A Blog About Intellectual Property Litigation and the District of Delaware


Entries for tag: DED

D. Del.'s New Magistrate Judge Announced!

Andrew E. Russell, July 8, 2024
Congestion Judges

District Court Seal

We heard from the Court last week that it has selected a new magistrate judge for the District of Delaware: Eleanor G. Tennyson.

The announcement describes her background:

The United States District Court for the District of Delaware is pleased to announce its selection of Eleanor G. Tennyson as a United States Magistrate Judge. Ms. Tennyson fills the position vacated by Judge Jennifer Hall upon Judge Hall’s elevation to the District Court.
Ms. Tennyson is an honors graduate of Grinnell College and received her master’s degree in chemistry from the Clemson University Graduate School of Chemistry. Ms. Tennyson earned her law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law where she was managing editor of the Iowa Law Review. …
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The Hunter Biden Trial Begins Monday 6/3: Beware of Courthouse Access Issues! Also, Press Coalition Challenges Viewing Restrictions

Andrew E. Russell, May 31, 2024
DED

Line
AI-Generated, displayed with permission

Heads up! As the Court described in a public notice last week, the Hunter Biden criminal trial starts on Monday 6/3.

Just reading the notice, you can tell that the Court (unsurprisingly) expects quite a lot of people to be there. It is setting up the 3rd floor jury assembly room as an overflow room, and is not permitting reporters in the courtroom during jury selection:

Members of the public and media may not be present in the courtroom for jury selection but may listen to those proceedings from the overflow room (3rd Floor Jury Assembly Room).
Courtroom seating for . . . the portions of the trial other than jury selection will be on a …
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The Court Has Started Re-Assigning Cases to Incoming Judge Hall

Andrew E. Russell, Jan. 8, 2024
Nomination Congestion

District Court Seal

We mentioned back in October that Judge Hall was confirmed to the District of Delaware. Today, the Court started re-assigning cases from existing judges to Judge Hall. These arrive as a simple one-sentence docket entry:

Case Reassigned to Judge Jennifer L. Hall. Please include the initials of the Judge (JLH) after the case number on all documents filed.

The re-assignments involve cases at multiple stages, including past the close of fact discovery, and cases where Judge Hall was not previously involved as a magistrate judge.

One common question I see is "why did our case get re-assigned"? We can all speculate, but I'm not sure it's safe to read anything into a re-assignment like this beyond "our case was re-assigned …

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Do You Want to Be a D. Del. Magistrate Judge?

Andrew E. Russell, Nov. 17, 2023
Congestion DED

Wilmington, <a href='#' class='abbreviation' data-bs-toggle='tooltip' data-placement='top' title='Delaware'>DE</a>
Wilmington, DE Andrew Russell, CC BY 2.0

The District of Delaware is looking for its next magistrate judge!

The formal requirements to become a magistrate judge, as set forth in the announcement, are actually fairly easy to meet:

To be qualified for appointment an applicant must
(1) Be, and have been for at least five years, a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Territory of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands of the United States, and have been engaged in the active practice …
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Can You Rely on the Due Date in the Docket Text on PACER? No.

Andrew E. Russell, Oct. 30, 2023
CM/ECF DED

AI
Markus Winkler, Unsplash

An order on Friday reminded me of a local counsel issue that comes up from time to time here in D. Del.

Whenever a party files a motion or a brief, the docket on PACER automatically includes a due date, like so:

312 OPENING BRIEF in Support re 311 MOTION to Amend Judgment, filed by ViaTech Technologies Inc..Answering Brief/Response due date per Local Rules is 11/8/2023. (Mayo, Andrew) . . . (Entered: 10/25/2023)

ViaTech Technologies, Inc. v. Adobe Inc., C.A. No. 20-358-RGA-JLH (D. Del. Oct. 25, 2023).

The docket text is not perfectly clear, but that due date is automatically generated based on a set of rules in PACER (that are …

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Notes from the 2023 D. Del. Bench and Bar (Part 2)

Andrew E. Russell, Sept. 25, 2023
Bench and Bar DED

I was not expecting book recommendations—fiction and non-fiction—from the conference!
I was not expecting book recommendations—fiction and non-fiction—from the conference! saracohenn, Unsplash

Following up on our post last week, here is part 2 of our notes about the District of Delaware Bench and Bar. As we mentioned, these are all without attribution under the Chatham House Rule, and we won't be discussing any specific panels:

Magistrate Judge Tips

  • For discovery disputes, judges want to see what the moving party wants, why, and what law or regulation justifies the request.
  • The party opposing a discovery dispute should focus on the real reason for opposing the request
  • The court appreciates honesty and the parties having some level of restraint in arguing discovery disputes
  • Timing of discovery dispute motions is important. …
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Notes from the 2023 D. Del. Bench and Bar (Part 1)

Andrew E. Russell, Sept. 22, 2023
DED

Why did I try to take notes by hand?!
Why did I try to take notes by hand?! Luke Southern, Unsplash

The 2023 District of Delaware Bench and Bar wrapped up today. It was really great to see everyone in person again. It's hard to believe it, but the last D. Del. Bench and Bar conference was back in May 2018 - over five years ago!

Everyone seems to agree the conference was a huge success. Thank you to the organizers and the Court, who put in a ton of work to make it happen!

Notes

The conference is conducted under the Chatham House Rule—which, honestly, we had forgotten. That means we "are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation …

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The District of Delaware Bench and Bar Starts Thursday—Your Local Counsel May Be Less Responsive

Andrew E. Russell, Sept. 20, 2023
DED

District Court Seal

I imagine all of our Delaware readers already know this, but the District of Delaware Bench and Bar conference starts tomorrow and runs through Friday.

The District of Delaware bench-and-bar is an excellent event that runs all day tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday, including an evening event on Thursday. It is the product of a huge amount of work put in by the District of Delaware FBA as well as many other attorneys, judges, and staff member, for which we are all thankful!

As we mentioned earlier this year, the Court has already issued an order modifying case deadlines that would otherwise fall tomorrow and Friday:

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that all members of the court - District, Magistrate, and …
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Remote Hearings Coming to a Close?

Andrew E. Russell, May 12, 2023
DED COVID-19

Will this be the last time we use our COVID-19 image? I hope so.
Will this be the last time we use our COVID-19 image? I hope so. Fusion Medical Animation, Unsplash

Yesterday, the Judicial Conference announced the end to the exception permitting remote public access during COVID-19:

The COVID-19 emergency is no longer affecting the functioning of the federal courts, the Judicial Conference’s Executive Committee has found, setting in motion a 120-day grace period in which federal courts may continue to provide the same remote public audio access to civil and bankruptcy proceedings as they did during the emergency.
The Executive Committee finding takes effect May 24. The grace period, which ends Sept. 21, relates only to the Judiciary’s temporary broadcasting exception for remote audio public access to civil and bankruptcy proceedings. …
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Better Track Down that Bar ID Card! D. Del. Institutes New Electronics Policy

Andrew E. Russell, May 9, 2023
DED

"No, I don't have a bar ID, I'm an expert witness. But you can't expect me to sit through this whole trial at $550/hr without looking at Reddit on my phone." AI Generated, displayed with permission

Prior to today, it has generally been easy to bring phones and other electronics (except for standalone cameras and recording devices) into the District of Delaware courthouse. The security team checks IDs, but did not require further identification to keep your phone.

Today, the Court issued a new electronics policy, which requires members of the public to lock their phones and other devices away upon entering the courthouse:

1. All cameras and personal electronic devices shall be subiect to inspection upon entry to the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building and United States Courthouse. Such devices may not be used in violation of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53 (prohibiting courtroom photography and broadcasting in criminal cases) and Local Civil Rule 83.2 (prohibiting photographs and broadcasting). The Court may authorize exceptions for investitures, ceremonial or naturalization proceedings, law school moot court proceedings, and activities sponsored by a bar association for continuing legal education.
2. Subject to the exemptions set forth in Paragraph 4 of this Standing Order, all cameras, cellular telephones, smart phones, smart watches, and similarly sized personal electronic devices shall be ...
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