The following system of individual file preparation is designed to make sure that no individual file gets neglected. It’s meant to be used in conjunction with global caseload management. Here’s how it looks in action:
After a busy morning in court, you come back to the office to find a bunch of new files in your mailbox. How should these be processed so that you maintain caseload management, while at the same time ensuring that these individual files are prepared for trial?
A Tri-Color Scheme For Preparing Files
I highlight in Green anything that strikes me as possibly important. Names of witnesses, particular observations by police, client statements, whatever.
Blue is used for anything that I’m missing. For example, if the discovery says something like “see Officer Larsen’s supplemental report for further,” or “this interview was videotaped,” I highlight that. As I’m continuing through the file and find that I’ve been tendered Officer Larsen’s supplemental, I return to the earlier blue highlight and put a check through my prior marking. If, after reading all the reports, there are any unchecked blue spots, I email the prosecutor asking for what’s missing. I print this email(!) and place it in the file. I also make a blue mark on the front of the file – V for video, R for report, or a dash for something else – so that by glancing at the file, I can immediately tell what is missing. If I don’t need the missing something before the next court date, I put the file in my cabinet. If I do need it, I put the file in pile 2.
Pink is used to mark anything in the discovery that I need to list in a motion in limine prior to trial. Typically, these are things that I want to keep out at trial, but were not obtained as a result of the investigation into my client, and thus, are not generally appropriate for a pre-trial motion.
For example, if the reports contain my client’s criminal history, I want to make sure that the police don’t testify to that, so I’ll highlight it in pink. Similarly, if the police refer to my client’s gang membership, that should be included in a motion in limine.
As I’m working my way through the discovery in this fashion, I’m also jotting down notes on a notepad. [Some lawyers make their notes on the inside of the file jacket. I prefer to leave this space available for notes concerning client interactions, such as jail visits and phone calls.] I am also folding down the corners of particularly important pages in the discovery, such as my client’s written statement, should he have been naive enough to write one.
Know the File’s Status At a Glance
If there are no marks on the front of the file at all, it’s unread.
If, there is a red exclamation point, that means that there is something to be done – a pre-trial motion needs to be researched or written, a witness needs to be interviewed, the crime scene needs to be visited, whatever.
A blue mark means that something, like a video or report, is missing.
If the file is fully prepared, I write on the front in green. (Green means go, after all.) A √ means that the case is bad, a √+ means that it’s good, a √(+) means that it’s somewhere in between.
Of course, I don’t let the prosecution in on what my markings mean. As far as they’re concerned, all of my cases are strong. Some are just stronger than others. 😉