Honorable Margo A. Rocconi

Discovery Motions:

1. Generally. Discovery motions are to be scheduled before the magistrate judge unless otherwise ordered by the district judge. The parties are advised to review the procedures and standing orders of the assigned district judge before filing any discovery motion. Strict compliance with Local Civil Rule 37 is required. The Court may strike any discovery motion filed in violation of this Rule.  The Court may also take the motion under submission without oral argument. See Local Civil Rule 7-15.

   Before filing a discovery motion, counsel must read and be familiar with Judge Rocconi's Standing Order on Discovery Disputes, which is available for download below.

2. Pre-Motion Telephonic Conference. In the Court's experience, discovery disputes may often be resolved without the need for formal motion papers. In order to facilitate the just and expedient resolution of discovery matters and to conserve the parties' and Court's resources, the parties may contact Judge Rocconi's chambers to request a video conference with the Court before filing a discovery motion.  The request must: (a) include a BRIEF description (summary of less than 200 words) of the dispute and the parties' contentions; (b) indicate that the parties have been unable to resolve the dispute informally; and (c) copy all parties on the e-mail.  Pre-motion discussions conferences are most useful to discuss recalcitrant misconduct in discovery, a discrete dispute, or scheduling issues.  They are generally not useful in dealing with broader disputes about relevance, proportionality, burden,  or privilege issues under FRCP 26 et seq.  Note that Judge Rocconi will not order relief during an informal video discussion in the absence of a fully-briefed motion.

Settlement Conferences: Parties should contact the CRD about available dates for settlement conferences. All settlement conference papers should be delivered directly to the magistrate judge's chambers. In lieu of personal delivery, settlement conference papers may be emailed to [email protected] if the total number of pages being emailed is 20 or less.

Ex Parte Applications: Strict compliance with Local Civil Rules 7-19 and 7-19.1 is required. Any opposition should be served and filed within 24 hours of applicant's oral notice. Conformed paper copies of the filed application and any opposition should be delivered directly to chambers. Ex parte applications will ordinarily be decided on the papers without oral argument. The Court will notify the parties if it desires a hearing. Absent an emergency, ex parte applications are not an acceptable method of bringing a discovery dispute to the attention of the Court. Ex parte applications must identify in the caption whether "OPPOSED" or "UNOPPOSED" and must also identify in the caption whether the relief being sought has been previously sought via ex parte application (e.g., "FIRST ex parte application for extension of time," "SECOND ex parte application for extension of time").

Continuances: To request a continuance of any scheduled court hearing, the parties should submit a signed stipulation and proposed order at least three (3) court days prior to the scheduled hearing date. If it is necessary to file an ex parte application to request a continuance, the application must set forth opposing counsel's position. In addition, the parties should notify the CRD as soon as the need to reschedule a hearing is discovered.

Requests for Filing Extensions: Requests to extend any scheduled filing date (by either ex parte application or stipulation) shall be filed no later than three (3) court days prior to the scheduled date. Extensions are not allowed absent permission of the Court given on showing of good cause.

Stipulated Protective Orders:

1. General Standard: Parties frequently file stipulated protective orders that do not satisfy Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Ninth Circuit's standards for protective orders, or the Local Rules of this Court. For example, the Court may only enter a protective order upon a showing of good cause. Kamakana v. City and City. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006) (parties must make a "particularized showing" under Rule 26(c)'s good cause requirement for court to enter protective order). In addition, the Court will not enter a protective order that provides for the automatic sealing of all confidential documents. If confidential material is included in any papers to be filed in Court, such papers shall be accompanied by an application, pursuant to Local Rule 79-5.1, to file the papers—or the confidential portion thereof—under seal. Also, in the event of a dispute regarding the designation of confidential information, the procedure for obtaining a decision from the Court is that set forth in Local Civil Rule 37. An example of a stipulated protective order that satisfies these and other requirements is attached below.

2. Form of Proposed Order: All proposed orders approving stipulated protective orders must be submitted (1) in Word format, and (2) including the full text of the stipulated protective order.

3. Model Protective Order and Expedited Review: Parties submitting a stipulated protective order for the Court's approval shall receive expedited consideration if (1) the parties' stipulated protective order is substantially based on the attached model protective order, and (2) along with the proposed stipulated protective order, the parties provide a redline comparing the model and stipulated protective orders by e-mail to [email protected].

Parties in Custody:

1. Hearing Dates: If any party is in state or federal custody, the moving party must file the motion without requesting a hearing date. The Court will review the pleadings to determine whether a hearing is necessary.

2. Ex Parte Applications: A party submitting an ex parte application need not provide a party in custody with oral notice prior to filing, but must make all reasonable efforts to provide notice as quickly as practicable consistent with Local Civil Rules 7-19 and 7-19.1. Any party relying on this policy must include in the application (1) that the party in custody is incarcerated, and (2) all steps that have or will be taken to provide the person in custody with prompt notice.

Under Seal Documents (Civil and Criminal):

1. Request to Seal Document(s) ONLY, Not the Application and Order: A party seeking to file materials under seal must first file the application to seal and the declaration giving notice or proof of service electronically via the Court's CM/ECF system. Separately attach a proposed order to the electronically filed application. (Standard procedure for filing any application with a proposed order). Parties and counsel may consult the Guide to Electronically Filing Under Seal Documents in Civil Cases, which is available for download below.

   After electronically filing the application and declaration giving notice or proof of service, the moving party will send an e-mail to the Chambers e-mail ([email protected]) containing: (1) the application and declaration giving notice or a proof of service; (2) a Word version of the proposed order; and (3) a PDF version of the materials to be filed under seal with a caption page clearly marked "UNDER SEAL." The subject line of the e-mail must bear the case name and number and include the phrase "UNDER SEAL REQUEST."

   In addition, the party seeking to file materials under seal must deliver the following to the Judge's mail box, located outside the Clerk's Office (Suite 1200), 12th Floor of the Roybal Federal Building, no later than noon the next court day: (1) one copy each of the Notice of Manual Filing; (2) the Application and declaration giving notice or proof of service; (3) the proposed order; and (4) the proposed under seal documents. The filing party is required to serve copies of the sealed documents on all other parties as applicable and to e-file a proof of service within 24 hours.

   The parties are reminded that the Application itself is not under seal. If a party wishes to file declarations, memoranda and/or exhibits in support of the Application under seal then the procedures set out (see below) would have to be followed.

2. REQUEST TO SEAL THE APPLICATION, ORDER AND DOCUMENT(S): Electronically file a NOTICE OF MANUAL FILING indicating that the following have been submitted to the Court: (1) an application to seal; (2) a declaration giving notice or a proof of service; (3) a proposed order; and (4) the documents to be placed under seal.

   Send an email to the chambers email at with an attachment containing: (1) an Adobe PDF version of the application to seal and declaration giving notice or a proof of service; (2) a Word version of the proposed order to seal the application (including the proposed action to be taken if the application is denied (see 3., above) and the proposed order granting/denying stipulation, continuance, etc.; and (3) an Adobe PDF of the document(s) to be filed under seal with a caption page clearly included.

   Please note: The title of the pleading will be placed on the public docket entry. For example: "Declaration of Jane Doe, Exhibit A." If approved, the document itself will be sealed and not viewable by the public, but the entry (title) will be viewable.

   An application to file documents under seal must meet the requirements of Local Rule 79-5. 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 reasonable amount of effort. The parties should file both documents; complete versions of the pleadings and documents under seal; and a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only such portions as the Court has ordered may be filed under seal. ***On the un-redacted copies (sent via email), the parties ARE ORDERED to place in brackets and highlight the portion[s] of the document text and/or exhibits that have been redacted.***

   Sealing must be justified for each individual item to be sealed or redacted; blanket claims of confidentiality are not allowed and will result in a denial of the application to seal. Counsel is strongly encouraged to consider carefully whether sealing or redaction is required for a given piece of evidence or argument. The inclusion of clearly meritless requests to seal or redact documents may result in the complete rejection of an application to seal.

Appearances by Counsel:

1. Telephonic Appearances: Any party who wishes to appear at a hearing by telephone shall make such a request at least five court days before the hearing. Telephonic appearances are not allowed absent permission of the Court given on showing of good cause. Requests shall be made by formal pleading.

2. Special Appearances: The Court does not permit special appearances. Counsel of record shall appear at all court proceedings.

Citation Format: When a party wishes to cite a case for which no reporter citation is available, the Court prefers that the party use a Westlaw citation (rather than a LEXIS citation) if one is available.

Tentative Rulings: If the Court determines that issuing a tentative ruling is appropriate, the ruling will be provided to counsel when counsel checks in with the CRD.

Calendar Conflicts: The parties are to advise the CRD in advance about any calendar conflict and attempt to stipulate to an alternative date and time with opposing counsel. The alternative date and time should be cleared in advance with the CRD.

Communication with the Court: Inquiries regarding the status of a motion, stipulation, or proposed order should be made by checking the docket. If the information is unavailable, the parties may contact the CRD. Also, please refer to Local Civil Rule 83-2.5. Counsel and the parties must not contact or communicate with the magistrate judge's law clerks unless expressly authorized by the Court or the Court's CRD, the Local Rules, or this Court's rules. Similarly, counsel and the parties may communicate with chambers by means of the Court's email address only as expressly authorized by the Court or the Court's CRD, the Local Rules, or this Court's rules.

Electronic Equipment: Counsel should contact the CRD regarding procedures for using or bringing electronic equipment into the courtroom.

Transcripts: For general information on ordering transcripts of a reported or digitally recorded proceeding, please contact 213-894-3015 or visit the court website (www.cacd.uscourts.gov) section referring to Court Reporting Services, located under "Clerk Services". If you require an estimate of cost for the preparation of a transcript, contact the court reporter/recorder for the desired proceeding.

To determine the court reporter/recorder for a particular proceeding, go to the Court Reporter Schedule web page and click on View by Date. Once you've determined the correct court reporter/recorder for the desired session, click on Court Reporter Phone and Email List for contact information.

Interpreters: It is the responsibility of the parties to obtain the services of an interpreter in a civil case if one is needed. If the government is the moving party, contact the CRD. All other parties may contact the Interpreter's Section at 213-894-4599.

Law Enforcement Submissions: Federal law enforcement agents and the U.S. Attorney's Office are encouraged to advise the CRD in advance of the anticipated submission of warrants, criminal complaints, and other applications for the Court's review.

Employment Opportunities: For inquiries regarding law clerk positions, please visit https://oscar.uscourts.gov. For inquiries regarding summer extern positions, please email application materials, including a cover letter, resume, law school transcript, writing sample, and list of references, to [email protected].

Document Duty E-Filing Requirements: In accordance with General Order 19-01, counsel, after receiving the necessary notification email from the Clerk's office, shall inform chambers that a criminal duty matter has been filed and is ready for review by sending an email to the appropriate criminal duty email address [email protected], which is different from Judge Rocconi's Chambers email address. Counsel should follow the procedures outlined below:

1. Title and Content of Counsel's email: The title of the email should include the case number(s), and the email should also include the contact information for the AUSA and agent. If you are sending an agent with documents filed in more than one case, the title of your email must identify the case number for each case e.g., "U.S. v. Search Warrant, 99-MJ-99999 and 88-MJ-88888". The Judge is not aware of cases that are filed unless you identify the case number assigned to those cases in the title of your email(s) to her criminal duty email address.

2. Attachments: Courtesy copies in .pdf format of all documents for the Judge's review.

3. Timing: Do not email chambers before being notified by the Clerk's Office that access has been granted to the sealed docket.

4. Sending the Agent: If an e-filed matter requires an agent's signature, chambers' staff will notify the AUSA and/or agent when the agent should come to chambers. If conformed copies are needed, the agent should bring the necessary copies. Further instructions may be obtained by downloading the Criminal Duty Matters Electronic Filing Pilot Project User Manual located on the Clerk's Office website under E-filing.

Settlement Conferences: Pronouns and honorifics: Litigants and lawyers may indicate their pronouns (e.g., she/her, he/him, they/their) and honorifics (e.g., Mr., Ms., Mx., Dr.) by mailing a confidential letter to Judge Rocconi’s chambers, filing a request on the case docket, or adding the information in the name block or signature line of the pleadings..

Young Attorneys: The court values the importance of training young attorneys. If a written request for oral argument is filed before a hearing in a non-prisoner case, stating that an attorney four or fewer years out of law school will argue the motion, then the court will hold the hearing. Otherwise, the court may find it appropriate to take a motion under submission without oral argument.