EAST ST. LOUIS - Illinois leaders and citizens suing to block the state’s weapon ban agreed to set their trial for the week of Sept. 16 to 20.
They sent U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn their schedule on May 24 with an outline of steps they will take to expedite the proceedings.
They’ll let him decide whether to exclude experts after he’s heard their opinions.
McGlynn presides over suits from four groups against governor Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, state police director Brendan Kelly and three counties including St. Clair.
Last year McGlynn granted a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the ban.
U.S. Seventh Circuit appellate judges in Chicago reversed his ruling as premature and directed him to develop a record.
At a hearing both sides asked McGlynn for a schedule he found much too slow.
Only Thomas Maag of Wood River set his clients apart and told McGlynn he was ready.
McGlynn rejected gradual progress and reserved a week in July.
He began a conference on May 16 by asking if there could be trial in July.
Plaintiff counsel Andrew Lothson of Chicago said it was probably overly optimistic.
McGlynn said he went through expert depositions and they went more to policy decisions.
“I’m not a policy maker. I’m just deciding questions of constitutional law,” he said.
He said they could agree to expert reports rather than file rebuttals.
“You can throw it in and argue on it and rely on it in briefing,” he said.
He said if they picked a date he would stick to it.
“We gotta get it wrapped up because the parties deserve to know.”
Plaintiff counsel David Sigale of Lombard said they could discuss it in the next seven days.
McGlynn asked if they would call live witnesses.
Lothson said they’d probably call experts live.
He said trial would focus on questions and disputes that McGlynn identified very clearly.
McGlynn allowed them eight days and the parties delivered.
They proposed deadlines of June 10 for rebuttal reports, June 17 for motions to amend pleadings, July 15 for fact discovery, Aug. 16 for expert discovery, Aug. 30 for dispositive motions, Sept. 6 for witness lists and Sept. 11 for exhibit lists.
They wrote that to reduce unnecessary briefing they wouldn’t file oppositions to dispositive motions in accordance with federal and local rules.
They wrote that they would address issues in those motions in briefs after trial, and that they anticipated submitting testimony through depositions or declarations.
They proposed to reduce live testimony by addressing issues through paper submissions.
They proposed to move for exclusion of experts 14 days after trial.
They proposed to offer findings of fact and conclusions of law on dates to be set after trial.
McGlynn set a status conference for June 20.