Information for Attorneys Participating in Hearings held by Videoconference or Attending In-Court Criminal Proceedings that Incorporate Videoconferencing
Please review the court’s information for attorneys attending “hybrid” in-court criminal proceedings that incorporate Zoom.
Please also review the court’s general Zoom guidance for hearings that will be held by videoconference or will incorporate videoconferencing.
This is a collection of information and resources to assist Attorneys who practice before the Northern District.
Attorney Responsibilities
Attorney practice in this Court is governed by Civil Local Rule 11-1(c) which requires a bar applicant to certify knowledge of:
- the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure and Evidence, the Rules of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Local Rules of this Court;
- the Alternative Dispute Resolution Programs of this Court; and
- the Standards of Professional Conduct of this Court set forth in Civil L.R. 11-4.
The Guidelines for Professional Conduct and other information on this topic may be found on our Bar Admission & Membership page.
The Court plays a twenty-minute video as part of its juror orientation before prospective jurors are sent to the courtroom for voir dire. The video gives potential jurors an overview of jury selection and the jury trial process, the general rules governing juror conduct, and a discussion of the effects of unconscious bias. Attorneys are invited to review the video before trial and to express any concerns to the assigned judge prior to jury selection.
Model and sample jury instructions provide a starting point for developing case-specific jury instructions. Links to several compilations of model jury instructions, including the Northern District’s Model Patent Jury Instructions, are included on this page.
Ninth Circuit Model Civil & Criminal Jury Instructions
- Ninth Circuit Manual of Model Civil Jury Instruction
- Ninth Circuit Manual of Model Criminal Jury Instructions
Northern District’s Model Patent Jury Instructions
* NOTE: In October 2024, an erroneous citation was omitted from the instructions.
In October 2019, the instructions were edited to include Instruction 4.2a within B.4.2 (Validity—Adequacy of Patent Specification): Written Description Requirement. This instruction, previously approved by the Working Committee, was inadvertently omitted from the previously posted version.
In December 2018, the Court approved a change to paragraph 5b of the Sample verdict form (page 60). The question relating to willful infringement was changed to conform to recent case law as follows.
Prior version: Has the Patent Holder proven that it is highly probable that the Alleged Infringer actually knew, or it was so obvious that Alleged Infringer should have known, that its actions constituted infringement of a valid and enforceable patent?
Revised version: Has the Patent Holder proven that it is more likely than not that the Alleged Infringer actually knew, intentionally ignored, or recklessly disregarded that its actions constituted infringement?
Note that potential Jurors complete the questionnaire online. This copy is provided for the convenience of attorneys only.
These can be found on the ESI Guidelines & Model Stipulated Orders page.
Produced by the Federal Judicial Center, the Manual for Complex Litigation describes approaches that trial judges have found to be useful in managing complex cases.
These can be found on the Procedural Guidance for Class Action Settlements page.
The Local Rules and General Orders are available on this site.
Civil Local Rule 5-1(g) requires uploading of civil and criminal trial exhibits following verdict. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, exhibits offered during trial shall be filed on the docket within ten days of a trial verdict. The parties shall file exhibits admitted for review by the trier of fact and may file exhibits that were offered but not admitted via CM/ECF.
What can you submit here?
Parties must upload electronic records that are in a format unsupported by CM/ECF (e.g., audio or video files) to an online location designated by the Clerk’s Office. Contact the Clerk's Office for detailed information.
What if parts of my exhibits are sealed?
Before submitting exhibits here, you must redact any information the judge ruled the public may not view. Follow the procedure in Civil Local Rule 79-5(d). If you have further questions, please email the judge’s courtroom deputy.
How can I access exhibits stored in the cloud?
Send a request to records@cand.uscourts.gov. We’ll provide an invoice based on the court’s fee schedule. Once payment is processed, we’ll email you a link to download the exhibit(s).
Need help? Email records@cand.uscourts.gov.
Filing most notices of appearance, substitution and withdrawal does not require preparation of a separate document in the Northern District’s ECF system. These actions should be filed using the ECF omnibus event entitled “Notice of Appearance/Substitution/Withdrawal of Attorney” (found in Civil Events → Other Filings → Notices).
Notice of appearance: Any attorney who is already a member of the N.D. Cal. Bar can simply log in to ECF, select the new ECF event, enter the case number and party they represent, and press “submit.” The attorney can file documents on behalf of their client within minutes of filing this notice.
Notice of substitution: Using the same ECF event, the newly-appearing attorney (already a member of the N.D. Cal. Bar) provides the name of the lawyer(s) leaving the case. The court will remove the attorney(s) substituted out from the docket within one business day.
Notice of withdrawal or change in counsel: An attorney may withdraw from a case if other counsel for that party remain. The attorney withdrawing so indicates by using the new ECF event. Alternatively, an attorney on the case may indicate that an attorney from the same firm is withdrawing. Within one business day, the attorney seeking withdrawal will no longer be associated with the case.
Some instances still require filing of a PDF:
- When one firm seeks to replace another firm, the filing attorney should use Motion to Substitute Firm (under Motions – General), along with the form motion with a proposed order on the court’s website under Civil Forms called “Substitute Law Firm; Proposed Order.”
- When an attorney who is the sole remaining counsel for a party seeks to withdraw, the attorney should prepare a supporting document and file a Motion to Withdraw as Attorney (under Motion – General).
These can be found on the Model Protective Orders page.
The Department of State’s website provides information about serving legal documents outside the United States, including information about the Hague Convention and treaties with foreign countries involving service of process.
Please see our CM/ECF Information page to get started.
All forms are available in our searchable Forms Library.