Northern District of California Local Rules and Judge Filing Requirements
Filing requirements from local rules, individual practices, standing orders, and published court policies for Northern District of California
Federal court local rules are only the first layer. These filing requirements come from individual judges' practices, standing orders, and policies published by the Northern District of California. They supplement the district local rules and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Requirements vary significantly between judges in the same district, so always verify the specific rules for your assigned judge.
- Judge Vince Chhabria
Parties must follow FRCP, Local Rules, and General Orders except where superseded by this standing order.
- Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley
Electronic copies of proposed orders are not required unless specifically requested
- Senior Judge Susan Illston
Parties must review courtroom technology information on court website.
- Judge Rita F. Lin
Emergency relief requires showing reasonable effort to notify opposing party.
- Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín
List of counsel must be emailed at least 2 court days before proceeding.
- Judge Vince Chhabria
Notify Courtroom Deputy Bhavna Sharma by call and email for emergency applications.
- Senior Judge Susan Illston
Equipment pre-test questions go to Courtroom Deputy.
- Judge Rita F. Lin
Emergency applications require calling and emailing the Courtroom Deputy.
- Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín
Contact only Courtroom Deputy for scheduling, not Judge or chambers staff.
- Senior Judge William H. Orrick
No ex parte contact with Judge or Chambers staff except for Courtroom Deputy Jean Davis at whocrd@cand.uscourts.gov or 415-522-2077.
- Judge Vince Chhabria
Emergency applications are exempt from the 15-page brief limit.
- Senior Judge Susan Illston
One summary judgment motion per party; additional motions require leave of court.
- Judge Rita F. Lin
Joint discovery letter limited to 5 pages after live conversation.
- Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín
Summary judgment motions are limited to 25 pages.
- Senior Judge William H. Orrick
Parties limited to one summary judgment motion; additional motions require leave of court.
- Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr.
Reply briefs are not permitted for motions in limine.
- Charles R Breyer
Joint proposed final pretrial order must be filed 7 calendar days before the final pretrial conference.
- Senior Judge Edward M. Chen
First notice of objection must be provided one court day before trial.
- Magistrate Judge Ajay S. Krishnan
Parties must file joint or separate proposed jury questionnaire questions 21 days before trial.
- Judge James Donato
Pretrial documents must be filed no later than 14 days before the final pretrial conference.
- Judge Vince Chhabria
Preliminary approval documents must be sent in Word format to specified email.
- Judge Rita F. Lin
PowerPoint presentations generally not permitted during motion arguments.
- Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín
Electronic filings must be text-searchable PDFs when possible.
- Judge Trina L. Thompson
Westlaw citations preferred for unpublished cases; if unavailable, include case number, court name, and exact date.
- Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler
Voluminous filings require double-sided, three-hole punched chambers copies with specific binding and tabbing requirements.
- Judge Vince Chhabria
Flash drive with attachments required for ECF filings with more than 10 attachments.
- Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley
Chambers copies are not required unless specifically requested by the Court
- Senior Judge Susan Illston
Paper courtesy copies required for filings over 10 pages (1 set), 2 sets for pretrial conference filings.
- Judge Rita F. Lin
Paper courtesy copies are not required unless specifically requested by the Court.
- Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín
Chambers copies must be provided within 3 days of filing.
- Judge Vince Chhabria
Motions to continue hearings must be filed at least 72 hours in advance.
- Judge Rita F. Lin
Extension requests must include history of previous extensions.
- Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín
Motions with less than 4 weeks between briefing close and hearing may be automatically re-noticed.
- Judge Trina L. Thompson
Trial dates set at initial case management conference are not continued absent compelling good cause.
- Magistrate Judge Lisa J. Cisneros
Deposition notice requires 30-day advance notice; counter-proposal due within 10 days.
- Judge Vince Chhabria
Dispositive motion to dismiss allows moving CMC to 15 days after hearing.
- Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley
Meet and confer in person or videoconference required before discovery disputes.
- Judge Rita F. Lin
Prehearing conferences not generally held; request case management conference at least two weeks before hearing if witness testimony needed.
- Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín
Motions (except discovery) must follow Civil Local Rules, except pro se prisoner cases.
- Judge Trina L. Thompson
Discovery disputes require joint letter (max 5 pages) after good faith effort.
- Judge Vince Chhabria
Strict compliance required with Civil Local Rule 79-5 (except 79-5(d)(2)).
- Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley
Administrative motion to seal required before filing sealed documents.
- Senior Judge Susan Illston
Good faith determination required before designating information as confidential.
- Judge Rita F. Lin
For sealed attachments, only unredacted versions should be uploaded to Box.com.
- Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín
Documents presumptively public; sealing requires narrowly tailored court order with good cause.
- Judge Vince Chhabria
Trial dates are typically set 12-16 months after complaint filing.
- Judge Rita F. Lin
Matters cannot be specially set outside regular civil law and motions calendar without Court's leave.
- Judge Trina L. Thompson
Later-filing parties should cite to earlier exhibits and avoid duplicates; joint appendix encouraged.
- Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr.
At least 12 weeks required between dispositive/Daubert motions deadline and final pretrial conference.
- Chief Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers
Summary judgment motions and oppositions must be provided in 3-ring binders with tabs; reply documents optional; habeas corpus and ERISA/Social Security cases exempt.
- Charles R Breyer
Serve motions in limine at least 20 calendar days before the pretrial conference; do not file them at that time.
- Judge James Donato
Motions in limine moving papers must be served (not filed) at least 14 days before the pretrial filings due date.
- Senior Judge Jeffrey S. White
Moving party must serve opening brief for motion in limine at least 30 calendar days before the final pretrial conference.
- Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler
Deposition designation packet must be served on other parties at least 30 days before the pretrial conference.
- Judge Noël Wise
Plaintiff must serve a copy of this order and the Standing Order for All Judges on all parties within five days of filing, reassignment, or new party addition.
- Judge Vince Chhabria
Junior lawyers (7 years or less experience) may notify Courtroom Deputy within 7 days of hearing.
- Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley
Junior lawyers encouraged to argue and multiple attorneys permitted to argue
- Senior Judge Susan Illston
Court encourages oral argument by less-experienced attorneys.
- Judge Rita F. Lin
Junior lawyers encouraged to present arguments and examine witnesses.
- Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín
Junior lawyers (8 or fewer years) get oral argument opportunities if requested.
- Magistrate Judge Ajay S. Krishnan
Joint Proposed Final Pretrial Order, jury instructions, and verdict form must be submitted via email as Word attachments to askpo@cand.uscourts.gov.
- Charles R Breyer
Admitted exhibits must be filed using the CM/ECF event 'Admitted Exhibits'.
- Judge James Donato
Parties must e-mail Microsoft Word version of proposed jury instructions and verdict form to jdpo@cand.uscourts.gov.
- Senior Judge Jeffrey S. White
Parties must email full text of preliminary, general, and concluding jury instructions in Microsoft Word format to jswpo@cand.uscourts.gov.
- Judge Rita F. Lin
All exhibits to motions must be separately filed on ECF using docket numbering such as 31-1, 31-2, etc.