Kings County trial binder and trial document requirements

All parties are required to appear at the Case Management Conference. Cases determined to be at issue will be assigned a date for trial, mandatory settlement conference, and trial readiness hearing. Parties will be asked to dismiss all DOE defendants at the time of trial setting, unless good cause has been shown.

This is where the Rule 311 and Rule 312 clocks get set, so read the resulting order closely. I searched every occurrence of "trial readiness" in the book: this is the only one outside Chapter 5, where Rules 524, 525, 532 and 533 govern felony and misdemeanor readiness and confirmation hearings. Nothing in Chapters 2, 3 or 4 states what must be filed, lodged, served or addressed at a civil trial readiness hearing, and the rules never reconcile that label with the Rule 312(1) Pretrial Conference or Motions in Limine Hearing. Rule 205(A) has the clerk issue the CMC notice at filing for a date no less than 120 days out, and Rule 205(H) warns that failure to timely file and serve a case management statement may draw sanctions. Rule 204 requires every pending case to carry a future calendared event. Chapter 2's general civil scope limit applies.

In all limited and unlimited civil cases not falling under California Code of Civil Procedure §§ 90-98 (Economic Litigation), California Rules of Court, rule 3.400 et seq. (Complex Cases) and/or California Rules of Court, rule 3.2220 et seq. (CEQA), the court conducts a Pretrial Conference or Motions in Limine Hearing.

Verified in Chapter 3, Civil Law and Motion, against the chapter heading. Rule 312's opening paragraph states the outer scope: "The following shall apply in all limited and unlimited jurisdiction civil trials conducted in the Kings County Superior Court." Chapter 3 is broader than Chapter 2: Rule 300 makes it applicable to all non-criminal and non-family law cases, so Rule 312 reaches probate and unlawful detainer matters that Chapter 2 does not. Rule 404(D)(1) pulls unlawful detainer jury trials into Rule 312 expressly. The local rules fix no interval between this hearing and trial, so take the date from the trial setting order and count backward from it.

To comply with this rule, the parties must meet and confer prior to the Motion in Limine Hearing or Pretrial Conference.

No deadline is stated for the conferral. Because most of the Rule 312(1) deliverables are joint documents, it has to happen early enough to draft them. The same paragraph adds that where a party is self represented, "a good faith attempt must be made to comply with this rule." Rule 102 defines meet and confer as a telephone conference or, whenever reasonably possible, a face to face meeting, and says an exchange of letters alone does not satisfy the obligation.

In all general civil matters, at the time the court sets the case for trial, a settlement conference shall also be set at least fifteen (15) calendar days prior to the trial date.

Scope matters here and is easy to miss. Rule 200 confines Chapter 2 to "all general civil cases, as defined in Rule 102," and Rule 102 defines a general civil case to exclude probate, guardianship, conservatorship, family law, juvenile proceedings, other civil petitions, complex litigation, unlawful detainer and small claims. So a case deemed complex under CRC 3.400 is outside this rule. Calendar days, unlike the court day counts in Rule 311; Rule 102 makes "day" mean calendar day unless otherwise specified. Fifteen days is a floor. Under Rule 205(E) the trial date, MSC date and trial readiness hearing date all issue from the case management conference at once. Rule 207(F) lets the court set further settlement conferences or pull the case off the trial calendar.

All parties and their representative(s), except those under the custody of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, shall be personally present at the settlement conference. Remote appearances by video are permitted for mandatory settlement conferences only upon successful application to appear and entry of an order authorizing remote appearance.

Subdivision (D) carries the entity and carrier language: "A party who is not an individual shall appear by a representative who shall be fully familiar with the facts of the case and have full authority to settle. In any case which requires consent of an insurance carrier to settle, an employee of the insurance carrier who is fully familiar with the case and who has full authority to settle shall be personally present at the settlement conference. A claims adjuster retained only for the purpose of attending the settlement conference will not be deemed to comply with this rule." Subdivision (C) excuses an insured party where the carrier admits coverage on all causes of action, full authority sits with the carrier and counsel, and the highest demand is within limits. Rule 207(B) cites CRC 3.672(e) and "Code Civ. Proc. §376.75"; the statutory cite reads as a transposition of CCP 367.75, quoted as printed. Chapter 2's general civil scope limit applies.

Unless otherwise ordered, the settlement conference will be conducted by the judicial officer assigned to hear the case for all purposes, including trial. Any party's objection to the settlement conference being conducted by the regularly assigned judicial officer must be filed and served within fifteen (15) days after service of the Notice of Trial by the court. Failure to file a timely objection shall waive the objection for all purposes.

Offset token defined for this row: the 15 days runs forward from service of the Notice of Trial, not backward from any event. A hard waiver that fires early, right after trial setting and long before anyone is thinking about the MSC, so calendar it off the Notice of Trial the day it arrives. This subdivision is also the only civil provision in the book presupposing an all purpose assignment; the rules that actually adopt all purpose assignment, Rules 535 and 621, cover criminal and juvenile cases only. Chapter 2's general civil scope limit applies.

As to all motions in limine to which opposition will be lodged, the parties shall submit to the court in a binder, a document which includes a not more than three (3) page argument for, and a not more than three (3) page argument against, each of the motions. The six (6) page per motion limitation provided for herein is exclusive of exhibits and any table of contents or table of authorities offered by the parties.

The most distinctive requirement in Kings: a single joint document combining both sides' arguments on each contested motion, not a motion and a separate opposition. Subdivision (B)(4) states no deadline of its own, which is why the offset is see_rule rather than a day count. The operative dates come from Rule 311(A), which sets five court days for filing and lodging the in limine papers, and Rule 311(B)(5), which sets five court days for the evidence binder, so lodge this with them. The practical consequence is that the other side's three pages have to be in hand well before that, which is what the 15 court day exchange is for.

All documentary evidence relied on in support of or in opposition to a motion in limine regarding which an opposition has been offered, must be compiled into a single binder. The exhibits shall be tabbed to correspond with each of the motions and shall be clearly identified so that the court can easily determine the motion or opposition to which such evidence is directed. The binder shall be lodged with the clerk of the court at the filing window. The binder must be lodged not less than five (5) court days prior to the scheduled motion in limine hearing date.

A single binder for all parties, joint rather than per side. Delivery is specified as the filing window, which reads as physical delivery even though Kings has had mandatory civil e-filing since July 1, 2021. Rule 309(C) shows the court authorizes an email alternative when it intends one, and it did not do so here. Whether the clerk accepts a PDF binder in practice is not addressed.

There shall be made available for use at trial, at least four (4) true and correct copies of all exhibits to be referenced during trial. The parties must have the pages of all exhibits Bates stamped. A USB flash drive containing all documents shall be provided to the court. Each party shall have a copy of the exhibits at counsel table. A copy of the exhibits shall be located at the witness stand, and the court shall be provided with a copy of all exhibits for its own reference during testimony.

Four copies is a floor, and the three placements named account for only three of them. Bates stamping is mandatory for all exhibit pages. This USB is separate from the jury instruction USB under Rule 312(1)(I). The rule does not say when the USB is handed over; read with Rule 312(1)(H) it is most safely brought to the in limine hearing.

The parties should be prepared to provide/address the following at the conference/hearing, as appropriate: A. The estimated length of trial (including jury selection); B. The joint list of witness names to be read to the jury; C. Any witness or attorney scheduling issues; D. Any witness issues (e.g., unavailability, need for interpreters, etc.); E. Any anticipated evidentiary or other legal issues; F. Any party stipulations;

Quotation truncated at subdivision (F) for length; the individually significant subdivisions are broken out into their own rows below. Item (S) is a catch all: "Any other trial issues that the parties reasonably can anticipate." The qualifier "as appropriate" softens the list, but Rule 312's consequence clause attaches to the rule as a whole.

The joint list of witness names to be read to the jury;

Names only. The rule does not call for a summary of anticipated testimony, an estimate of time on the stand, or separate expert and percipient lists. I searched the full rule book: no civil rule requires a party to file or serve its own witness list and none states a deadline in days. The per party witness list provisions in the book are Rule 605(B) in Chapter 6 (Juvenile) and Rule 722(A) in Chapter 7 (Family), and neither reaches civil. Rule 312(3)(A) puts witness availability on counsel and warns that if a party has no more witnesses to call, "the court may deem that party to have rested."

A joint list of exhibits expected to be introduced at trial, with any exhibit-related disputes clearly identified for the court. To the extent allowed by law, exhibits shall be exchanged prior to the Pretrial Conference or Motions in Limine Hearing. Exhibits shall be presented the court in a binder or other organized fashion ready for the clerk's processing during trial. The clerk will use a numerical system of designation of all exhibits.

"Exhibits shall be presented the court" is missing the word "to" in the published PDF. That is the court's typographical error and the sentence is quoted as printed; I confirmed it against both a layout and a raw pdftotext extraction. Numerical designation for all exhibits means no letters for defense exhibits in Kings civil, unlike Rule 722(B) in the family chapter, which splits letters and numbers by party.

Except as to rebuttal exhibits, the clerk will generally not mark exhibits at the time designated for the start of trial. Exhibits that are not marked during the Pretrial Conference or Motion in Limine Hearing must be presented to the clerk at least two (2) court days prior to the start of trial for marking;

One of only two deadlines in the civil rules stated in days against the trial date. The other is the 15 calendar day mandatory settlement conference under Rule 207(A). I swept Chapters 1 through 4 for every phrase counting against the trial date and found no third. Everything else in the trial preparation set counts off the in limine hearing date.

Each party shall request that an exhibit be marked for identification before referencing it. Each exhibit shall only be made up of one (1) document per exhibit. Any subsequent reference to the exhibit shall mention the exhibit designation so the appellate record is clear.

One document per exhibit governs how the exhibit list is built, not just how it is used at trial. A compiled set of correspondence or a multi part report cannot go in as a single exhibit, so plan the numbering before the joint exhibit list is finalized. Rule 126(C)(2)'s exhibit designation page requirement is not a companion here: Rule 126(C) is headed "Regarding conventionally filed documents" and reaches only paper filings, which in a mandatory e-filing county is almost nothing.

All disputes regarding exhibits will be heard along with the Motions in Limine.

Read with Rule 312(1)(H), which requires exhibit disputes to be "clearly identified for the court" on the joint exhibit list. Together these mean an objection not surfaced on the joint list and argued at the in limine hearing is on borrowed time. Evidence supporting an exhibit dispute belongs in the Rule 311(B)(5) binder.

A party shall not publish any exhibit to the jury without first requesting to do so. After the request, any objection must be immediately made. Absent a prompt objection, the request generally will be granted as a matter of course.

The objection window is immediate. Pair this with Rule 312(1)(O), which puts on the in limine hearing agenda whether the jury will automatically get copies of all exhibits during deliberations or only specific exhibits on request.

A joint list of jury instructions and verdicts, with any disputes clearly identified for the court. The parties shall lodge copies of the requested jury instructions and verdicts with the court consistent with California Rules of Court, rule 2.1050 et seq. and California Rules of Court, rule 3.1580. A USB flash drive containing all proposed jury instructions must be provided to the court along with hard copies;

The USB requirement is easy to miss. It is stated here for jury instructions, and Rule 312(4)(A) separately requires a USB containing all exhibit documents, so the court takes paper plus USB twice. "Lodge" is the only Rule 312(1) item using that word. The rule borrows CRC 3.1580 for timing rather than displacing it, and the state rule was not read in this pass, so confirm its schedule before relying on it.

A joint list of jury instructions and verdicts, with any disputes clearly identified for the court. The parties shall lodge copies of the requested jury instructions and verdicts with the court consistent with California Rules of Court, rule 2.1050 et seq. and California Rules of Court, rule 3.1580.

Same subdivision as the instructions row, broken out because the product treats verdict forms separately. The USB sentence covers "all proposed jury instructions" only and does not name verdict forms, so hard copies of the verdicts are required and an electronic copy is not expressly commanded. No civil rule assigns the drafting of the verdict forms to a party; the only such assignment in the book is Rule 503, which puts them on the prosecuting attorney in criminal cases.

A joint statement of the case to be read to the jury;

Joint, so it has to be negotiated with the other side before the hearing. No length limit and no content requirement is stated. Rule 312(1)(K) separately calls for a "brief outline of the case," which is a second and different narrative document tied to voir dire.

A trial brief;

That is the entire text of the subdivision. Three words. No page limit, no required sections, no statement of whether it is filed or lodged, no day count. I searched the full rule book for "trial brief" and this is the only occurrence anywhere. Because Rule 312's consequence clause reaches the whole rule, the safe reading is that a brief is expected at the hearing and its form is a department question. Rule 311 sets page limits for the in limine arguments, so the court imposes one when it wants to.

All transcripts of depositions to be read into the record must have all non-read portions redacted. The deposition transcripts will then be incorporated into the official report's record.

The only local provision on deposition testimony at trial. I searched the full rule book: no local deadline for serving designations, no counter designation procedure and no objection procedure anywhere in the civil chapters. "[O]fficial report's record" appears to mean the court reporter's record and is quoted as printed. Practical read: designations have to be settled early enough to produce a clean redacted transcript, and objections route to the in limine track under Rule 311 or to Rule 312(4)(C).

Those documents required by Kings County Superior Court Local Rule 311, in the form required by that rule;

The cross reference that ties the two rules together. Rule 311 sets the real deadlines, 15 court days for exchange and 5 court days for filing and lodging, and this subdivision confirms the in limine papers are part of the pretrial package.

All motions in limine and any opposition thereto must be filed with the court not less than five (5) court days prior to date on which they will be considered by the court. Additionally, parties shall lodge with the clerk of the court all motions in limine and any opposition consistent with the format set forth in Section (B). The court reserves the right to modify such deadline to meet the particular case management needs of any action.

Two separate acts, filing and lodging. Filing runs through the mandatory e-filing system; lodging goes to the clerk. "[P]rior to date on which they will be considered by the court" is printed without the word "the," quoted as found. Rule 311 was amended effective 1/1/2023.

The parties must exchange their in limine motions not less than fifteen (15) court days prior to the motion in limine hearing date. The court encourages parties to utilize available forms of electronic transmission.

Court days, not calendar days, so state holidays push it out. Since the joint six page argument document under (B)(4) has to be built out of the exchanged motions and lodged by the five court day mark, the working window between exchange and lodging is about ten court days.

The parties must discuss orally or in writing the exchanged motions with an eye towards limiting the disputes or issues to be addressed by the court.

No deadline of its own. It has to fit between the 15 court day exchange and the 5 court day lodging of the stipulation and the binders.

The parties shall draft a stipulation and proposed order to be lodged not less than five (5) court days prior to the motion in limine hearing date, setting forth all motions that the parties agree should be granted by the court.

Mandatory, not optional. If the parties agree on any in limine motion, that agreement goes to the court as a stipulation with a proposed order rather than being argued. Rule 128(A) requires any proposed order to be a stand alone document, which cuts against burying this at the end of another filing.

A proposed order must be submitted for each motion to be ruled on by the court. The proposed order shall be submitted with the motion in limine to which it applies. The proposed order, which may be submitted at the end of the relevant motion or as a separate pleading, shall include blank boxes so that the court may mark the motion granted, denied, denied without prejudice to renew at an appropriate time, or modified (with space for the modification).

Four check boxes plus a blank for modifications. The subdivision states no deadline of its own, but the order travels with the motion, so it inherits Rule 311(A)'s five court day deadline. This subdivision expressly permits the proposed order at the end of the motion or as a separate pleading, which is a carve out from Rule 128(A)'s stand alone document requirement. "[M]odified (with space for the modification)" means leave physical room on the page.

In cases where one party is unrepresented and/or opposing counsel is refusing to comply with the requirements set forth in paragraph B, the party filing a motion in limine must submit a declaration with their motion setting forth good cause for their failure to comply with this local rule of court. The declaration must set forth in specific detail all attempts made by the filing party to comply with paragraph B.

The only escape hatch from the joint document requirements. The declaration is submitted with the motion, so it carries the motion's five court day deadline. "[I]n specific detail all attempts" means dates and substance, so paper the outreach as it happens rather than reconstructing it later.

Any failure by a party to comply with the deadlines set forth herein and/or alternate deadlines set by the assigned trial judge, may result in the non-compliant pleading being disregarded by the court.

A sanction provision, not a deadline, which is why the offset is see_rule. The PDF breaks the word at the line end as "non-" followed by "compliant" on the next line; rendered here closed up, which is how the same rule set writes "non-adherence" mid line at Rule 207(H). The second half of the sentence is the clearest signal in the rules that the assigned judge sets their own dates.

A joint list of voir dire questions, agreed upon juror questionnaire (if appropriate), and brief outline of the case per California Rules of Court, Standard 3.25(b);

The brief outline of the case here is a distinct document from the joint statement of the case under subdivision (G). The local rule's citation form is "California Rules of Court, Standard 3.25(b)," quoted as printed; Standard 3.25 was not read in this pass, so pull it before relying on its content. Kings uses a 16 pack voir dire method under Rule 312(2)(A) unless the court and parties agree otherwise, and Rule 312(2)(B) commits the court and parties to CCP 222.5 and Standard 3.25.

Prior to the commencement of any trial or hearing, a typed transcription of any sound recording which counsel expects to offer into evidence as an exhibit shall be prepared at the direction and expense of the proponent of the evidence and shall be certified by the preparer as containing a true transcription of such recorded statement. The proponent of such recording shall prepare enough copies of such transcript for each of the following persons to have a copy: each juror and alternate juror, the judge, each opposing party, each opposing counsel, the court clerk, and the court reporter.

Rule 109 sits in Chapter 1, General and Administrative Rules, and applies across divisions including civil. For a 12 person jury with alternates this runs to roughly 20 copies. Rule 312(4)(E) adds the CRC 2.1040 obligation and the waiver: "The court shall deem that the party receiving the transcript before announcing 'ready' waives any objection to the accuracy of the transcript unless raised at the first trial appearance before this court." That waiver is easy to blow, so read any transcript received before announcing ready.

The party offering an exhibit is responsible for supplying/arranging for any equipment necessary to present that exhibit, such as a sound or video device for a CD or DVD.

Pair with Rule 312(1)(P), which puts "[a]ny audio, video, or computer needs/accommodations required for trial" on the agenda for the Pretrial Conference or Motions in Limine Hearing. Raise equipment there, then bring your own.

A party requesting the services of an official court reporter must file their request with the Court ten (10) calendar days before the proceeding for which a court reporter is desired, or as soon as practicable.

Rule 130(1)(B): "The court does not normally provide official court reporters for reporting proceedings in unlimited civil cases." Same for limited civil under (1)(E), which may be electronically recorded under Gov. Code 69957. The rule warns that notice of availability "may not be given until the day of the trial or hearing and may result in a continuance of the matter if there is no court reporter available," so treat the ten day request as a floor and arrange a private reporter in parallel on any case where the record matters. The court's site carries the same notice effective September 1, 2024. Fee waiver parties use form FW-020 under Rule 130(3). Rule 130 is in Chapter 1 and applies across divisions.

All parties who are represented by counsel, and who estimate that their trial will be five (5) days or longer must engage in mediation prior to the scheduled mandatory settlement conference date. If the mediation is completed but unsuccessful at resolving the case, and the parties stipulate that the mediation was meaningful and conducted in good faith, then the settlement conference can (upon request) be removed by the court.

Offset token defined for this row: completion required at some point before the MSC date, with no lead time stated. Rule 210(B) repeats it: "Mediation must be completed prior to the date of the Mandatory Settlement Conference. Remote appearances are not authorized for mediation sessions and will be conducted in person at the Kings County Superior Court." Rule 209(B) is the sting: if the court vacates or continues trial for noncompliance with this rule, that continuance "does not operate to reopen discovery proceedings" under CCP 2024.020(b). Rule 210(A) makes parties subject to Rule 209 whose demand does not exceed $500,000 eligible for the court's free Civil Mediation Program. Chapter 2's general civil scope limit applies, so a complex case is outside Rule 209.

The parties shall bring any trial motions before the commencement of jury selection, unless the motion reasonably could not have been anticipated previously - in which case the moving party shall seek to have the motion(s) heard before the jury returns the next day at 8:30 a.m., if possible. The court generally will not hear motions while the jury is waiting unless it is necessary to avoid prejudice to one of the parties.

The hyphen in the quotation is a plain hyphen used as a dash in the published PDF, reproduced as printed. Subdivision (A) carries the conferral duty: "Before bringing any trial motion, the parties shall meet to discuss whether they can reach an informal resolution." The 8:30 a.m. reference is the only indication in the civil rules of when the trial day starts.

In connection with any regularly scheduled motion, any party filing a document within 2 courts days of the noticed hearing date, shall lodge an additional copy of all filed documents and exhibits. The additional copy provided for under this rule shall be a complete and unaltered photocopy of the documents and exhibits filed. Unless expressly ordered by the assigned judicial officer, legal research copies are not required in connection with any document filed more than two court days prior to the hearing of a regularly scheduled motion. There is no exception for documents that are electronically filed.

"2 courts days" is printed that way in the PDF; quoted as found. Whether this reaches in limine papers is an inference and not a rule: Rule 309(B) governs "any regularly scheduled motion," and nothing says a motion in limine calendared for a Pretrial Conference is one. Rule 311(A)'s five court day deadline should keep in limine papers outside the two court day window in any event. Subdivision (C) gives the address research.copies@kings.courts.ca.gov and the file label format of case number, submitting party, document title and hearing date run together. Subdivision (E) requires submission simultaneously with or before filing. Subdivision (F): failure to strictly comply "may result in a delay of the court's hearing and consideration of the motion or application." Subdivision (A) carries a parallel rule for ex parte applications.

No time standard or deadline specified in these rules, nor any schedule, date, time limitation or other requirement imposed by any order made pursuant to these rules may be modified, extended, or voided by any stipulation or agreement of the parties unless a written order approving it is obtained from the court. Continuances, extensions, or modifications may be obtained by noticed motion or ex parte application, on a showing of good cause.

This is what makes the Rule 311 and Rule 312 deadlines hard. Agreeing with opposing counsel to swap in limine motions late does not move the deadline. Subdivision (B): "No trial date may be vacated or continued, except for good cause upon a duly noticed motion in a manner consistent with the provisions of California Rules of Court, rules 3.1332 and 3.1335." Rule 311(A) and Rule 312's opening paragraph are the exceptions, and both route through the court rather than through a stipulation. Rule 208 sits in Chapter 2, so its literal reach is general civil cases, though its subject is the rules generally.

Unless specifically ordered by the court, all exhibits marked, identified and/or admitted into evidence in a civil case must be retrieved by the offering party at the conclusion of trial. The party introducing the exhibits is responsible for maintaining and preserving the exhibit pending any post-verdict proceedings and appeals, until there is a final disposition of the action or proceeding. All exhibit tags and other identifying markings or information concerning each exhibit must remain in place and not be disturbed.

Chapter 1 rule, applies to civil by its own terms. The court does not keep civil exhibits. The rule adds that each exhibit "must remain intact and in the same condition as during trial" and must be promptly delivered back to the court on request, with notice to all parties. Plan storage before trial ends and build the exhibit sets so a retrieved set stays intact.

Any failure by counsel and/or parties to comply with this rule may result in the court vacating and rescheduling the trial date.

The sanction with the most reach, because it attaches to the whole of Rule 312 rather than to any one subdivision. Read it with Rule 209(B): where the court vacates or continues a trial date for failure to comply with the mandatory mediation rule, the continuance "does not operate to reopen discovery proceedings" under CCP 2024.020(b). Rule 103 sits behind all of it, treating noncompliance with any local rule as "an unlawful interference with the proceedings of the court" and authorizing fees, payment to the county, "an appropriate change in the calendar status of the case, and impose any other sanctions authorized by law, including dismissal of a pending action," against the party, the attorney, or both. Rule 207(H) adds a fee shifting remedy for settlement conference noncompliance.

The court will consider modifications to specific terms of this rule on a case-by-case basis, which should be raised, if possible, before the scheduled Motion in Limine Hearing or Pretrial Conference.

The PDF breaks the word at the line end as "case-" then "by-case"; rendered closed up, the spelling the same rule set uses elsewhere. Pair with Rule 311(A)'s reference to "alternate deadlines set by the assigned trial judge" and Rule 309(B)'s reservation to the "assigned judicial officer." Kings posts no civil department standing orders, so the only route to the assigned judge's preferences is to ask, and the rule says to ask early. The judge is identifiable from the outset because Rule 202(A) requires the Notice of Judicial Assignment to be served with the summons and complaint, and the court's location page lists Departments 1 through 10 with their judicial officers.