Judge Jesus G. Bernal -- United States District Court, Central District of California

Courtroom 1, 2nd Floor, George E. Brown, Jr. Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, Riverside

Quick Reference

Topic	Rule
Motion Days	SO §9a Time for Hearing Motions: Motions shall be filed and set for hearing in accordance with L.R. 6-1. Motions will be heard on Mondays commencing at 9:00 a.m. Any motion noticed for a holiday shall automatically be set to the next Monday without further notice to the parties. (JPS) Civil matters are heard on Mondays at 9:00 a.m. Criminal matters are heard on Mondays at 2:00 p.m. (If Monday is a holiday, the next motion date is the following Monday.) [Judge Bernal Standing Order]
Motion Limit	SO §9b Length and Format of Motions: Memoranda of Points and Authorities in support of or in opposition to motions shall not exceed 25 pages. Replies shall not exceed 12 pages. Only in rare instances, and for good cause shown, will the Court grant an application to extend these page limitations. When citing to legal databases, wherever possible cite to Westlaw rather than Lexis. [Judge Bernal Standing Order]
Reply Limit	SO §9b: Replies shall not exceed 12 pages. Only in rare instances, and for good cause shown, will the Court grant an application to extend these page limitations. [Judge Bernal Standing Order]
Chambers Copies	Conditional SO §5 Mandatory Chambers Copies: Counsel shall provide one conformed chambers copy of ONLY the following filed documents. Civil matters:... [Judge Bernal Standing Order]
Tentative Rulings	(JPS) Tentative rulings are not issued. [Judge Bernal Procedures Page]
Remote Appearances	SO §16 Telephonic Appearances: Telephonic appearances will only be allowed upon good cause. To request a telephonic appearance counsel must file a request with a proposed order one week before the scheduling conference. (JPS) Unless approved to appear by Zoom or by telephone, all matters are being held in-person. Telephonic / Zoom Appearances: If you would like to appear by phone or by zoom you may file a request with a proposed order for the court's consideration. (Note that the court is now conducting all matters in-person) [Judge Bernal Standing Order]
Discovery	SO §8 Discovery: All discovery matters have been referred to a United States Magistrate Judge. The Magistrate Judge's initials follow the District Judge's initials in the case number assigned to the matter. [Judge Bernal Standing Order]

Procedural Briefing by Motion Type

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Before You File

Motion Days & Times

SO §9a Time for Hearing Motions: Motions shall be filed and set for hearing in accordance with L.R. 6-1. Motions will be heard on Mondays commencing at 9:00 a.m. Any motion noticed for a holiday shall automatically be set to the next Monday without further notice to the parties. (JPS) Civil matters are heard on Mondays at 9:00 a.m. Criminal matters are heard on Mondays at 2:00 p.m. (If Monday is a holiday, the next motion date is the following Monday.) [Judge Bernal Standing Order]

Notice Period

SO §9a Time for Hearing Motions: Motions shall be filed and set for hearing in accordance with L.R. 6-1. Motions will be heard on Mondays commencing at 9:00 a.m. Any motion noticed for a holiday shall automatically be set to the next Monday without further notice to the parties. (JPS) It is not necessary to clear a motion date with the court clerk prior to filing the motion. [Judge Bernal Standing Order]

Motion Page / Word Limit

SO §9b Length and Format of Motions: Memoranda of Points and Authorities in support of or in opposition to motions shall not exceed 25 pages. Replies shall not exceed 12 pages. Only in rare instances, and for good cause shown, will the Court grant an application to extend these page limitations. When citing to legal databases, wherever possible cite to Westlaw rather than Lexis. [Judge Bernal Standing Order]

Opposition Limit

SO §9b Length and Format of Motions: Memoranda of Points and Authorities in support of or in opposition to motions shall not exceed 25 pages. Replies shall not exceed 12 pages. [Judge Bernal Standing Order]

Reply Limit

SO §9b: Replies shall not exceed 12 pages. Only in rare instances, and for good cause shown, will the Court grant an application to extend these page limitations. [Judge Bernal Standing Order]

Font & Formatting

Silent on font formatting. [Judge Bernal Standing Order]

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At Filing

Chambers Copies

Conditional SO §5 Mandatory Chambers Copies: Counsel shall provide one conformed chambers copy of ONLY the following filed documents. Civil matters: Motions and related documents (opposition, replies, exhibits); ex parte applications and related documents oppositions and exhibits); and Joint Rule 26(f) reports. Chambers copies shall be delivered to the "Courtesy Box," located outside of Courtroom 1 on the 2nd floor at the United States District Court, 3470 Twelfth Street, Riverside, California 92501, no later than 5:00 p.m. on the day following the "e-filing." All chambers copies shall comply fully with the document formatting requirements of L.R. 11-3. [Judge Bernal Standing Order]

Proposed Orders

SO §6 Proposed Orders: Each party filing or opposing a motion or seeking the determination of any matter shall serve and electronically lodge a proposed order which sets forth the relief or action sought and a brief statement of the rationale for the decision with appropriate citations. (JPS) Proposed orders are required to be emailed in Word or WordPerfect format to JGB_chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov. [Judge Bernal Standing Order]

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Before the Hearing

Tentative Rulings

(JPS) Tentative rulings are not issued. [Judge Bernal Procedures Page]

Remote Appearances

SO §16 Telephonic Appearances: Telephonic appearances will only be allowed upon good cause. To request a telephonic appearance counsel must file a request with a proposed order one week before the scheduling conference. (JPS) Unless approved to appear by Zoom or by telephone, all matters are being held in-person. Telephonic / Zoom Appearances: If you would like to appear by phone or by zoom you may file a request with a proposed order for the court's consideration. (Note that the court is now conducting all matters in-person) [Judge Bernal Standing Order]

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Background Rules

Chambers Contact

SO §15 Communications with Chambers: Unless requested to do so, counsel shall not attempt to contact the Court or its staff by telephone or by any other ex parte means. Counsel are directed to review the Central District's website at http://www.cacd.uscourts.gov for the Local Rules, filing procedures, judges' procedures and schedules, calendars, forms, and Pacer access. Counsel may contact the Courtroom Deputy Clerk, Maynor Galvez, by telephone at (951) 328-2254 or by email at maynor_galvez@cacd.uscourts.gov only in the event that counsel cannot find the desired information through all available resources. [Judge Bernal Standing Order]

Discovery Referral

Discovery Motion Process

SO §8 Discovery: All discovery matters have been referred to a United States Magistrate Judge. The Magistrate Judge's initials follow the District Judge's initials in the case number assigned to the matter. The words "DISCOVERY MATTER" shall appear in the caption of all documents relating to discovery to insure proper routing. Counsel shall deliver mandatory chambers copies of discovery-related papers to the Magistrate Judge assigned to the case rather than to this Court. [Judge Bernal Standing Order]

Ex Parte Applications

SO §13 Ex Parte Applications: Ex parte applications are considered on the papers and are not usually set for hearing. Counsel are advised that this Court allows ex parte applications solely for extraordinary relief. Counsel's attention is directed to L.R. 7-19. The moving party's declaration in support of an ex parte application shall show compliance with L.R. 7-19 and this Order and shall include a statement of opposing counsel's position. Failure to do so ensures the application will be DENIED. If counsel does not intend to oppose an ex parte application, counsel must inform the Courtroom Deputy Clerk, (951) 328-2254. [Judge Bernal Standing Order]

Lead Counsel

SO §7 Presence of Lead Counsel: Lead trial counsel for each party must attend any scheduling and pretrial conferences set by the Court. Failure of lead trial counsel to appear for those proceedings is a basis for sanctions. Scheduling Order §2.a Participation: Lead trial counsel for all parties must be present. Counsel must be prepared to discuss the substantive issues in the case and authorized to address scheduling with the Court and opposing counsel. [Judge Bernal Standing Order]

Continuances & Calendar Conflicts

SO §14 Stipulations: Stipulations extending scheduling dates set by this Court are not effective unless approved by the Court. Continuances will be granted only upon a showing of good cause. (JPS) Continuances and special requests must be approved by the Court, and will be granted only upon a showing of good cause. Counsel must make such requests in pleading form by submitting a stipulation and a proposed order to the clerk's office at least one week in advance. Refer to Local Rules 7-1 and 7-11 for proper format. If there is a calendar conflict, counsel are to notify the court clerk prior to the date of the conflict. [Judge Bernal Standing Order]

Sources & Currency

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