Judge Elizabeth Byer Leonard
Individual Rules, Standing Orders & Policies
Communication
Phone
Clerk
Document Format Requirements4 rules
After agreeing on a hearing date and time, email the Court Coordinator, attach an Order Setting Hearing with email addresses after the Judge’s signature line, and copy all parties.
Once the parties have agreed to a date and time, email the Court Coordinator with the agreed date and time and attach an Order Setting Hearing, including email addresses after the Judge’s Signature Line. Make sure you copy all parties on the email with the agreed setting.
The Court requires an order for a hearing and does not accept a notice of hearing alone.
Please Note: this Court does not accept ‘Notices of Hearings’ only Orders.
Before trial, email the proposed or suggested jury charge to the Court Coordinator in Word format.
Prior to trial, email your proposed or suggested charge to the Court Coordinator in Word format.
DOCX
Before trial, mark all exhibits sequentially beginning with 1 and do not use alphabetic markings.
Prior to trial, mark all exhibits with sequential numbers beginning with 1, 2, 3, and so on. Do not use alphabet letters.
Document Filing Requirements6 rules
Before trial, provide the Court Reporter with a list of numbered exhibits.
Prior to trial, provide a list of numbered exhibits to the Court Reporter.
Document Type
Exhibit List
Rebuttal expert designations must include each expert's name, address, and testimony topics and provide all reports to opposing parties by the deadline.
Parties shall list each expert’s name, address and topics of the witnesses’ testimony as well as provide all reports to the opposing party or parties by this date.
Document Type
Rebuttal Expert Designation
Defendant expert designations must include each expert's name, address, and testimony topics and provide all written reports to plaintiffs and counter-plaintiffs by the deadline.
Defendant(s) shall list each expert’s name, address and topics of the witnesses’ testimony as well as provide all written reports to Plaintiff(s) and Counter-Plaintiff(s) by this date.
Document Type
Expert Designation
Plaintiff expert designations must include each expert's name, address, and testimony topics and provide all written reports to defendants by the deadline.
Plaintiffs shall list each expert’s name, address, and topics of the witnesses’ testimony as well as provide all written reports to Defendant(s) by this date.
Document Type
Expert Designation
An expert challenge must specifically state the reason for challenging the expert.
Any challenge to any expert must set out specifically the reason for the challenge.
Document Type
Expert Challenge
An answer to an expert challenge must identify prior trials in which the witness was recognized as an expert, including the court, cause number, case style, area of expertise, and subject.
The answer to any challenge to any expert must include previous trials in which the witness has been recognized as an expert by naming the court, the cause number, the style of the case and the area of expertise and subject on which the witness was recognized as an expert.
Document Type
Answer To Expert Challenge
Filing & Service rules
Filing Timing and Cure Windows
All amendments must be filed by this date.
All amendments must be filed by this date.
Page 2 | DEADLINE FOR PLEADINGS
Adjournment & Extension Requirements
Both parties must confer with each other before contacting the Court regarding a trial continuance or hearing reset.
Prior to contacting the Court, both parties must confer with each other in order to avoid unnecessary court time.
Page 1 | Requesting a Trial Continuance or Resetting of a Hearing
When the parties agree, file the agreed motion and submit an agreed order for the Judge’s approval; the continuance or reset is not granted until the Judge signs the order.
If both parties are in agreement, please file your agreed motion and submit an agreed order for the Judge’s approval. The Judge may require a hearing. The continuance or reset is not granted until the Judge’s signature is on the order.
Page 1 | Requesting a Trial Continuance or Resetting of a Hearing
A plea or pretrial reset requires the opposing party’s agreement by email; forward that agreement with the request and provide the required reset order.
To request a reset of a plea or pretrial you must get the agreement of the opposing party via email. Forward the agreement to the coordinator with your request and provide the required order resetting.
Page 1 | Requesting a Trial Continuance or Resetting of a Hearing
A deadline requiring postponement of the merits trial will not be extended except for the most extraordinary and unforeseeable reasons, with a limited exception for a meritorious reason first arising after the deadline.
THE COURT WILL NOT EXTEND ANY DEADLINE WHICH MAY REQUIRE POSTPONEMENT OF THE TRIAL ON THE MERITS, EXCEPT FOR THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY AND UNFORESEEABLE REASONS. THE ONLY EXCEPTION: WHEN THE MERITORIOUS REASON FOR SEEKING A DEADLINE EXTENSION ARISES FOR THE FIRST TIME AFTER THE DEADLINE ITSELF HAS PASSED.
Page 3 | SCHEDULING ORDER (LEVEL 3)
Parties may modify scheduling-order matters by written agreement without court approval, except for changes to the trial date or deadlines requiring court action.
Exceptions to the scheduling order shall be permitted by written agreement of the parties, without the approval of the Court, except as it relates to the trial date and/or any deadline requiring Court action.
Page 3 | SCHEDULING ORDER (LEVEL 3)
Chambers Communication Rules
To request a hearing, email the Court Coordinator potential dates with all parties copied; the Coordinator will reply all with available dates and times, but the Coordinator should not be copied on discussions about which date is best.
Unless you want a hearing set at the Court’s convenience, you should request potential hearing dates from the Court Coordinator via email, with all parties copied on the email. The Coordinator will then “reply all” with available dates and times. Please do not copy the Court Coordinator with all the discussions of which date is best.
Page 1 | Requesting a Hearing
Docket-status information may be obtained by calling Court Coordinator JoAnn Gonzalez at the listed telephone number.
Information on docket status may be obtained by calling JoAnn Gonzalez, Court Coordinator at (432) 688-4380
Page 3 | DOCKET CALLS