Court filing

Trial Order — United States v. Baver (Dkt. 54, D. Utah)

Summary

A Trial Order in United States of America v. Allison Marie Baver and Allison Baver Entertainment, LLC, Case No. 2:21-cr-00520-JNP, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, signed November 1, 2022 by District Judge Jill N. Parrish. The order sets the final pretrial conference for January 24, 2023 by Zoom and a five-day jury trial beginning February 6, 2023. It states that its deadlines cannot be modified by stipulation of the parties. It requires the parties to serve proposed jury instructions and verdict forms on each other by December 27, 2022 and then confer on a single joint set. Later instructions address trial conduct, including examples of improper vouching under DUCrimR 57-7(c).

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Filed November 1, 2022 in Allison Marie Baver; one of 66 filings from this case.

Record facts

Court	U.S. District Court for the District of Utah
Filed	2022-11-01

Cite this document

“Trial Order — United States v. Baver (Dkt. 54, D. Utah).” U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, No. 2:21-cr-00520, Doc. 54, filed 2022-11-01. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/court-filings/full-docket-allison-marie-baver-utd-129379/2022-11-01-gov-uscourts-utd-129379-54-0-doc-54/, SHA-256 d6529d33ca6431572dc874e5d9d5374387fbcda9d2315d422203fcf4536c19c7.

Full text

Case 2:21-cr-00520-JNP Document 54 Filed 11/01/22 PageID.385 Page 1 of 7

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF UTAH

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff, TRIAL ORDER
v.

ALLISON MARIE BAVER, and ALLISON Case No. 2:21-cr-00520-JNP
BAVER ENTERTAINMENT, LLC,
District Judge Jill N. Parrish
Defendants.

The final pretrial conference in this matter is scheduled for Tuesday, January 24, 2023
at 2 p.m. via Zoom. Counsel who will try the case must attend.

This case is set for a five-day jury trial to begin on Monday, February 6, 2023 at 8:30
a.m. in Room 8.200. The attorneys are expected to appear in court at 8:00 a.m. on the first day
of trial for a brief pre-trial meeting.

Counsel are instructed as follows:

1. Court-Imposed Deadlines.

The deadlines described in this order cannot be modified or waived in any way by a
stipulation of the parties. Any party that believes an extension of time is necessary must make an
appropriate motion to the court, and that motion may be joined by any other party.

2. Jury Instructions and Verdict Form

The procedure for submitting proposed jury instructions (preliminary and final) and
verdict forms is as follows:

(a) The parties must serve their proposed jury instructions and verdict forms on each other by
Tuesday, December 27, 2022. The parties must then confer in order to agree on a single set of
jury instructions and a single verdict form to the extent possible.

(b) The parties must file with the court a single set of the parties’ joint proposed jury
instructions and, to the extent possible, a single verdict form by Tuesday, December 20, 2022.
A copy of the proposed instructions and verdict forms must also be emailed to
utdecf_parrish@utd.uscourts.gov as a Word or WordPerfect document. It is not enough for the
parties to merely agree upon the general instructions and then each submit their own set of
substantive instructions. The court expects the parties to meet, confer, and agree upon the
1

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wording of the substantive instructions and verdict forms.

Each instruction must be labeled and numbered at the top center of the page to identify the party
submitting the instruction (e.g., “Joint Instruction No. 1” or “Government’s Instruction No. 1”).
Include citation to the authority that forms the basis for the instruction.

(c) Each party must file any objections to jury instructions or a verdict form question
proposed by the other party by 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 10, 2023. Any objections must
recite the proposal in its entirety and specifically highlight the objectionable language contained
therein. Objections must contain both a concise argument stating why the proposed language is
improper and citation to relevant legal authority. Where applicable, the objecting party must
submit an alternative instruction or verdict form question covering the pertinent subject matter or
principle of law. A copy of the proposed alternative instruction must be filed with the court and
emailed to utdecf_parrish@utd.uscourts.gov as a Word or WordPerfect document. Include the
case number and case name in the email subject line. Any party may, if it chooses, submit a brief
written response in support of its proposed instructions or verdict form question by 4:00 p.m. on
Tuesday, January 17, 2023.

(d) All instructions must be short, concise, understandable, and neutral statements of law.
Argumentative instructions are improper and will not be given to the jury.

(e) Modified versions of statutory or other form jury instructions (e.g., the Tenth Circuit
Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions or Federal Jury Practice and Instructions) may be acceptable.
A modified jury instruction must, however, identify the exact nature of the modification made to
the form instruction and cite to the authority, if any, supporting such a modification.

3. Exhibits and Motions in Limine

The parties shall exchange all exhibits to be presented at trial by Tuesday, December 20,
2022. The parties shall then meet and confer regarding stipulations to the admissibility of the
exhibits by Friday, December 30, 2022. The parties shall file a notice of stipulated exhibits by
Tuesday, January 3, 2023.

All Daubert motions and motions in limine must be filed with the court by Tuesday,
January 10, 2023. A separate motion must be filed for each preliminary ruling sought. Each
motion must specifically identify the relief sought and must be accompanied by a memorandum
of law and a proposed order. Opposition memoranda must be filed by Tuesday, January 17,
2023. No memorandum in support of or in opposition to a motion may exceed five pages in
length.

4. Voir Dire

The court’s standard voir dire template may be found on the court’s website or may be
obtained by contacting chambers. That template includes the “Questions from the Bench,” as
well as an “Initial Juror Questionnaire” and a “Case-Specific Questionnaire,” which will be
incorporated into a one-page (front and back) jury questionnaire.

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Voir dire will be conducted according to the following procedure. The potential jurors
will be given the juror questionnaires in the jury assembly room. Each potential juror will fill out
the questionnaire before voir dire begins. Court staff will collect the questionnaires and make
photocopies that will be provided to counsel before the potential jurors enter the courtroom. The
court will ask counsel to introduce themselves, their staff, and their witnesses. The court will
then read the Questions from the Bench. The potential jurors will be asked to raise their hands if
they answer “yes” to any of these questions. Jurors will then be asked to introduce themselves
and the court will question each juror in turn, exploring issues raised by any “yes” answers on
the questionnaire. Next, the Government will be given up to 20 minutes to question the jurors,
followed by up to 20 minutes of questions from the defendant. Counsel may question jurors as a
group or question individual jurors.

When the attorneys have finished their questions, the court will invite counsel and the
court reporter to a conference room where the court and the attorneys can ask additional
questions of any potential jurors who indicated that they wished to discuss an issue in private.
After the conclusion of any private follow up questions, the court will excuse potential jurors for
hardship reasons and rule on challenges for cause. The parties may then exercise their
peremptory challenges. The Government may exercise 6 peremptory challenges and the
defendant may exercise 10 peremptory challenges.

The parties must follow the following procedure to suggest questions to be included on
the juror questionnaire or to suggest any changes to the Questions from the Bench:

(a) The parties must review the court’s standard voir dire question template. The parties
must then serve on each other by Tuesday, January 10, 2023 proposed questions for
the Case-Specific Questionnaire and any proposed changes or additions to the
Questions from the Bench or Initial Juror Questionnaire. Counsel should keep in
mind that the final Case-Specific Questionnaire that the court submits to the potential
jurors will be limited to one page. The parties must meet and confer in order to agree
on a single set of voir dire questions to the extent possible.
(b) The parties must jointly file a single document containing the proposed questions for
the Case-Specific Questionnaire, as well as any proposed changes or additions to the
court’s standard voir dire questions and email a Word or WordPerfect version of the
document to utdecf_parrish@utd.uscourts.gov by Tuesday, January 17, 2023. That
document should state whether each case-specific question is stipulated to by all
parties. The document should also identify each proposed change to the court’s
standard voir dire questions and state whether the proposed change is stipulated to by
all parties. Any proposed question or alteration that is not stipulated to by all parties
should be clearly identified.
(c) Proposed questions for the Case-Specific Questionnaire should be drafted in a form
that can be answered in writing with a “yes” or “no.” A “yes” answer should indicate
that there may be a need for additional follow-up questions. For example, “Are you
aware of any reason why you cannot serve impartially on the jury in this case?”

5. Courtroom Equipment and Recorded Testimony

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If counsel wish to use any courtroom equipment, such as easels, projection screens, etc.,
they must so state at the final pretrial conference. Trial counsel and support staff are expected to
familiarize themselves with any equipment they intend to use in advance of trial.

6. Trial Briefs

Any trial briefs must be filed by Friday, January 20, 2023.

7. Exhibit Lists/Marking Exhibits

(a) The Government is required to prepare an exhibit list for the court’s use at trial.
An exhibit list is optional for the Defendant.

(b) Exhibit lists must be prepared in Word or WordPerfect format for the court’s use
at trial. Standard forms for exhibit lists are available from the court’s website. Questions
regarding the preparation of these lists may be directed to the case manager, Lindsay
Hola, at 801-524-6018.

(d) All exhibits to be used at trial must, at the time they are exchanged with opposing
counsel, be marked for identification numerically preceded by a designation of the party
offering the exhibit, such as “Government Exhibit ___” or “Defendant’s Exhibit ___.”
Counsel must designate a range of numbers to be used by each side to avoid the same
number being used for more than one exhibit. For example, if the Government elected to
use the numeric range of 1 to 100, the Defendant would begin at the numeric range of
200. Alphabetic identification is not permitted.

(e) Pages of documentary exhibits must retain the bates stamps used when the
documents were produced in discovery.

(f) Original exhibits must be stapled.

(g) Two trial notebooks containing paper copies of exhibit lists and marked exhibits
must be submitted to the court by Tuesday, January 24, 2023. The exhibit list must also
be filed with the court and emailed as a Word or WordPerfect document to
utdecf_parrish@utd.uscourts.gov.

(h) Electronic copies of all exhibits must also be submitted on a CD/DVD in PDF
format. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) must be run on the PDF files to enable text
searching of the exhibits.

(i) Compilation exhibits should be avoided unless all parties have stipulated to
admissibility of the entire compilation. Instead, counsel should designate discrete
exhibits.

Case 2:21-cr-00520-JNP Document 54 Filed 11/01/22 PageID.389 Page 5 of 7

8. Witness Lists

The Government is required to submit a separate witness list for the court’s use at trial. A
witness list is optional for the Defendant. Standard forms for witness lists are available from the
court’s website. Questions regarding the preparation of these lists may be directed to the case
manager, Lindsay Hola, at 801-524-6018. Witness lists must be filed with the court and emailed
as a Word or WordPerfect document to utdecf_parrish@utd.uscourts.gov by Tuesday, January
24, 2023.
The Government is also required to notify the defendants of the witnesses that it will call
by 5:00 p.m. on the day before the witnesses are called.

9. Impeachment by Conviction

If the Government intends to impeach the Defendant with evidence of a criminal
conviction under Federal Rule of Evidence 609, the Government must provide notice to the
Defendant by Tuesday, January 17, 2023.

10. Pretrial Objections

Any party intending to offer evidence under Federal Rule of Evidence 902(11) or (12)
must provide to opposing counsel and file with the court a notice of their intent by Tuesday,
January 10, 2023. Any objections must be made in writing by Tuesday, January 17, 2023.

Any objection to the authenticity of an exhibit, as defined by Federal Rule of Evidence
901, must be made in writing by Tuesday, January 10, 2023. Challenges to the authenticity of
an exhibit will be addressed at the final pretrial conference. All other objections to the
admissibility of an exhibit are reserved until the exhibit is offered at trial.

11. Presentation of Exhibits at Trial

A hard copy of every exhibit offered in evidence must be presented to the court and to the
witness at the time the exhibit is first used. The court will maintain a copy for later use by the
court or a subsequent witness.

12. Courtroom Conduct

In addition to the rules outlined in DUCivR 43-1, the court has established the following
ground rules for the conduct of counsel at trial:

(a) Please be on time for each court session. In most cases, trial will be conducted
from 8:30 a.m. until approximately 2:30 p.m., with two short (fifteen minute) breaks.
Trial engagements take precedence over any other business. If you have matters in other
courtrooms, arrange in advance to have them continued or have an associate handle them
for you. Any motions or matters that need to be addressed outside the jury will be heard
at 8:00 a.m. or after the trial day has recessed. Usually, the court has other hearings set

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after 2:30 p.m.

(b) Stand as court is opened, recessed, or adjourned.

(d) Stand when addressing or being addressed by the court.

(e) In making objections and responding to objections to evidence, counsel must state
the legal grounds for their objections with reference to the specific rule of evidence upon
which they rely. For example, “Objection . . . irrelevant and inadmissible under Rule
402,” or “Objection . . . hearsay and inadmissible under Rule 802.”

(f) Sidebar conferences are discouraged. Most matters requiring argument must be
raised during recess. Please plan accordingly.

(g) Counsel need not ask permission to approach a witness in order to briefly hand
the witness a document or exhibit.

(h) Address all remarks to the court, not to opposing counsel, and do not make
disparaging or acrimonious remarks toward opposing counsel or witnesses. Counsel must
instruct all persons at counsel table that gestures, facial expressions, audible comments,
or any other manifestations of approval or disapproval during the testimony of witnesses,
or at any other time, are absolutely prohibited.

(i) Refer to all persons, including witnesses, other counsel, and parties, by their
surnames and NOT by their first or given names.

(j) Only one attorney for each party shall examine, or cross-examine, each witness.
The attorney stating objections during direct examination shall be the attorney recognized
for cross examination.

(k) Offers of, or requests for, a stipulation must be made out of the hearing of the
jury.

(l) When not taking testimony, counsel will remain seated at counsel table
throughout the trial unless it is necessary to move to see a witness. Absent an emergency,
do not leave the courtroom while court is in session. If you must leave the courtroom, you
do not need to ask the court’s permission. Do not confer with or visit with anyone in the
spectator section while court is in session. Messages may be delivered to counsel table
provided they are delivered with no distraction or disruption in the proceedings.

(m) Closing argument will follow the court’s final instructions to the jury. Counsel are
cautioned that any closing rebuttal argument must be limited to new issues raised during
the Defendant’s closing argument. The court will sustain an objection and instruct the
jury to disregard rebuttal argument that could and should have been made in the

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Government’s initial closing argument. The Government’s closing argument must be
structured to allow the Defendant a fair opportunity to address the argument in its
closing.

(n) Counsel are reminded that vouching is improper. In opening statements and in
arguments to the jury, counsel shall not express personal knowledge or opinion
concerning any matter in issue. The court will sustain an objection to improper vouching
and instruct the jury that the argument is improper. See DUCrimR 57-7(c). The following
statements are examples of improper vouching: “I believe the witness was telling the
truth,” or “I found the testimony credible.”

(o) Please review the guidelines for Creating the Best Transcript Possible with your
entire trial team and witnesses before trial.

Signed November 1, 2022

BY THE COURT

__________________
____________
Jill N. Parrish
United States District Court Judge

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