Honorable John A. Kronstadt

Some information regarding procedures and schedules is provided below. Counsel should review and strictly comply with all provisions of the Local Rules (unless specifically superseded by an order of this Court) and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Copies of the Local Rules can be found at http://www.cacd.uscourts.gov/court-procedures/local-rules or purchased from one of the following:

Los Angeles Daily Journal: 915 East 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Metropolitan News: 210 South Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
West Group: 610 Opperman Drive, Eagan, Minnesota, CA 55123

Calendar Conflicts
Counsel shall notify the Courtroom Deputy Clerk for each judge at least 24 hours prior to the date of the conflict. Counsel should appear before the most senior judge and request priority.

Contact with Chambers
Counsel shall not initiate telephone calls to Judge Kronstadt's chambers or law clerks.

Continuances
Continuances are granted only upon a showing of good cause, particularly focusing upon evidence of diligent work by the party seeking delay and of prejudice that may result from the denial of the continuance. The Court sets firm trial dates and will not change them without good cause having been shown. Requests should be submitted well in advance of the relief requested. Counsel requesting a continuance, whether by application or stipulation, must submit a detailed declaration as to the reason(s). Such declaration shall include in its opening paragraph: the date the action was filed; the present trial date (if any); the date of the event for which continuance is sought; the date on which that date was set; and the date(s) and nature of any prior continuances of any proceeding in the action. The Court will not consider any request that does not comply with the Local Rules. Counsel should not assume the request is granted unless approved by the Court. See Local Rule 40-1. Any request shall be accompanied by a separate proposed order. See Initial Standing Order at p. 5-6 for formatting requirements.  

Electronic Equipment
ELMO (Document Presenter) reservations/tutorials may be made by referring to the Court website section referring to Presenting Evidence. Counsel may also contact the Courtroom Technology Help Desk (213-894-3061) about such matters. Counsel should contact the Courtroom Deputy Clerk at the earliest possible date concerning procedures for bringing electronic equipment into the courtroom.

Ex Parte Applications/TRO
Ex parte applications are for extraordinary relief only. Ex parte applications are considered on the papers and ordinarily are not set for a hearing. (If the Court decides to conduct a hearing, the Courtroom Deputy Clerk will notify the moving party of the hearing’s time and date and will direct the moving party to provide immediate notice to the non-moving party.) The moving party shall give telephonic notice of the Ex Parte and serve the opposing party by either facsimile, email, or by personal service and shall notify the opposing party that any opposition must be e-filed no later than 24 hours after service of such facsimile, email, or personal service. If counsel do not intend to oppose the ex parte application, counsel must inform the Courtroom Deputy Clerk by telephone as soon as possible. See Initial Standing Order.

Initial Pleadings
All initial pleadings shall be filed as a separate document and not filed together with the answer.

Law Clerk/Extern Positions
Judge John A. Kronstadt's chambers are currently accepting applications for externs for the Spring 2025 semester or Summer 2025. Externs will be exposed to and work on a wide-range of case matters and gain unparalleled litigation experience from the other side of the bench. We are open to both part-time and full-time externs. Moreover, externs may choose to be fully in-person or hybrid. Chambers are located in the federal courthouse at 350 W 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90012. We ask that interested students please send their (i) resume, (ii) unofficial law school transcript, (iii) writing sample (and a cover letter describing the context for the writing sample and whether anyone else has provided feedback) and (iv) preference for full-time or part-time (and approximate weekly hours available) to [email protected]. The subject line should be formatted as follows: "Last Name, First Name – Spring (or Summer) 2025 Externship Application." Applicants will be contacted to interview on a rolling basis. These are unpaid positions. We are highly experienced at working with law schools to arrange for academic credit. Any questions can be directed to [email protected].  

Mandatory Chambers' Copies
The Court only requires copies of materials that have not been filed on the electronic docket for this case (e.g., CD-ROMs, DVDs, USB drives, documents electronically filed in other cases or other districts).
Mandatory chambers' copies of these materials shall be delivered to the courtesy copy box located on the 4th Floor of the First Street Courthouse. It is imperative that mandatory chambers' copies are delivered by noon following the date of filing as required by Local Rule 5-4.5. Failure to deliver timely mandatory chambers' copies may result in a delay of hearing a motion or order taking the matter off calendar.  Additionally, bluebacks are not required. It is not required to two-hole punch courtesy copies. All courtesy copies of documents that have been electronically filed must be printed from CM/ECF and include the CM/ECF-generated header consisting of the case number, document control number, date of filing, page number, etc.

Preparation of Documents / PDF
Counsel shall adhere to Local Rule 5-4.3.1 with respect to the conversion all pleadings to a PDF so that when a pleading is e-filed, it is in the proper size and format that is PDF searchable. Counsel may contact the Help Desk at 213-894-0242 for assistance.

Proposed Orders
Pursuant to Local Rule 52-4.1, a proposed order shall be e-filed as a separate attachment to any document seeking court approval. all proposed orders, including evidentiary objections, shall be submitted through CM/ECF or e-mailed in either Word or WordPerfect to the Court’s Chambers’ email at: [email protected] (link sends e-mail). The court does not require proposed orders to be submitted with any motion (e-filed or e-mailed) unless otherwise directed by the court. The court’s chambers’ email is used for proposed orders only and shall not be used to communicate with the courtroom deputy clerk.

Settlement Procedure
Pursuant to Local Rule 16-15, in every civil case, the parties shall select a settlement procedure. If counsel have received a Notice to Parties of Court-Directed ADR Program (Form ADR-08), the case presumptively will be referred to the Court Mediation Panel or to private mediation. See General Order 11-10, §5.1 and Local Rule 26-1(c). The court will discuss the proposed ADR procedure with the parties at the time of the scheduling conference and will issue the ADR-12 order once the settlement method is selected. For information about the Court’s ADR Program, review general order 11-10, which is located on the "ADR" page of the Court’s website.

Status Inquiries
Please do not inquire by phone, or email regarding the status of a motion, stipulation, or proposed order.

Transcripts
To obtain a transcript of any proceeding, please contact the assigned court reporter. To determine the court reporter for a particular proceeding, go to the Court Reporter Schedule web page and click on View by Date. Once you have determined the correct court reporter for the desired session, click on Court Reporter Phone and Email List for contact information.

Trial
Hours: Trials are generally conducted Tuesday through Friday. The Court will adopt a particular time schedule on a case-by-case basis. In general, the schedule will be: (i) from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with two or three 20-minute breaks; or (ii) from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with a 15-minute break in both the morning and the afternoon, and a one-hour lunch break. Counsel shall comply with the Court’s Order Re Jury/Court Trial with respect to documents to be prepared and filed timely in connection with the final pretrial conference and trial.

Arrangements for bringing voluminous trial materials or exhibits into the Courtroom through the Building Vehicle Loading Dock, if required, may be made through the Space & Facilities Help Desk at 213-894-1400. Before contacting Space & Facilties for a required security pass, prior approval of delivery time must be coordinated with the Courtroom Deputy Clerk. Once approval from the Clerk is received, logistical delivery information must be provided to Space & Facilities no later than 48 hours of the date of arrival to create and issue the required security pass. Counsel and messengers attempting to access the building parking and loading dock without a required pass will be denied entry.

Under Seal Documents
Counsel shall comply with this Court's Standing Order and Local Rule 79-5, which was amended December 1, 2015, with resepct to both civil cases. All under seal and in camera documents in criminal cases shall be submitted consistent with this Court's Standing Order. ​