on the week of trial. Counsel will be advised at the final pretrial conference of the starting time.

Counsel will be provided with a jury panel list as the jury arrives in the courtroom. The list contains the names, employer, former employer, occupation, spouse's employer and occupation, and the number of employees the prospective juror supervises in the work force. The list also contains the municipality in which the juror lives. The list must be returned to the deputy clerk after the jury is selected.

I will open voir dire by explaining its purpose and describing the voir dire procedure to the jury. I may ask a few basic questions of the panel. At request of counsel, I will also inquire into any specific area relevant to the lawsuit. Finally, I will read the brief stipulated statement of the nature of the case prepared by counsel as part of the pretrial package. General voir dire will be conducted by counsel. Challenges for cause must be made at the sidebar and not in front of the venire panel. At the completion of voir dire, counsel will make their strikes for cause at the sidebar. After the strikes for cause are made, the venire panel will be excused from the courtroom and the preemptory strikes will be made by the parties.

Unlike state court, the alternate juror selected is required to deliberate and is not excluded from the deliberation process. (See Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 48).

9. Courtroom Logistics

Use of the Lectern: Voir dire, opening statements, examination of witnesses, and closing arguments must be made from the lectern. You may approach a witness to deliver an exhibit but must then return to the lectern for questioning.
Objections: Stand, approach the lectern and state the legal basis for your objection without argument or elaboration. I will either rule or ask you to approach for a sidebar conference.
Recording: The proceedings in my courtroom are usually electronically recorded. Therefore, anything you say must be directed into the microphone at the lectern. If you speak from one of the counsel tables or while you are returning to the lectern after handing an exhibit to a witness, your question or objection may not be part of the record.
Exhibits: You must pre-mark all exhibits as set out in the case management order. Unlike state court, neither the deputy clerk nor a court reporter will mark your exhibits for you.
Jury Instructions: I prefer to use the Manual of Model Civil Jury Instructions for the District Courts of the Eighth Circuit and Missouri Approved Instructions for all boilerplate and for any substantive matter covered by these instructions. I send the instructions to the jury in writing. Each party should have available clean copies of their proposed instructions for this purpose. I also request counsel to have instructions on a computer disk formatted for work perfect 6.1 in order to assist my office in making necessary changes in a more efficient manner.

10. Courtroom Decorum

Please stand when the jury enters the courtroom and at all times when speaking.

No eating, drinking other than water, gum chewing, audible beepers or watches are allowed. Please tell you clients and witnesses these rules.

Please be civil to one another and to the court employees.

11. Miscellaneous Trial Procedures

Use of Depositions at Trial: If either party intends to read a deposition in lieu of calling a live witness, it is incumbent upon counsel to review the depositions for objections and resolve all possible objections in the deposition prior to the time the deposition is to be read at trial. I will rule on those objections that remain contested at counsel's convenience. (Early mornings, lunch, or an evening after trial).
Use of Exhibits and Opening Statements: This is permitted as long as you have consent from opposing counsel and advise the court in advance.
Rule Excluding Witnesses from Courtroom (The Rule): If you wish to exclude potential witnesses from the courtroom during trial, you must advise me at the final pretrial conference. Once in place, the rule remains in place for the entire trial.