Judge Fred W. Slaughter -- United States District Court, Central District of California

Courtroom 10D, 10th Floor, Ronald Reagan Federal Building and United States Courthouse, Santa Ana

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Key Traps — Where Counsel Gets Caught

1. MSJ briefing runs 42/28/21 days — motion filed 42 days before hearing, opp 28 days before, reply 21 days before; standard L.R. 6-1 timing does NOT apply
2. Court requires at least 21 days between the reply deadline and the MSJ hearing date — build in the cushion or the schedule fails
3. Motion hearings only on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m.; if Thursday is a court holiday, motion rolls to the NEXT Thursday (not the intervening business day)
4. All briefing must be Times New Roman 14-point minimum; footnotes must match body font AND size — 12-point footnotes will not fly
5. Proposed orders MUST be emailed in Microsoft Word format to FWS_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov — motion may be stricken if the compliant proposed order is not received by email
6. Ex parte opposition due 24 hours after receipt OR 24 hours after filing — whichever is EARLIER (opposite of the usual 'whichever is later' trap)
7. AI disclosure required: any generative AI use in a filing requires a separate declaration disclosing use and certifying Rule 11 accuracy review
8. Mandatory chambers copies go to Santa Ana 10th floor by noon following filing; if the copy is 1 inch or thicker use a three-ring binder (no blue backing)
9. Discovery documents must include the phrase 'DISCOVERY MATTER' in the caption or routing to the magistrate judge fails — and do NOT deliver courtesy copies of discovery to Slaughter's chambers

Quick Reference

Topic	Rule
Motion Days	VIII.b. Time for Filing and Hearing Motions. Motions shall be filed in accordance with Local Rule 7. This court hears motions on Thursdays, beginning at 10:00 a.m. If Thursday is a court holiday, motions will be heard on the next Thursday. Counsel shall not contact the Courtroom Deputy to clear or reserve a civil motion hearing date. A list of closed dates is located on Judge Slaughter's webpage. [slaughter-fred \| motion_hearing_days]
Motion Limit	VIII.c. Length and Format of Motion Papers. Pursuant to Local Rule 11-6, absent leave of court Memoranda of Points and Authorities in support of or in opposition to motions shall not exceed 7,000 words, including headings, footnotes, and quotations but excluding the caption, the table of contents, the table of authorities, the signature block, the certification required by L.R. 11-6.2, and any indices and exhibits. Only for good cause shown will the court grant an application to extend these page limitations. [slaughter-fred \| page_limits_motions]
Reply Limit	Silent on page limits replies. [slaughter-fred \| page_limits_replies]
Chambers Copies	Conditional XI. Chambers Courtesy Copies. Mandatory chambers copies of the following e-filed documents shall be delivered to Judge Slaughter's chambers... [slaughter-fred \| chambers_copies_details]
Tentative Rulings	Silent on tentative rulings. Not applicable: federal court does not issue tentative rulings. [slaughter-fred \| tentative_rulings]
Remote Appearances	Silent on remote appearances. [slaughter-fred \| remote_appearances]
Discovery	VII. Discovery. All discovery matters have been referred to a Magistrate Judge, who will hear all discovery disputes. The Magistrate Judge's initials follow the District Judge's initials next to the case number. [slaughter-fred \| discovery_referral]

Procedural Briefing by Motion Type

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Before You File

Motion Days & Times

VIII.b. Time for Filing and Hearing Motions. Motions shall be filed in accordance with Local Rule 7. This court hears motions on Thursdays, beginning at 10:00 a.m. If Thursday is a court holiday, motions will be heard on the next Thursday. Counsel shall not contact the Courtroom Deputy to clear or reserve a civil motion hearing date. A list of closed dates is located on Judge Slaughter's webpage. [slaughter-fred | motion_hearing_days]

Notice Period

VIII.f. This court requires an extended briefing schedule for motions for summary judgment, as set forth below: Motions for Summary Judgment: Must be filed at least forty-two (42) days before the noticed hearing date. Opposition: Must be filed twenty-eight (28) days before the noticed hearing date. Reply: Must be filed twenty-one (21) days before the noticed hearing date. Any briefing schedule must provide the court at least twenty-one (21) days between the reply deadline and the hearing date. [slaughter-fred | motion_notice_days]

Motion Page / Word Limit

VIII.c. Length and Format of Motion Papers. Pursuant to Local Rule 11-6, absent leave of court Memoranda of Points and Authorities in support of or in opposition to motions shall not exceed 7,000 words, including headings, footnotes, and quotations but excluding the caption, the table of contents, the table of authorities, the signature block, the certification required by L.R. 11-6.2, and any indices and exhibits. Only for good cause shown will the court grant an application to extend these page limitations. [slaughter-fred | page_limits_motions]

Opposition Limit

Reply Limit

Silent on page limits replies. [slaughter-fred | page_limits_replies]

Font & Formatting

VIII.c. All briefing must use Times New Roman font. Text must be no less than fourteen (14) point font; footnotes shall be in the same font and the same size as the body of the memorandum. [slaughter-fred | font_formatting]

Footnote Policy

VIII.c. footnotes shall be in the same font and the same size as the body of the memorandum. [slaughter-fred | footnote_policy]

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At Filing

Chambers Copies

Conditional XI. Chambers Courtesy Copies. Mandatory chambers copies of the following e-filed documents shall be delivered to Judge Slaughter's chambers copy box on the 10th Floor of the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Santa Ana or sent via overnight mail: all motions and related documents (oppositions, replies, exhibits); ex parte applications (excluding pro hac vice applications) and related documents (oppositions and exhibits); and all pretrial documents. Mandatory chambers copies must be delivered by noon following the date of filing as required by Local Rule 5-4.5. Mandatory chambers copies of sealed documents shall be delivered to the Clerk's Office Intake window, to be placed in the court's internal mail box. If the mandatory chambers copy of a document is an inch or more thick, the filing party should place the court's copy in a three-ring binder (no blue backing is required). [slaughter-fred | chambers_copies_details]

ECF Stamp Requirements

VIII.c. Counsel shall adhere to Local Rule 5-4.3 with respect to the conversion of all documents to .pdf format so that when a document is electronically filed, it is in proper size and is .pdf searchable. Further, all documents shall be filed in a format so that text can be selected, copied, and pasted directly from the document. See Local Rule 5-4.3.1. All documents—including pleadings, motions, and exhibits—submitted to the court must be text-searchable (i.e., "OCR'd"). [slaughter-fred | ecf_stamp_requirements]

Proposed Orders

X. Proposed Orders. Each party filing or opposing a motion or seeking the determination of any matter shall file, serve, and electronically lodge a proposed order setting forth the relief or action sought and a brief statement of the rationale for the decision with appropriate citations. The court requires strict compliance with Local Rule 5-4.4.2, which states that "a Microsoft Word copy of the proposed document, along with a PDF copy of the electronically filed main document, shall be e-mailed to the assigned judge's generic chambers e-mail address," which for this court is FWS_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov. The court will not consider a motion, stipulation, ex parte application, or other request for relief unless a compliant proposed order is received by email. A filing may be stricken for failure to timely comply. [slaughter-fred | proposed_orders]

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Before the Hearing

Tentative Rulings

Silent on tentative rulings. Not applicable: federal court does not issue tentative rulings. [slaughter-fred | tentative_rulings]

Prohibition / Ex Parte Contact Re Tentatives

Silent on tentative ruling prohibition. Not applicable: federal court does not issue tentative rulings. [slaughter-fred | tentative_ruling_prohibition]

Oral Argument

VIII.g. Oral Argument. If the court deems a matter appropriate for decision without oral argument, the court will take the matter under submission and notify the parties before the hearing. [slaughter-fred | oral_argument_default]

Remote Appearances

Silent on remote appearances. [slaughter-fred | remote_appearances]

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Background Rules

Chambers Contact

XV. Communications with Chambers. Counsel must not attempt to contact the court or chambers staff by email, telephone, or by any other ex parte means. Counsel must not contact the Courtroom Deputy regarding the status of any matter before the court or seek any legal advice. Nor should counsel contact the Courtroom Deputy to inquire about court procedure when the answer is readily available by consulting the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Local Rules, or the court's standing orders. Calls or emails regarding the status of submitted motions, stipulations, or proposed orders will not be returned. Counsel may, for appropriate matters only, contact the Courtroom Deputy via the court's chambers email at FWS_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov. Any appropriate inquiry directed to the Courtroom Deputy must be by email with a copy to counsel for all parties. [slaughter-fred | chambers_contact_restrictions]

Discovery Referral

Discovery Motion Process

VII. Discovery. All discovery matters have been referred to a Magistrate Judge, who will hear all discovery disputes. The Magistrate Judge's initials follow the District Judge's initials next to the case number. All discovery documents must include the words "DISCOVERY MATTER" in the caption to ensure proper routing. Please do not deliver courtesy copies of discovery documents to Judge Slaughter's chambers. Counsel must follow the Magistrate Judge's procedures for scheduling matters for hearing. These procedures are stated on each Magistrate Judge's webpage. [slaughter-fred | discovery_motion_process]

Ex Parte Applications

XII. Ex Parte Applications. Ex parte applications are solely for extraordinary relief. To justify ex parte relief, there must be a showing of irreparable prejudice and that the moving party is without fault, or that the crisis occurred as a result of excusable neglect. The court considers ex parte applications on the papers. Accordingly, counsel need not set ex parte applications for a hearing date. The other parties' opposition, or notice of non-opposition, to an ex parte application is due 24 hours after the other parties' receipt of the ex parte application, or within 24 hours after the ex parte application is filed, whichever is earlier. [slaughter-fred | ex_parte_notice]

Lead Counsel

III. Presence of Lead Counsel. Lead trial counsel shall attend any proceeding before this court, including all Scheduling, Pretrial, and Settlement Conferences. In an effort to provide more experience to the next generation of practitioners, the court encourages lead counsel to permit junior counsel to fully participate in court proceedings, including to argue motions and to examine witnesses at trial. [slaughter-fred | lead_counsel_requirement]

Under Seal Filings

IX.h. Under Seal Filings: Local Rule 79-5 governs applications to file documents under seal. Local Rule 79-5.2.2 explains how to apply to file under seal and how to proceed if leave is granted. Parties must comply with all provisions of Local Rule 79-5. For each document or other type of information a party seeks to file under seal, the party must identify and discuss the factual and/or legal justification that establishes "good cause" or "compelling reasons" for the information to be protected. Documents that are not confidential or privileged in their entirety should not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted and filed separately with a reasonable amount of effort. Sealing must be justified for each individual item—blanket claims of confidentiality will result in the application to seal being denied. The parties also must meet and confer before filing an application to seal. [slaughter-fred | under_seal_requirements]

Continuances & Calendar Conflicts

IV. Calendar Conflicts. Counsel shall notify both of the Judges' courtroom deputies at least three (3) days in advance. Counsel should defer to the most senior of the judges. A priority before that Judge should be requested. A "Notice of Unavailability" has no legal effect and should not be filed. XIV. Continuances. Continuances are granted only on a showing of good cause. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4). Requests for continuances must be by stipulation, motion, or ex parte application and must be accompanied by a declaration setting forth the reasons for the requested continuance. Stipulations extending dates set by this court are not effective unless approved by the court. [slaughter-fred | continuances_calendar_conflicts]

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AI & Style Preferences

AI Disclosure Requirement

VIII.h. Artificial Intelligence. Any party who uses generative artificial intelligence (such as ChatGPT, Harvey, CoCounsel, or Google Bard) to generate any portion of a motion, brief, pleading, or other filing must attach to the filing a separate declaration disclosing the use of artificial intelligence and certifying that the filer has reviewed the source material and verified that the artificially generated content is accurate and complies with the filer's Rule 11 obligations.

Sources & Currency

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