Honorable Stephen V. Wilson

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District Judge
​All proceedings are now being held in person in Courtroom 10A. Requests for remote appearances must be filed a week prior to the proceeding. Requests are made in a pleading format, with a declaration stating the good cause why the attorney cannot appear in-person.
First Street Courthouse, 350 W. 1st Street, Courtroom 10A, 10th Floor, Los Angeles, California 90012
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Recording, copying, photographing and rebroadcasting of court proceedings is prohibited by federal law. A violation of this prohibition may result in sanctions, including suspension of your license to practice before this court, referral to the state bar, denial of the right to appear by video or telephonically at future proceedings, criminal prosecution, contempt, denial of admission to future hearings, and any other sanctions deemed necessary by the Court.

Law and Motion Schedule: 

  1. Civil motions are heard on Mondays, Time: 1:30 p.m.
    Criminal motions are heard on: Mondays, Time: 11:00 a.m.
    (If Monday is a holiday, next motion date is the following Monday.)
    It is not necessary to clear a motion date with the court clerk prior to filing the motion.
  2. Discovery motions are to be calendared before the magistrate judge.
  3. Tentative rulings are not issued.
  4. E-FILING:
    No courtesy copies are required pending further notice.
  5. Procedures for filing an ex parte application:
    Ex parte applications are considered on the papers and are not set for hearing. Counsel are advised to file and serve their ex parte applications as soon as they realize that extraordinary relief is necessary. Counsel are advised that this Court allows ex parte applications solely for extraordinary relief - sanctions may be imposed for misuse of ex parte applications. See In Re: Intermagnetics America, Inc., 101 Bankr. 191 (C.D. Cal. 1989). The requesting party shall notify the responding party that opposing papers must be filed not later than 3:00 p.m. on the first business day succeeding the day the ex parte was served. If counsel are not going to oppose an ex parte application, they must inform the clerk at 213-894-2881. Counsel will be notified by the clerk of the Court's ruling.
  6. To request a continuance of any scheduled court proceeding:
    Continuances are granted only 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 a continuance MUST submit a DETAILED declaration as to the reason. Any continuances requested not accompanied by said declaration will be rejected without notice to the parties. The Court sets FIRM trial dates and will not change them without good cause having been shown.
    NO stipulations extending scheduling dates set by this Court are effective unless approved by this Court. All stipulations must be accompanied by a DETAILED declaration explaining the reason for the stipulation. Any stipulation 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. Stipulations shall be submitted well in advance of the relief requested. Counsel wishing to know whether or not a stipulation has been signed shall comply with Local Rule 7-1.
  7. Counsel are NOT allowed to contact the judge's law clerk or secretary.
  8. Inquiries regarding the status of a motion, stipulation or proposed order:
    See Local Rule 7-1.
  9. 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.
  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 (www.cacd.uscourts.gov) section referring to Court Reporter/Recorder Transcripts. If you 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/extern positions, please call 213-894-4327.
  12. Trial preparation:
    1. Court hours: Tuesday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
    2. Exhibit preparation: ALL of your exhibits, with official exhibit tags attached, bearing the same number shown on your exhibit list, must be delivered to the Courtroom Deputy Clerk not later than 8:30 a.m. on the first day of trial. Official exhibit tags are available from the receptionist in the main Clerk's Office, Room G-8. Exhibits shall be marked in accordance with Local Rule 11-5.3 and 16-5. A separate number is NOT given to each page of a single document.
    3. Jury instructions: In a jury trial, jury instructions and a verdict form are to be submitted not later than 2 court days prior to the pretrial conference or 1 week prior to the trial if pretrial conference is waived. Counsel need only submit proposed substantiative jury instructions, the Court propounds its own general instructions and essentially follows the format set out in the Ninth Circuit Model Jury Instructions.
      Form of Jury Instructions and Verdict Forms: The parties MUST submit JOINT jury instructions and a joint proposed verdict form. In order to produce these joing 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 claim and defenses. The instructions should be tailored to the facts of each case. Procedures for Instructions Upon Which Agreement Cannot be Reached
      Instructions shall be submitted in 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 (as outlined above).
      The instructions and verdict form submitted to the Court MUST be numbered, and the parties must also submit an un-numbered 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:

      1. Ninth Circuit Model Jury Instructions
        (updated yearly)
      2. Federal Jury Practice and Instructions
        (Devitt and Blackmar (4th Edition))
      3. Modern Federal Jury Instructions
        (Mathew Bender)
      4. California Forms of Jury Instructions
        (Mathew Bender)
    4. Verdict forms:
      Counsel are to prepare and submit verdict form(s) at the start of trial.
Judge's Procedures: 

If counsel has received a “Notice to Parties of Court-Directed ADR Program” (form ADR-08), the Court will presumptively refer the case to the Court Mediation Panel or to private mediation at the time of the initial scheduling conference. See General Order 11-10, § 5.1. Counsel are directed to furnish and discuss this Notice with their clients in preparation for the parties’ Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(f) conference. Counsel should include their shared or separate views regarding a preference for the Court Mediation Panel or private mediation, and when the mediation should occur, in the written report required by Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(f) and Civil L.R. 26-1.  The parties shall participate in mediation no later than  forty-five (45) days before the Final Pretrial Conference. Civil L.R. 16-15.2.  Dates set by the court will not be deferred, delayed, or postponed to accommodate mediation.  For information about the Court’s ADR program, please see General Order 11-10, which is located at www.cacd.uscourts.gov, Court Procedures, General Orders and under Attorneys, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

Orders & Additional Documents