Pretrial and Trial: From Scheduling Order to Verdict

How a civil case gets to trial and how a trial runs: scheduling orders, pretrial disclosures and conferences, jury selection, presenting evidence, motions during trial and the verdict. This Lawtopolis course on civil trial has 5 short lessons and a quiz, and every lesson links to the official rule text.

What you will learn about civil trial

• How FRCP 16 scheduling and pretrial orders shape a case
• What pretrial disclosures under FRCP 26(a)(3) require
• The order of a civil trial, from jury selection to verdict
• Motions during trial: judgment as a matter of law and jury instructions

Who this course is for

• Self-represented litigants approaching trial
• Paralegals, law students and jurors who want to understand the process

Lessons in this course

1. Scheduling and case management

Under FRCP 16(b), the judge issues a scheduling order early in the case, generally within the earlier of 90 days after any defendant has been served or 60 days after any defendant has appeared. It limits the time to join other parties, amend the pleadings, complete discovery and file motions, and it may set trial and pretrial conference dates.

2. Pretrial disclosures and motions in limine

Unless the court orders otherwise, each party must disclose at least 30 days before trial the witnesses it expects to present or may call, the witnesses whose testimony will be presented by deposition, and each exhibit it expects to offer or may offer. Within 14 days after those disclosures, a party must serve and file objections, or most objections to admissibility are waived (FRCP 26(a)(3)(B)).

3. Jury selection and opening statements

In federal civil cases, a party must demand a jury in writing within the time FRCP 38(b) allows, or the right is waived. A civil jury has at least 6 and no more than 12 members, and unless the parties agree otherwise, the verdict must be unanimous (FRCP 48).

4. Presenting evidence and motions during trial

Evidence is admitted through witnesses and exhibits under the Federal Rules of Evidence. To preserve an error, a party must make a timely objection or motion to strike and state the specific ground (FRE 103(a)). The court may order witnesses excluded from the courtroom so they cannot hear other witnesses’ testimony (FRE 615).

5. Instructions, verdict and bench trials

After the evidence closes, each side gives a closing argument. The court instructs the jury on the law. Under FRCP 51, a party may file written requests for instructions, and must object on the record to an instruction, stating the grounds, before the jury retires, to preserve the objection.

Next steps after this civil trial course

When you finish, take the quiz to check your understanding. After that, keep going with the related pages in the Motions & Procedures library, the Legal Glossary and the Research Center. For the official text, read the current federal rules on uscourts.gov, and also check your own court’s local rules.

Lawtopolis provides legal information and education, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current version of your court’s rules before you file.

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