Summary. A trial is won or lost in the three weeks before it starts and preserved or forfeited in the four weeks after it ends. This toolkit covers both windows and the days between: the final pretrial conference and the order that supersedes the pleadings, in limine practice, jury selection, the mechanics of putting on and attacking proof, and the running obligation to preserve error. The post-trial stages cover the 28-day motions, the stay and bond mechanics, cost and fee applications, and the jurisdictional notice of appeal.

What this toolkit is for, and who should use it

Most civil cases settle, so most litigators try few cases, and the skills that matter most at trial are the ones least often exercised: laying a foundation quickly, making a clean record, deciding in real time whether an objection is worth the jury's attention, and preserving an issue in a form an appellate court can review.

This toolkit is a working sequence for a federal civil jury trial, with notes where a bench trial or a state court diverges. It is written for the lawyer who is three weeks out and needs to know what has to be done, in what order, and what cannot be fixed later.

Roadmap at a glance

  1. The final pretrial conference and order.
  2. Motions in limine and evidentiary planning.
  3. Witnesses, exhibits, and demonstratives.
  4. Jury selection.
  5. Openings.
  6. The case in chief — direct, exhibits, and experts.
  7. Cross-examination and impeachment.
  8. Rule 50 and the close of evidence.
  9. Instructions, verdict form, and closing.
  10. Verdict and entry of judgment.
  11. Post-trial motions, costs, and fees.
  12. Stay, bond, and the notice of appeal.

Stage 1 — The final pretrial conference and order

The pretrial order supersedes the pleadings and controls the course of the trial, Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(d), (e). A claim, defense, witness, or exhibit omitted from it is generally gone, and it may be modified only to prevent manifest injustice.

Prepare it as the trial plan it is: the statement of the case to be read to the jury; stipulated facts, which are free evidence and should be pursued aggressively; contested issues of fact and law; the witness list with a will-call and may-call designation; the exhibit list with objections stated; deposition designations, counter-designations, and objections; expert disclosures; the estimated length; and any special equipment or scheduling needs.

Use the conference to resolve what can be resolved: authenticity and business-records foundations for the bulk of exhibits, the deposition designations, and the trial schedule. Every foundation stipulated is fifteen minutes of the jury's attention preserved for something that matters.

Resources

Stage 2 — Motions in limine

File in limine motions to exclude what would be prejudicial to hear even once, and to secure advance rulings that let you plan. The strongest candidates: evidence excluded under Rule 403 as unfairly prejudicial; subsequent remedial measures, Rule 407; settlement discussions, Rule 408; insurance, Rule 411; prior bad acts, Rule 404(b); undisclosed evidence and late-disclosed witnesses under Rule 37(c)(1); and expert opinions outside the scope of the report.

Ask for what you actually need: an order excluding the evidence, plus an instruction that counsel not mention it in opening or in the presence of the jury without approaching first. A ruling that the evidence is excluded but that opposing counsel may "raise it at the appropriate time" is not a ruling you can plan around.

Remember that an in limine ruling is preliminary unless the court says otherwise. Where the ruling is definitive on the record, Rule 103(b) preserves the issue without renewal; where it is conditional, you must object again when the evidence is offered. Confirm which you have.

Handle Daubert motions on the same timetable, and be ready for the possibility that the court defers to trial. See Expert Disclosure and Daubert Challenge Checklist.

Stage 3 — Witnesses, exhibits, and demonstratives

Build an examination outline for each witness organized by the fact each question is meant to establish, with the exhibit and the transcript page cited beside it. Prepare witnesses on substance and on process: the courtroom, the oath, the pace, the instruction to answer only what is asked, and the rule that "I don't know" and "I don't recall" are answers.

Prepare the exhibit book in the court's required form, with a master exhibit list, copies for the witness, the court, the clerk, and opposing counsel, and a plan for publishing to the jury. Pre-mark everything. Know the foundation for each exhibit and who can lay it.

Prepare demonstratives early enough to disclose them if the pretrial order requires it. A demonstrative that is not evidence should be labeled as such and handled consistently, because a demonstrative that goes back to the jury room without a ruling is an appellate issue you did not need.

Plan deposition excerpts for unavailable witnesses and for impeachment, with video synchronized to the transcript where available, Fed. R. Civ. P. 32.

Resources

Stage 4 — Jury selection

Learn the court's method — struck panel or strike-and-replace, attorney-conducted or judge-conducted voir dire, and the number of peremptory challenges (three per side in federal civil cases, 28 U.S.C. § 1870).

Draft voir dire questions that surface experience and attitude, not questions that argue the case. Open-ended questions produce information; leading questions produce silence. Identify the jurors you cannot rehabilitate and use challenges for cause where the record supports them, preserving peremptories for the rest.

Watch for Batson issues in both directions. Under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), extended to civil cases by Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co., 500 U.S. 614 (1991), and to gender by J.E.B. v. Alabama ex rel. T.B., 511 U.S. 127 (1994), a party may challenge a strike as discriminatory; the three-step burden-shifting process must be made on the record. Have a race- and gender-neutral reason ready for every strike you make, articulated at the time.

Stage 5 — Opening statement

An opening is a promise about the evidence. Make promises you will keep, because opposing counsel will read the transcript back in closing if you do not.

Structure it around the story and the two or three facts the jury must retain. Lead with the theme in a sentence. Use the exhibits you will actually admit. Avoid argument, which draws sustained objections and interrupts the only uninterrupted time you will have with the jury. Preview the weaknesses you cannot hide — a fact the jury hears first from you is neutral; the same fact from the other side is a concealment.

Stage 6 — The case in chief

Order witnesses for narrative coherence, opening and closing the case with strength. Build each direct around short, non-leading questions, Fed. R. Evid. 611. Move the witness through the story in the sequence the jury will follow.

For each exhibit: mark, show to opposing counsel, show to the witness, lay the foundation (identification, authentication under Rule 901 or self-authentication under Rule 902), offer, obtain a ruling, then publish. Know the hearsay exceptions you will rely on before you stand up — business records under Rule 803(6) with a custodian or a Rule 902(11) certification; party admissions under Rule 801(d)(2); present sense impressions and recorded recollection.

For experts, qualify, tender if the court's practice requires it, establish the basis and methodology, then the opinions, then the support. Rule 702 as amended emphasizes that the proponent must show by a preponderance that the opinion reflects a reliable application of the methodology to the facts — expect the opposing side to probe exactly there.

Watch the completeness rule, Rule 106, and the best evidence rule, Rules 1002-1004, both of which surface without warning.

Resources

Stage 7 — Cross-examination and impeachment

Cross on a short list of points. Leading questions only, one fact per question, no question whose answer you do not know, and no invitation to explain.

Impeach with precision: commit the witness to the statement, credit the prior statement (the deposition, the document, the sworn interrogatory answer), confront with the exact language, and stop. Read the line and page into the record so the appellate court can find it.

Use prior inconsistent statements under Rule 613, character for truthfulness under Rules 608 and 609 within their limits, bias — which is always relevant and never collateral — and contradiction by other evidence.

Know when not to cross at all. A witness who did no damage is a witness whose testimony the jury will forget unless you repeat it.

Stage 8 — Rule 50 and the close of evidence

Move for judgment as a matter of law at the close of the opponent's case and again at the close of all evidence, Fed. R. Civ. P. 50(a). State the grounds specifically — element by element, identifying the evidence that is missing. A general motion preserves nothing, and the failure to move under Rule 50(a) forfeits the ability to renew under Rule 50(b). Unitherm Food Systems, Inc. v. Swift-Eckrich, Inc., 546 U.S. 394 (2006).

Also at the close: rest formally, move to admit any exhibits not yet in evidence, make any offers of proof for excluded evidence under Rule 103(a)(2) — a written offer or a proffer on the record outside the jury's presence — and confirm the record reflects every ruling you intend to challenge.

Stage 9 — Instructions, verdict form, and closing

Submit proposed instructions on the court's schedule with authority for each. At the charge conference, state your objection to each instruction given and each refused, distinctly and on the record before the jury retires, Fed. R. Civ. P. 51(c). An unstated objection is reviewable only for plain error.

Fight for the verdict form. A general verdict, a general verdict with interrogatories, or a special verdict under Rule 49 can decide the case: a special verdict isolates findings and can support or undermine a post-trial motion, while a general verdict can insulate a result from review. Check every question for consistency and for whether an answer could produce an unusable verdict.

In closing, argue. Tie the evidence to the instructions the jury just received, use the verdict form as the roadmap, address the burden of proof explicitly, and keep the promises made in opening. Object to improper argument contemporaneously — a golden rule argument, a send-a-message appeal, or a comment on a party's failure to testify — and request a curative instruction, because silence waives it.

Stage 10 — Verdict and entry of judgment

When the verdict returns, poll the jury if there is any doubt, Fed. R. Civ. P. 48(c). Examine the verdict for internal inconsistency and raise it before the jury is discharged, when the court can still send them back. After discharge, the remedy is a new trial.

Confirm entry of judgment on a separate document, Fed. R. Civ. P. 58, and note the entry date. Every post-trial and appellate deadline runs from it.

Stage 11 — Post-trial motions, costs, and fees

Within 28 days after entry of judgment:

  • Renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law, Rule 50(b), limited to the grounds raised in the Rule 50(a) motion.
  • Motion for a new trial, Rule 59(a) — evidentiary error, instructional error, verdict against the weight of the evidence, excessive or inadequate damages, misconduct, or newly discovered evidence.
  • Motion to alter or amend the judgment, Rule 59(e).
  • Motion for amended or additional findings in a bench trial, Rule 52(b).

These deadlines cannot be extended, Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b)(2). A timely motion tolls the appeal clock; an untimely one does not.

Costs are taxed under Rule 54(d)(1) and 28 U.S.C. § 1920 on the clerk's schedule. Attorney's fees require a motion within 14 days of entry unless a statute or the court provides otherwise, Rule 54(d)(2), specifying the judgment, the basis for entitlement, and the amount or a fair estimate. Missing the 14-day window is a recurring and complete forfeiture.

Consider remittitur exposure, prejudgment and postjudgment interest under 28 U.S.C. § 1961, and Rule 60 relief for the narrow grounds it covers.

Stage 12 — Stay, bond, and the notice of appeal

Execution is automatically stayed for 30 days after entry, Fed. R. Civ. P. 62(a). Beyond that, obtain a stay by posting a supersedeas bond or other security, Rule 62(b) — and start the bond process immediately, because underwriting takes time and an unstayed judgment can be executed while the appeal is briefed.

File the notice of appeal within 30 days of entry of judgment (60 days where the United States is a party), Fed. R. App. P. 4(a). The deadline is jurisdictional, Bowles v. Russell, 551 U.S. 205 (2007). A timely Rule 50(b), 52(b), 59, or qualifying Rule 60 motion restarts the clock from the order disposing of the last such motion — and an amended notice may be required after that disposition.

Then order transcripts, docket the appeal, and confirm that every issue you intend to raise was preserved: an objection stated, a ruling obtained, an offer of proof made, and a record citation to each.

Resources

Stage 13 — Preserving error: the running obligation

Everything above is also a preservation exercise. Appellate courts review what was preserved, and the most common reason a meritorious issue is never reached is that nobody made the record.

Evidentiary rulings. Object with a stated ground, contemporaneously, and obtain a ruling. "Objection" alone preserves nothing except in the rare case where the ground is obvious. When your evidence is excluded, make an offer of proof on the record outside the jury's presence — what the witness would have said, or the document itself marked and lodged. Rule 103(a). An excluded exhibit that is not lodged does not exist on appeal.

In limine rulings. If the ruling was definitive on the record, Rule 103(b) preserves the issue without renewing the objection at trial. If it was conditional or deferred, renew. When in doubt, renew — the cost is fifteen seconds.

Sufficiency of the evidence. Rule 50(a) at the close of the opponent's case and at the close of all evidence, with the elements identified, then Rule 50(b) within 28 days. Skip any of the three and the issue is reviewable, at best, for a manifest miscarriage of justice.

Instructions. State the objection distinctly, identifying the matter objected to and the grounds, before the jury retires, Rule 51(c). Submitting a proposed instruction that is refused preserves the refusal only if the objection is also stated.

Verdict inconsistency. Raise it before the jury is discharged.

Improper argument. Object at the time and request a curative instruction; move for a mistrial if the harm cannot be cured. Waiting until the verdict to complain waives it.

Jury misconduct. Raise it immediately on discovery, and note the limits of Rule 606(b) on juror testimony about deliberations, subject to the narrow constitutional exception recognized in Peña-Rodriguez v. Colorado, 580 U.S. 206 (2017).

Constitutional and jurisdictional issues. Subject matter jurisdiction can be raised at any time; almost nothing else can.

Illustration. A defendant loses a $4 million verdict. Its best issue is the admission of a damages exhibit prepared for litigation with no sponsoring witness. Counsel objected in limine, the court reserved ruling, and at trial the exhibit came in without a renewed objection. On appeal the issue is reviewed for plain error, and the judgment stands. Fifteen seconds of renewal at the moment of admission would have preserved de novo review of a legal question.

Keep a preservation log during trial — one column for the issue, one for the transcript page, one for the ruling. Hand it to appellate counsel with the transcript order. It is the cheapest insurance in litigation.

Resources

Master resource index

Articles

Checklists

Related toolkits

External and primary sources

This toolkit is educational and not legal advice. Trial practice is governed by the rules of the forum, the judge's standing orders, and deadlines that are frequently unforgiving. Consult qualified litigation counsel and read the court's local rules before trial.