Honorable Cormac J. Carney

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District Judge

Ronald Reagan Federal Building and United States Courthouse
411 West Fourth Street,
Courtroom 9 B
Santa Ana, CA, 92701-4516

Judge's Procedures: 

Please See Attachment Below for "Under Seal Instructions"

  1. Civil motions are heard on: Mondays at 1:30 p.m.
    Criminal motions and hearings are heard on: Mondays at 9:00 a.m.

    (If Monday is a holiday, next motion date is the following Monday)

    It is NOT NECESSARY to clear or reserve a motion date with the court clerk prior to filing the motion, but must be in compliance with all Local and Federal Rules regarding service.

  2. Discovery motions are to be calendared before the Magistrate Judge. 
  3. MANDATORY CHAMBERS COPIES
    All original filings are to be electronically filed pursuant to Local Rules 5-4.5.
    REQUIRED CIVIL DOCUMENTS: All motions and motion related documents, and ALL PRETRIAL DOCUMENTS.
    REQUIRED CRIMINAL DOCUMENTS: All motions and motion related documents, plea agreements, sentencing position papers and related documents.​


    Mandatory chambers copies shall be delivered in person to the mandatory chambers box (9th floor) or by overnight services to the Clerk’s Office of the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and United States Courthouse no later than noon following the date of filing as required by Local Rule 5-4.5. Failure to deliver timely mandatory chambers copies may result in a delay in hearing a motion or ordering the matter off calendar.
    *** MANDATORY CHAMBERS COPIES DO NOT NEED TO BE BLUE-BACKED. ***

  4. Procedures for filing an ex parte application: It is the practice of Judge Carney that ALL ex parte applications are submitted on the papers. If the Court finds that a hearing is necessary, counsel will be notified and given a hearing date and time.  Counsel’s attention is directed to Local Rule 7-19.  The moving party shall serve ​the opposing party by electronic mail or hand service.  If counsel does not intend to oppose the ex parte application, counsel must inform the courtroom deputy by email.
  5. Proposed Orders:

    Please refer to L.R. 5-4.4.1 (requiring electronic filing of proposed orders in PDF format) and L.R. 5-4.4.2 (requiring email submission of proposed orders in Word-processing formats). For email submissions of proposed orders, the Court prefers that proposed orders be submitted in Word format only. Email submissions of proposed orders should be sent to CJC_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov. Please note the Court does not have the capability to process proposed orders via CD or disk. 

  6. To request a continuance of any scheduled court proceeding: Only  written applications or stipulations  for continuances will be considered by the Court. Continuances are only granted upon a showing of good cause, particularly focusing upon evidence of diligent work by the party seeking delay and of prejudice that may result from the denial of a continuance. Counsel requesting the continuance MUST submit a DETAILED declaration as to their reason. Any continuances requested not accompanied by said declaration, or not in compliance with this Order or the Local Rules of the Central District of California will automatically be rejected without notice to the parties. The Court sets FIRM trial dates and will not change them without good cause having been shown. Stipulations or applications MUST be submitted well in advance of the relief requested. Counsel is not to assume the request is granted without notification from the Court.
  7. Counsel shall direct their communications to the courtroom deputy rather than chambers.
  8. Calendar conflicts:

    Counsel shall notify both of the Judges' court clerks. Counsel should go to the most senior of the judges. A priority before that Judge should be requested.

  9. Procedures for bringing electronic equipment into the courtroom:
    Counsel must petition the Court in writing at the earliest possible date and obtain an Order of Authorization, as the Courthouse regulations require a property pass to deliver or remove equipment from the building.
  10. For general information on how to order a transcript of any reported or digitally recorded proceeding, please contact 213-894-3015 or visit the court website section referring to Court Reporter/Recorder Transcripts. If your require an estimate of cost for the preparation of a transcript, contact the court reporter/recorder for the desired proceeding.
    To determine the court reporter/recorder for a particular proceeding, go to the Court Reporter Schedule web page and click on View by Date. Once you've determined the correct court reporter/recorder for the desired session, click on Court Reporter Phone and Email List for contact information.
  11. Questions regarding law clerk positions:
    Should be directed to Judge Carney’s chambers. Judge Carney does not accept extern applications.
  12. Trial Preparation:
    • Court hours: Tuesday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
    • Exhibit preparation:
      A joint exhibit list shall be prepared in compliance with Local Rules 11-5.3 & 16-5. All exhibits shall be placed in loose leaf binders with official exhibit tags attached. Exhibits are to be delivered to courtroom deputy not later than 8:15 a.m. on the first day of trial. Special arrangements for voluminous exhibits should be made with the courtroom deputy by Wednesday of the prior week. A separate exhibit number shall NOT be given to each page of an exhibit.
    • Jury instructions:
      In a jury trial, jury instructions are to be submitted no later than 5 court days prior to the Pre-Trial Conference or 1 week prior to the trial if Pre-Trial Conference is waived. The parties MUST submit JOINT jury instructions. In order to produce these joint instructions, the parties SHALL MEET AND CONFER sufficiently in advance of the required submission date. The instructions should be submitted in the order in which the parties wish to have the instructions read. This order should reflect a single organized sequence agreed to by all of the parties. The Court INSISTS upon receiving lucid and accurate instructions setting forth the elements of each party's claims and defenses. The instructions should be tailored to the facts of each case.
      Procedures for Instructions Upon Which Agreement Cannot be Reached:
      Counsel will submit three (3) sets (with an extra copy for the Court's law clerks) in the following form:
      1. The agreed upon instructions.
      2. Those instructions propounded by plaintiff, opposed by defendant.
      3. Those instructions propounded by defendant, opposed by plaintiff.

        Instructions upon which agreement cannot be reached should reflect the basic disagreements among the parties as to the law. While the Court recognizes that such disagreements arise in almost every case, the Court also recognizes that parties ultimately disagree over only a limited number of issues. The disputed instructions should be equally so limited.

        The disputed instructions should be presented to the Court within the framework of the overall set of instructions. The parties should put forth differing versions of disputed instructions, and the Court will select one version.
        The instructions submitted to the Court MUST be numbered, and the parties must also submit an unnumbered index. Attribution and case citation for each instruction shall be placed on pages following a proposed instruction. For disputed instructions, a party should note its objections to a proposed instruction and its reasons for putting forth its alternative on pages placed after its own alternative instruction.

        INSTRUCTIONS SHALL BE BRIEF, CLEAR, CONCISE, WRITTEN IN PLAIN ENGLISH, FREE OF ARGUMENT AND SHALL BE ORGANIZED IN A LOGICAL FASHION SO AS TO AID JURY COMPREHENSION. Standard or form instructions, if used, must be revised to address the particular facts and issues of this case.
        The following list contains some suggested sources for jury instructions:

      4. Ninth Circuit Model Jury Instructions (updated yearly)
      5. Federal Jury Practice and Instructions (Devitt and Blackmar (4th Edition)
      6. Modern Federal Jury Instructions (Mathew Bender)
      7. California Forms of Jury Instructions (Mathew Bender)
    • Verdict forms:
      Counsel are to prepare and submit verdict form(s) in accordance with the same procedures as those required for jury instructions. Counsel are to use best efforts to agree upon a joint verdict form and then submit it to the Court no later than 5 court days prior to the Pre-Trial Conference or 1 week prior to the trial if the Pre-Trial Conference is waived. If counsel cannot agree as to the form of the verdict, the parties should submit their respective version to the Court on the submission date for the joint verdict form.
    • Motions in Limine:
      All Motions in Limine will be heard at the Pre-Trial Conference. All Motions in Limine must be filed and served in compliance with Local Rule 6-1. Opposition papers must be filed and served in compliance with Local Rule 7-9. Reply papers must be filed and served in compliance with Local Rule 7-10.
    • At least one (1) week prior to the pretrial conference, counsel shall email Word versions of the proposed pretrial documents (i.e. jury instructions, verdict, joint statement of the case, witness lists, exhibit list, etc.) to the courtroom deputy.  Any revised versions of these documents shall be emailed to the courtroom deputy immediately.
  13. Procedures for obtaining the services of an interpreter on a civil case:
    Counsel shall make arrangements through the Court Interpreter’s Office at 213-894-4599.
  14. Other:
    • The Court does not permit telephonic appearances in any matter before it.
    • In the event of inconsistencies between the submission and lodging dates listed above and the Local Rules, the above dates shall govern.

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