Judge Melissa Julian
Individual Rules, Standing Orders & Policies
Limits & Logistics
Document Limits
Adjournments
- When the parties agree to a brief extension of a response or reply deadline, file a Rule 7.1(g) notice stating the agreed deadline; no proposed order is required.
Request must include
Communication
Chambers
Phone
Chambers
Page & Word Limits2 rules
Absent leave for good cause, each party may file at most five Motions in Limine, limited to four pages each, with responses also limited to four pages and no replies; routine evidentiary matters and requests to enforce evidence rules should not be raised this way.
- Motion in limine
- Up to 4 pages
Exception
More pages with leave of court
Court's wording
Absent leave of Court for good cause shown, each party may file no more than five Motions in Limine. Motions in Limine should address only matters that are extremely prejudicial and could result in a mistrial. Motions in Limine should not be filed on routine evidentiary matters. Motions in Limine asking the Court to enforce a particular rule of evidence should not be filed. Motions in Limine are to be no more than four pages in length and responses are no more than four pages in length. There are no replies.
Page limits should not be exceeded without leave of court.
Document Format Requirements5 rules
(1) Your primary motion or fact statement and all of your cited exhibits must be filed as a single PDF, with slip sheets separating and identifying each exhibit.
- File type
- Motion
- Fact statement
- Exhibits
After e-filing in TurboCourt, only internal hyperlinks and bookmarks to pages within the single PDF will remain usable.
Court's wording
(7) Please note that hyperlinks and bookmarks to websites or to separate documents will not work once your document is e-filed in TurboCourt. Only internal hyperlinks and bookmarks to pages within the single PDF e-filed with the Court will remain usable after e-filing.
All citations shall be included in the body of the brief and not in footnotes.
Exhibits should be presented on screen, but parties may use their own device, TrialPad, Trial Director, PDFs, or hard copies with the Elmo, provided electronic displays match the Case Center-marked document; parties must bring their own hard copies.
Court's wording
Exhibits can and should be presented "on the screen," though you may bring your own device and need not use Case Center for presentation purposes. You may use TrialPad or Trial Director or present PDFs if that is your preferred method so long as the display reflects the identical document as marked in Case Center. You may also use hard copies with the Elmo, but the clerk does not provide hard copies for you so ensure you have brought all the exhibits you wish to use as hard copies with you to trial if you wish to use the elmo instead of plugging your device into the court's system.
Please only include cited excerpts from lengthy documents (i.e., deposition transcripts). This Court prefers condensed transcripts to be attached to motions or fact statements rather than the full-size transcripts.
Document Filing Requirements8 rules
E-filed pleadings containing more than five exhibits must include bookmarks to every attached exhibit in the PDF pleading.
Court's wording
All e-filed pleadings, including, but not limited to, summary judgment pleadings, that contain more than 5 exhibits shall contain bookmarks to all exhibits attached to your pleading(s). All bookmarks must be contained in your e-filed pleading in pdf format.
Motions in Limine should not be filed in bench trials without leave of Court.
The Court permits only one Motion for Summary Judgment per party absent leave of Court for good cause shown.
For most motions handled by eFile, lodge an electronic Word-format order form and omit “Proposed” or “[Proposed]” from it.
Court's wording
This division handles most motions via eFile; please lodge a Word format electronic form of order. Please do not include the word "Proposed" or "[Proposed]" on Word format forms of order; omitting it makes e-filing more efficient for the Division
No party should file supplemental briefing without leave of Court.
You may stand or sit at counsel table or use the podium, as you prefer. You do not have to ask permission to approach the witness, but you may not question the witness while standing next to the witness or directly in front of the witness stand without permission.
Each exhibit in the PDF should be bookmarked using its exhibit number or letter and a short description.
Court's wording
(2) Each Exhibit in your PDF should be bookmarked. Your exhibit bookmarks should be named by Exhibit number/letter and a short description of what it is. For example, “Exhibit A – Cited Excerpts from Plaintiff’s Deposition.”
Filers using AI are expected to verify citations and legal authorities, confirm factual assertions are supported by the record, and remember AI cannot provide legal advice.
Court's wording
To reduce errors (and minimize the risk of sanctions), the Court expects filers using AI to: 1. Independently and carefully verify every citation and legal authority using official or reliable legal sources. Again, the party or attorney using AI is responsible for false citations. 2. Confirm all facts are true and supported by evidence in the record. 3. Remember that AI tools are not lawyers and cannot give legal advice.
Filing & Service rules
Electronic Filing Rules
A single Turbo Court PDF may be up to 9.5 MB; the Court encourages cited excerpts and condensed transcripts and says not to include word indexes or unnecessary documents or pages.
(4) A single PDF may be e-filed in Turbo Court with a file size of up to 9.5 MB. To accommodate these file size limitations, this Court encourages parties to submit only cited excerpts from lengthy depositions, contracts, or other documents and to submit a condensed copy of any cited transcript. No word indexes or unnecessary documents or pages should be included.
Page 1 | Motion Practice
If the file still exceeds 9.5 MB after compression, exhibits may be filed separately as one internally bookmarked PDF with identifying slip sheets; combined main and supporting documents may total up to 100 MB.
(6) If after these measures, your file still exceeds 9.5 MB, you may file your exhibits separately as a “supporting document,” but then all of your exhibits should be combined into a single PDF and should be separated with slip sheets identifying each exhibit and the Exhibit PDF should be internally bookmarked. TurboCourt accepts file sizes of up to 100 MB total for both the main and supporting documents filed together.
Page 1 | Motion Practice
(3) You should not upload your exhibits as “supporting” documents to your motion or fact statement when filing in Turbo Court as any bookmarks will not be usable if the exhibits are separated from the main document.
(3) You should not upload your exhibits as “supporting” documents to your motion or fact statement when filing in Turbo Court as any bookmarks will not be usable if the exhibits are separated from the main document.
Page 1 | Motion Practice
All exhibits must be marked electronically through Case Center, except exhibits for self-represented litigants.
Except for self-represented litigants, all exhibits must be marked electronically through Case Center.
Page 1 | Joint Pre-Trial Memo and/or Conference; Exhibits and Objections
Filing Timing and Cure Windows
A pleading rejected for missing required bookmarks must be refiled with proper bookmarks within 14 days of the rejection minute entry, and the Court may disallow pleadings not refiled within five days.
Failure to provide the bookmarks as required above will result in the issuance of a Minute Entry rejecting the pleading. The party will be required to efile a new pleading with proper bookmarking no later than 14 days after the filing of the Minute Entry rejecting the original pleading. The Court reserves the right to disallow any pleadings that are not re-efiled within 5 days.
Page 1 | Motion Practice
The Court will provide the draft electronic jury questionnaire at least two weeks before trial and set a deadline for comments and requested changes.
The Court will provide counsel and the parties with a draft of the electronic questionnaire for comment at least two weeks prior to trial and will include a deadline for responses and requested changes.
Page 1 | Jury Selection
After the Court’s verbal examination of the jury panel, counsel will have a short period for follow-up questions, generally no more than 15 to 30 minutes.
After the Court concludes its verbal examination of the jury panel, Counsel will be provided a short period of time to ask follow up questions. This generally should not exceed 15 to 30 minutes.
Page 1 | Jury Selection
Courtesy Copy Requirements
The Court does not want exhibits provided as hard copies, on thumb drive, or by email.
The Court does not want hard copies of the exhibits, and the Court does not want the materials on thumb drive or email.
Page 1 | Motion Practice
Filing Bundling Requirements
No party should include more that one motion in a single filing or combine a response and a motion or a reply and a motion in one filing. This applies to requests for attorneys' fees or sanctions. Such requests should be made by separate motion.
No party should include more that one motion in a single filing or combine a response and a motion or a reply and a motion in one filing. This applies to requests for attorneys' fees or sanctions. Such requests should be made by separate motion.
Page 1 | Motion Practice
Pre-Motion Conference Requirements
Discovery and disclosure disputes covered by Rules 26(c) and 37(a) must first follow Rule 26(d); full briefing requires advance Court permission and may otherwise result in summary denial.
This Division requires strict compliance with Ariz. R. Civ. P. 26(d), the Expedited Procedure for Resolving Discovery and Disclosure Disputes. All disputes between parties that could be addressed in motions for protective order under Rule 26(c) or motions to compel discovery or disclosure under Rule 37(a) must first proceed pursuant to Rule 26(d). The Court may decide to later permit full briefing under Ariz. R. Civ. P. 26(d)(1), but the parties may not engage in full briefing without the advance permission of the Court. Attempted full briefing without advance permission of the Court subjects any such motion by a party to summary denial.
Page 1 | Discovery or Disclosure Disputes and/or Sanctions
Adjournment & Extension Requirements
When the parties agree to a brief extension of a response or reply deadline, file a Rule 7.1(g) notice stating the agreed deadline; no proposed order is required.
If agreement on a brief extension of a response or reply deadline is reached, please file a Rule 7.1(g) notice. The notice is sufficient and should indicate the agreed on extension deadline. No proposed order is required.
Page 1 | Motion Practice
Chambers Communication Rules
Do not message witnesses while they are testifying or side-chat any party in a virtual proceeding, and advise clients and witnesses of this prohibition.
In any event, DO NOT use Court Connect or any other text or electronic platform to chat or message a witness while they are testifying or to side-chat any party in a virtual proceeding. Chat-logs are public and permanent, and virtual court proceedings operate with the same formality and prohibitions as in-person proceedings. Please advise clients and witnesses of the same.
Page 1 | Other Courtroom Policies and Recommendations
Do not use Court Connect or another electronic platform to chat with Judge Julian, whether on or off the record.
Please also do not use Court Connect or any other electronic platform to 'chat' Judge Julian, whether we are on the record or off the record at the time.
Page 1 | Other Courtroom Policies and Recommendations
Consult your trial setting minute entry for detailed instructions on marking exhibits on Case Center and ensure you email the clerk in advance of the trial to obtain an official list of the exhibits as numbered by the clerk.
Consult your trial setting minute entry for detailed instructions on marking exhibits on Case Center and ensure you email the clerk in advance of the trial to obtain an official list of the exhibits as numbered by the clerk.
Page 1 | Joint Pre-Trial Memo and/or Conference; Exhibits and Objections
Contact the Division by email; in an exigency during an on-the-record proceeding, staff may be contacted by Court Connect chat only if available, and the message must be directed only to the intended staff member.
If you need to communicate with the Division, please contact staff at the email addresses listed above. Exigencies during an on-the-record proceeding might also be handled by 'chatting' staff only if they are available in Court Connect for that function. Please ensure that your chat message only goes to the Division staff member you intended and not to all in a proceeding.
Page 1 | Other Courtroom Policies and Recommendations
Those calling remote witnesses must ensure the witness has the equipment, quiet location, and internet connection needed to testify clearly; they may arrange a connection test by calling or emailing the division before the hearing or trial.
Counsel or parties calling witnesses to testify remotely are responsible for ensuring the witness has the ability to appear with a working web camera and microphone from a quiet location with a device and a sufficient highspeed internet connection so that the witness can be seen and heard clearly while testifying remotely. Counsel and parties can make an appointment to test the connection with their witness by calling or emailing division prior to the hearing or trial.
Page 1 | Other Pre-trial Practice Guidelines or Comments
Be courteous to court staff, but do not ask them for legal advice.
Please be courteous to my staff. Remember that they can be helpful to you. But, please do not ask them for legal advice. They are not lawyers and they cannot answer those questions.
Page 1 | Courtroom Etiquette
The Judicial Assistant may be contacted by phone or email.
My Judicial Assistant is reachable via (602) 372-0935 and via email at CVJ19@JBAZMC.maricopa.gov.
Page 1 | Specific Requirements or Preferences
Parties should make an appointment with court staff before trial to test equipment, learn the courtroom technology, and troubleshoot technical issues.
Note that you can and should make an appointment with court staff before trial to test your equipment and familiarize yourself with the courtroom technology to ensure your presentation runs smoothly during trial and so that we can help troubleshoot any technical issues in advance.
Page 1 | Joint Pre-Trial Memo and/or Conference; Exhibits and Objections