Honorable John D. Early

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Magistrate Judge

Ronald Reagan Federal Building and United States Courthouse, 411 W. Fourth St., Santa Ana, CA 92701, Courtroom 6A.

Law and Motion Schedule: 

​Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. A motion hearing date need not be cleared with the Courtroom Deputy Clerk ("CRD") if the date selected is not closed. The Court may reschedule hearings or decide motions without oral argument as warranted. Hearings are conducted in-person unless a General Order, Order of the Chief Judge, or other Order directs otherwise.

Judge's Procedures: 
 

  1. DISCOVERY MOTIONS: Discovery motions are to be calendared before the Magistrate Judge unless otherwise ordered by the District Judge. The parties must include with any discovery motion all meet and confer correspondence regarding the dispute. Strict compliance with Local Rule 37-1 and 37-2 is required.


  2. TENTATIVE RULINGS: Tentative rulings, if issued, will be available at the "Tentative Rulings" link on this page no earlier than noon one court day before the hearing. If all parties submit on the tentative ruling, they should advise the CRD, and, upon confirmation, no appearance will be required.

  3. EX PARTE APPLICATIONS: Compliance with Local Rules 7-19 and 7-19.1 is required. The Caption shall identify whether the application is “OPPOSED” or “UNOPPOSED.” Opposition papers should be filed no later than 24 hours after the filing of the application. Ex parte applications are usually considered on the papers only.

  4. PROPOSED ORDERS: Electronic copies of proposed orders, in Microsoft Word format, must be e-mailed to the Court at [email protected].

  5. TELEPHONIC OR VIDEOCONFERENCE APPEARANCES: Any request for appearance by telephone or videoconference must be made by filed application at least seven days before the hearing. Such application should state the position of all parties regarding the request. Remote appearance request are not automatically granted.

  6. SETTLEMENT CONFERENCES: If a settlement conference has been ordered, the parties should jointly contact the CRD with at least three proposed dates at least four weeks before the requested conference. A further order will issue after a date is accepted.

  7. TRANSCRIPTS/INTERPRETERS: Information on ordering a transcript of proceedings is available at the Court Reporting Services page of the Court's website. Information on interpreters is available at the Interpreter Services page on the Court's website; civil parties are responsible for securing interpreters for proceedings.

  8. STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDERS: Any proposed discovery protective order, even if subject to a stipulation, must satisfy the standards of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 and other applicable authorities. The Court will not enter a protective order purporting to restrict public access to court records that are contrary to the procedures set forth in Local Rule 79-5 and other applicable authorities. Similarly, no proposed discovery protective order should purport to control the handling of materials at trial. A model protective order is attached below. CM/ECF procedures must be followed for lodging of proposed orders, including emailing Chambers a word processing version of the proposed order. See Local Rule 5.4.4.

  9. Microsoft Word versions of all proposed orders submitted with criminal duty matters shall be e-mailed to [email protected]