Madera County trial binder and trial document requirements

Parties and trial counsel shall be prepared to participate in a Trial Management Conference promptly at 9:30 a.m. on the Monday on which the trial is calendared.

Paragraph 1 reads: "All jury trials and long cause court trials in actions which are assigned to either the Temporary Remote Department and Department 44 shall be calendared to commence on Mondays at 9:30 a.m." So the conference is the first morning of trial. Calendar backward from the trial date, not from a separate conference. Scope: by its terms this order applies to the Temporary Remote Department and Department 44, and by para. 1 only to jury trials and long cause court trials. The court's Civil Division page directs long cause litigants in Dept. 44 or Dept. 45 to review it, which is the only route extending it to Dept. 45.

For jury trials, the process of jury selection will commence at 9:30 am on the Tuesday morning following the Trial Management Conference, subject to hardships first being conducted by the Jury Commissioner under CRC 2.1008(b).

For a court trial the sequence is tighter. Paragraph 3 reads: "For long cause court trials, the trial will commence on Monday morning immediately following the Trial Management Conference." Practical effect either way: everything under paragraph 7 has to be in hand Monday morning. Scope limited to the Temporary Remote Department and Department 44 by the order's own terms.

Mandatory Settlement Calendar. The Calendar Clerk shall set a Mandatory Settlement Conference within the time frame of California Rule of Court 3.1380.

Division 2, Chapter 8 (Settlement Conferences). CRC 3.1380(a) sets no interval either; it says the court may set one or more mandatory settlement conferences on its own motion or at a party's request. So the date is the court's. Read with rule 2.9.2(b): the settlement conference notice goes out with the notice of trial, so both dates arrive together.

Settlement Conference. The Court shall maintain a settlement conference calendar pursuant to Rule 3.1380 of the California Rules of Court. The Calendar Clerk shall send all parties to the case a notice to attend a settlement conference with the notice of trial.

Division 2, Chapter 9 (Settlement Conference Setting), rule captioned "Setting Procedure." The trial notice is the document that tells you both dates. Watch for it, because the standing pre trial order is handed out at the MSC under para. 10 of that order, which is the court's own delivery route for the trial requirements.

No less than five (5) court days before the settlement conference, each party shall have delivered to the Calendar Clerk a settlement statement. The statements will be deemed confidential unless service on the other parties appears on the brief. The statements shall contain the information required by California Rule of Court, rule 3.1380. The statements will be maintained in a confidential portion of the electronic file for 180 days after the conference and will thereafter be destroyed without further notice unless otherwise ordered by the court.

Amended effective 1/1/2026 to add the 180 day confidential retention and destruction language. The five court day interval matches the state rule, it is not tighter: CRC 3.1380(c) reads "No later than five court days before the initial date set for the settlement conference, each party must submit to the court and serve on each party a mandatory settlement conference statement." The mechanics do differ. The local rule directs delivery to the Calendar Clerk and makes the statement confidential unless service on the other parties appears on its face, while the state rule requires service on each party and lists the required contents at CRC 3.1380(c)(1) through (4). Reconcile the two before you decide whether to serve. There is no Madera local form for a civil settlement conference statement; MAD-CIV-013 is the Family Law Settlement Conference Statement.

Plaintiffs, trial counsel, insurance company representatives, and defendants in cases other than personal injury cases where there is insurance coverage, must be present. In medical malpractice cases where doctor or hospital consent to settlement is required, those parties must also be present or have given their open consent to the insurance company for settlement.

Rule captioned "Persons Whose Presence is Required." Personal presence, not telephonic availability. The rule is silent on remote appearance; Division 10 governs remote hearings generally and adds nothing specific to settlement conferences. CRC 3.1380(b) independently requires trial counsel, parties and persons with full settlement authority to attend personally unless excused for good cause.

Counsel and the interested parties shall be prepared to state their best demand and offer at the settlement conference. If the Court later determines that a significantly different demand or offer is made in the case that results in later settlement, the Court may assess sanctions against the offending party and/or counsel.

Rule captioned "Demands and Offers." Unusual, and worth flagging to a client. Holding back a number at the MSC and producing it two weeks later to settle is sanctionable on the face of the rule.

Discovery should be completed by the time of the Settlement Conference. The Court recognizes that many times counsel or self-represented litigant will have reserved some discovery pending the outcome of the settlement conference. However, if the Court determines that discovery is not substantially completed, and this will have a significant influence on the settlement, the Settlement Calendar Judge may either take the case off calendar and strike the At Issue Memorandum, or refer the matter to the Presiding Judge for such action as he or she deems appropriate.

Rule captioned "Discovery." Striking the at issue memorandum sends the case back off the trial track, so the consequence is real. Madera does use an At Issue Memorandum, local form MAD-CIV-001, and rule 3.5.1 takes the case management conference off calendar once one is filed.

Unexcused absence from the conference may result in sanctions and/or removal of the case from the active list and/or striking of pleadings, and/or default proceedings and/or dismissal of the case. Failure to be prepared may result in sanctions and/or removal of the case from the active list.

Rule captioned "Failure to Attend or be Prepared." This is the only place in the Madera civil rules where a specific consequence attaches to a pretrial failure. Nothing comparable is published for missing a trial document deadline.

Voluntary Settlement Calendar. The Calendar Clerk shall set any long cause case on a Voluntary Settlement Calendar (Panel or Judge) at the request of any party or the Court's own motion. If any party objects to such setting, the objecting party shall file an objection to same within five (5) days of notice of same. Said objection will then be set for hearing before the civil law and motion judge on a date selected by the Clerk of the Court.

Separate track from the mandatory settlement conference under subdivision (b). Five days to object, and the objection gets its own hearing. A construction defect case will be a long cause case, so this is available.

Each short cause shall be set for trial and be exempt from any requirement of a settlement conference.

Division 2, Chapter 12, captioned "Civil Active List and Conference Setting in Departments 37, 40, 44, 45." This matters because the standing pre trial order is distributed at the mandatory settlement conference under its para. 10, so a short cause litigant never receives the trial requirements by the court's own route. Rule 2.9.2(a) governs short cause designation under CRC 3.735 and gives a party who did not participate in selecting the date one continuance of right.

Exhibit lists and exhibits. Exhibits should be pre-marked and placed in the separate binders - one for the clerk, one for the witness, and the original for the trial judge. Note: exhibit lists can be emailed to the Judicial Courtroom Assistant.

Read the two halves separately. The para. 7 preamble says the parties "shall submit to the court and exchange with each other" the listed items, so submission at the conference is mandatory. Item (b) says exhibits "should be pre-marked and placed in the separate binders," which is how the court words the format. This is an exhibit binder, not a full trial notebook. The order does not say whether each party brings three sets or the parties produce three jointly, and says nothing about a fourth set with multiple parties. No tabs, index, page numbering, electronic alternative, or delivery location other than the conference is published. Local rule 6.2.1 keeps trial exhibits off e-filing, which points to paper. Scope limited to the Temporary Remote Department and Department 44 by the order's own terms.

At the Trial Management Conference, the parties shall submit to the court and exchange with each other (where not already done - see above) all of the following: All Trials: a. Original discovery to be used during the trial

Bring the original verified responses and original deposition transcripts you intend to use, not copies. The order does not use the phrase "deposition designations" and publishes no designation or counter-designation procedure. Scope limited to the Temporary Remote Department and Department 44.

Certain documents/filings are not eligible for submission through electronic filing and must be filed through conventional methods. A notice that identifies the existence, content, and physical filing of the document/filing must be electronically filed by the Court user as specified or instructed. These documents/filings include: ... Exhibits to be lodged for Hearings or Trials;

Division 6 (Electronic Filing), Chapter 2 (Exclusions and Exceptions), rule captioned "Exceptions to E-filing." The ellipsis stands in for the alphabetical list of excluded document types; the exhibits line is quoted exactly as it appears in that list. Read with the standing order's binder directive, exhibits are a paper delivery. Everything else in a Madera civil case is e-filed under Chapter 1 and CRC 2.250 et seq., in text searchable OCR PDF conforming to CRC 2.256 and 3.1110 per rule 6.1.4.

At the Trial Management Conference, the parties shall submit to the court and exchange with each other (where not already done - see above) all of the following: All Trials: ... c. Witness lists.

The ellipsis stands in for items (a) and (b), quoted in their own rows. Item (c) sits under the heading "All Trials," so it reaches bench trials. The order sets no content requirements for the list, no separate designation of expert versus percipient witnesses, and no per witness time estimates, though time estimates are a listed conference topic under para. 8(c). Scope limited to the Temporary Remote Department and Department 44.

Exhibits- prior to the Trial Management Conference, and no later than one week before trial, the parties shall meet and confer concerning exhibits to be introduced at trial. This includes stipulating, where possible, to the admissibility of those exhibits. Joint exhibits are encouraged, where possible.

Two conditions, and the binding one is the outside date. One week before trial is earlier than the conference, which is the first morning of trial. The order does not say court days. Since trial always starts on a Monday in these departments, one week out is the preceding Monday. Joint exhibits are encouraged, not required. Scope limited to the Temporary Remote Department and Department 44.

At the Trial Management Conference, the parties shall submit to the court and exchange with each other (where not already done - see above) all of the following: ... f. Jury instructions (Actual jury instructions shall be submitted, not simply CACI, BAJI, or CALCRIM numbers. Each instruction shall be fully completed as appropriate to the case being tried.)

The parenthetical is the point of the item. Jury instructions are also a listed Trial Management Conference discussion topic under para. 8(n). Read this together with local rule 2.3.1, which adds the anonymous code, the separate authority sheet, and the index. Scope limited to the Temporary Remote Department and Department 44.

Each party shall submit proposed jury instructions to the Court at the commencement of the trial unless otherwise authorized by the Judge.

Division 2 (Trial Court Rules), Chapter 3 (Jury Instructions), rule captioned "When Submitted." Not a family, juvenile or criminal chapter. Consistent with the standing order, since the Trial Management Conference is the morning trial commences. This is the countywide timing backstop in any department the standing order does not reach.

Instructions shall not indicate which party submitted the instructions except in a code (prescribed by the Court) which does not readily disclose the identity of the submitting party. Any statement of the party offering an instruction, and citations of authority offered shall be on a separate sheet. An index or fact sheet setting forth the topic of each instruction or BAJI, CACI, CALJIC and/or CALCRIM number shall be attached to each set of proposed instructions.

Division 2 (Trial Court Rules), Chapter 3, rule captioned "Types Used." The source sentence on form instructions is a policy statement, not a prohibition on special instructions: "In all jury trials it is the policy of the Court to use the instructions contained in BAJI, CACI, CALJIC and/or CALCRIM, as appropriate," followed by "All other instructions offered shall conform as nearly as possible to the form instructions." The three quoted obligations are mandatory. The anonymity rule means a "Plaintiff's Proposed Instruction No. 4" caption does not work here. Ask the courtroom for the code. This is the only index requirement in the local rules for any trial submission, and it applies to the instruction set, not to exhibits.

At the Trial Management Conference, the parties shall submit to the court and exchange with each other (where not already done - see above) all of the following: ... Jury Trials: d. Neutral statement of the case e. Verdict forms

Jury trials only. The order says nothing about general versus special verdicts, joint versus competing forms, or electronic copies. Scope limited to the Temporary Remote Department and Department 44.

At the Trial Management Conference, the parties shall submit to the court and exchange with each other (where not already done - see above) all of the following: ... Jury Trials: d. Neutral statement of the case

The ellipsis stands in for the three All Trials items, quoted in their own rows. Item (d) sits under the subheading "Jury Trials," so it is not required in a bench trial. The order does not say whether the statement must be joint, though the word neutral and the exchange duty point that way. No length limit. Scope limited to the Temporary Remote Department and Department 44.

Jury Trials: trial briefs and motions in limine shall be due fourteen (14) days before trial.

The order does not say court days, and the local rules do not supply a default for it, so fourteen calendar days is the reading but it is not stated. The local rules contain no trial brief requirement at all, so this order is the only source of one. No page limit, format requirement, or service method is published. Scope limited to the Temporary Remote Department and Department 44.

Court (bench) Trials: trial briefs shall be due fourteen (14) days before trial.

Same deadline as a jury trial. A bench trial in these departments therefore gets a trial brief and no motions in limine without leave, which is the reverse of the usual assumption. Calendar versus court days is not stated. Scope limited to the Temporary Remote Department and Department 44.

Jury Trials: trial briefs and motions in limine shall be due fourteen (14) days before trial.

Local rule 3.2.6 sets 10 court days before the first day of trial. Fourteen calendar days and ten court days often land within a day or two of each other and a holiday week pulls them apart. The order's preamble lets the assigned trial judge change the order; it does not say the order displaces the local rule, and the court publishes no resolution. File by the earlier of the two and confirm with the department. Motions in limine are also a listed conference topic under para. 8(e), so they are argued at the Trial Management Conference rather than on a separate law and motion date. Scope limited to the Temporary Remote Department and Department 44.

Opposition to motions in limine shall be due seven (7) days before trial.

Same unresolved conflict as the moving papers. Local rule 3.2.6 sets five court days before the first day of trial. File by the earlier and confirm with the department. Scope limited to the Temporary Remote Department and Department 44.

For court trials, there shall be no motions in limine filed absent a prior court order.

A prohibition, not a deadline. To get in limine relief in a bench trial in these departments you need leave first, and the order does not say how to ask. Raise it at the case management conference or the mandatory settlement conference. Scope limited to the Temporary Remote Department and Department 44.

Any motions in limine shall be filed no later than 10 court days before the first day of trial. Any oppositions to such motions shall be filed no later than five (5) court days before the first day of trial. The Court shall have the discretion to refuse to consider any late-filed papers subject to this rule.

Division 3 (Civil Rules), Chapter 2 (Calendaring Matters), rule captioned "Motions in Limine." This is the countywide rule and the only local rule that fixes a deadline counted backward from the first day of trial. Compare the standing order's fourteen and seven days. The court publishes nothing resolving the difference.

The parties may agree to set different deadlines for the motions and oppositions, subject to the approval of the trial judge. Such an agreement may be put on the record at any status conference, without the need for a noticed motion or ex parte application, but in any event the agreement must be made no later than the date scheduled for the mandatory settlement conference for that case.

Useful lever, and it costs no motion and no ex parte fee. The mandatory settlement conference is the cutoff, so a longer in limine runway has to be asked for at or before the MSC, not in the trial week.

Setting Civil Matters for Trial. The Court shall maintain a case management conference calendar pursuant to Rule 3.722 of the California Rules of Court. Dates for trials shall be set forth in the Case Management Conference Order issued by the Court as set forth in Rule 3.728.

The case management conference order is the document to read for the actual trial and settlement conference dates in a given case. Rule 3.5.1 requires the first case management conference to be calendared no later than 180 days after the initial complaint is filed, with notice to all parties no later than 45 days before, and rule 3.5.2 requires a CM-110 filed and served no later than 15 calendar days before it.

Failure to comply with the orders of the Court in any Case Management Conference may result in the Court imposing monetary sanctions under Code of Civil Procedure § 177.5, or other sanctions under Government Code § 68608(b), including dismissing actions or striking pleadings, if it appears that less severe sanctions would not be effective after taking into account the effect of previous orders or previous lack of compliance in the case.

Division 3, Chapter 6 (Case Management Conference Orders), rule captioned "Failure to Comply May Result in OSC re: Sanctions." Read with rule 3.6.2: "Any such Order shall, until modified, govern all further proceedings in the case." If the case management conference order in a particular case carries trial document deadlines, this is the enforcement hook, and it is stronger than anything attached to the trial requirements themselves. The section symbols in the quoted text render as replacement characters in a raw pdftotext extraction; they are section symbols in the PDF.

After a trial date has been assigned, it shall be the duty of counsel or party (if self-represented) to inform the Presiding Judge and all opposing counsel or party (if self-represented) of any fact tending to indicate that the case may not proceed to trial on the date to which it has been assigned. In the event of settlement, counsel, or parties appearing in person, shall immediately notify the Court thereof. Failure to do so may be cause for imposition of sanctions.

Rule captioned "Duty of Counsel as to Trial Date Assigned." A continuing duty, not a one time filing. Rule 2.8.9 adds that on settlement the plaintiff must comply with CRC 3.1385 and file the request for dismissal within 45 days, and that the court must dismiss 45 days after it receives notice.

This Court practices a firm continuance policy. Counsel or party (if self-represented) should be aware that the dates assigned for settlement conferences and trials are definite appointments with the Court. All continuances, contested or not, are to be applied for by noticed motion with supporting declarations. Continuances applied for in any other manner will be denied, except in emergencies.

Rule captioned "Statement of Policy re Continuances." The same rule directs the motion to the department the case is assigned to for all purposes, or to the Supervising Judge of the Probate-Civil Division if it has not been assigned, and provides that a motion to continue the mandatory settlement conference goes to the judge assigned the MSC and is granted only if it would not delay trial or disrupt that judge's calendar. It also requires an affirmative showing of good cause and then enumerates recognized grounds. Under 2026 Misc. Order No. 3, 3rd Amended, every civil case is assigned to Dept. 44 or Dept. 45 for all purposes, so in practice the motion goes to the assigned department.

All pretrial matters shall be set in the appropriate department by the Calendar Clerk at such time as may be directed by the Presiding Judge.

Rule captioned "Pretrial Matters." This is the rule that hands pretrial scheduling to the court rather than fixing an interval, and it is why the local rules contain no fixed pretrial conference date and why the department standing order is where the real deadlines live.

Parties filing Memoranda of Points and Authorities in support of motions in unlimited civil cases must provide a courtesy copy of the Memorandum at the time of filing.

Division 3, Chapter 1, rule captioned "Filings in Unlimited Civil Cases." Subdivision (b) applies the same rule to opposition memoranda. Subdivision (c) adds that moving, opposition and reply separate statements on summary judgment, summary adjudication and motions to compel need a courtesy copy plus a Word version emailed to researchattorney@madera.courts.ca.gov. Subdivision (d) exempts fee waiver parties. Subdivision (e) says noncompliance with (a) through (c) will not prevent filing but the party must comply as soon thereafter as practical. Relevant to motions in limine, which are motions in an unlimited civil case.

Court reporting services will not be provided for Civil court or jury trials. Instead, parties will be required to provide court reporter services at their own expense if a record is desired. Court reporters must be personally present in court.

Arrange this well before trial week. Personally present rules out a remote reporter, which matters in the Temporary Remote Department. Local rule 1.4.2 governs court reporter fees in civil proceedings, and local forms MAD-RPT-001 and MAD-RPT-002 cover appointment of an official reporter pro tempore and production of pro tempore transcripts. Scope limited to the Temporary Remote Department and Department 44.

A copy of these trial policies shall be provided to counsel for all parties, and to all parties not represented by counsel, at the Mandatory Settlement Conference.

The MSC is the court's delivery point for the trial requirements. Compare whatever you receive at the MSC against the version posted on the Civil Division page, because the handout is what the assigned judge is operating under and the posted PDF carries a 7/22/2025 revision date in its filename. A short cause case gets no MSC under rule 2.12.2, so a short cause litigant never receives the handout.

The following ORDER shall apply to all trials in the Temporary Remote Department and Department 44 unless or until changed by the assigned trial judge:

This is the delegation clause and the reason the department has to be confirmed in every case. The order is signed by Judge Michael J. Jurkovich for the Temporary Remote Department and Judge Eric J. LiCalsi for Department 44. Under the 2026 courtroom assignments effective August 3, 2026, Judge Jurkovich sits in Dept. 44 and Judge Eric J. LiCalsi in Dept. 45, so the judges moved after the order issued and the caption was never updated. The court's Civil Division page tells long cause litigants in Dept. 44 or Dept. 45 to review this order, which is the court's own answer on scope, but no Dept. 45 order is posted. Do not confuse Judge Eric J. LiCalsi (Dept. 45, civil) with Judge Ernest J. LiCalsi (Dept. 36, Presiding Juvenile). Both sit on this court.