| |
INITIALS |
DONE |
| Arrival,
scheduling and transportation of the witnesses - The
Second Chair should be responsible for arrangements to
pick up witnesses at airports, make sure that they are
delivered to the courtroom on time and that their lodging
and meals are provided for during the trial. |
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| Staffing
- Second Chair should make the necessary staff members
ready during the trial to provide backup services that
might be necessary. |
______ |
______ |
| Copy
facilities and photo facilities - During the trial,
inevitably someone needs to have copies made or photographic
services used. This is especially true for trials out
of town. The Second Chair should make sure that he knows
where the copying companies are and puts them on notice
of the potential need for copies in a hurry. |
______ |
______ |
| Order
of Proof - Second Chair should be responsible for
the Order of Proof. Second Chair should map out which
witnesses should be called and in which order. This ties
in with his responsibilities to provide for the scheduling
of witnesses. |
______ |
______ |
| Equipment
Manager and Time Keeper - The Second Chair should
be responsible for making sure that all the necessary
equipment to be used at trial gets to the court room and
this is coordinated with his function as the manager of
the schedule and time during trial. |
______ |
______ |
| Disputed
versus Undisputed Fact - The Second Chair should keep
a score card of all facts that are disputed and all facts
that are undisputed. This running list will be very valuable
when it comes to closing argument and arguments on jury
instructions. |
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______ |
| Prima
Facia Case - The Second Chair should make a list of
and make sure that the plaintiff has proven all of the
elements and that all of the statements included in the
opening statement have been proven. |
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______ |
| Exhibits
Admitted - The Second Chair should make sure that
all the exhibits that are used at trial are actually formally
introduced and admitted into evidence. This is to prevent
exhibits from being waved around the courtroom but inadvertently
not admitted into evidence during the trial. |
______ |
______ |
| Chamber
Discussions - The Second Chair should insure that
a court reporter is present during any discussion in Chambers. |
______ |
______ |
| State
and Local Rules - The Second Chair should be responsible
for knowing the state and local rules in the locality
of the trial. Additionally, the Second Chair should be
responsible for learning any rules which a particular
judge may have that are different from the state or local
rules. |
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______ |
| Physical
Layout - The Second Chair should know the court room
prior to the trial. He should know the physical location
of the counsel tables, the physical location of electric
plugs and be familiar with the best place to put demonstrative
exhibits. |
______ |
______ |
| File
Preparation - The Second Chair should separate the
file so that only the relevant file gets to the court
room. All the junk that is accumulated in a file that
is not necessary should be sorted out and left behind. |
______ |
______ |
| Copies
of Exhibits and Jury Instructions - The Second Chair
should be responsible for making sure that all of the
necessary copies have been made of both exhibits and jury
instructions prior to trial. |
______ |
______ |
| Jury
Reactions - The Second Chair should spend his time
during the examination and cross-examination of a witness
keeping track of the reaction of the jury and the judge.
He should not be a spectator but someone who is gaging
the tone of the trial and the general feeling that is
being generated in the court room about the case. |
______ |
______ |
| Good
Will Ambassador - The Second Chair should be responsible
for knowing the Judge's local rules, knowing the court
staff, and working with the client during trial to make
sure that 1) the client is attended to, and 2) that the
client's dress and speech in and around the court room
is monitored. |
______ |
______ |
| Court
Room Traffic - The Second Chair should keep track
of any people coming into the trial room. For example,
sometimes the presence of an insurance adjustor will indicate
that the company is concerned about the out come of the
case and maybe thinking about settlement. Also, witnesses
who are sequestered should be kept away from the court
room and someone needs to make sure that this is done. |
______ |
______ |
| File
Knowledge - The Second Chair must have intimate knowledge
of the file, the elements of the case, the witnesses and
the exhibits. |
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______ |
| Trial
Briefs - The Second Chair should be responsible for
drafting the trial brief and jury instructions. |
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| Motion
in Limine - The Second Chair should prepare Motions
in Limine. |
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______ |
| Voir
Dire - The Second Chair should prepare Voir Dire Questions.
|
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| Jury
List - The Second Chair should gather the jury list
and jury questionnaires in order to develop a profile
on each juror. |
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______ |
| The
End of Trial - After the trial is over the Second
Chair should recover and retrieve any exhibits they need
to get back into the file. |
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______ |
| Deposition
Designations - If depositions are going to be used,
the Second Chair should designate those portions of the
depositions that will be read to the jury and to make
the necessary conforming copies for the court and opposing
counsel and the witness who will be required to read the
deposition from the witness stand. |
______ |
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| Examination
of Witnesses - The Second Chair should have some responsibility
to examine some of the witnesses during the case. |
______ |
______ |
| Critic
- The Second Chair should be the objective critic of what
is going on in the trial. While his/her job is to support
the overall effort, part of that job includes letting
folks know when things are not going well and when things
need to be corrected. |
______ |
______ |
| Try
the Case, if Necessary - The Second Chair should be
prepared to to try the case himself in case of an emergency
or some medical condition that would keep the first chair
lawyer from his appointed rounds. |
______ |
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