Honorable Steven N. Andrews

In order to better serve the attorneys and litigants appearing in Judge Andrews' courtroom, we have adopted the following guidelines. Please advise your clients and staff so that there are no misunderstandings.

Location

Background

Scheduling /Conference

Motion Practice

TRO / Injunction

Discovery

Pretrials

Trials

General

Location

Courtroom 1B - First Floor - Oakland County Courthouse
Telephone: 248-858-0360
 

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Background

Judge Andrews has extensive experience both as an attorney and a trial judge. He has been a Circuit Judge since 1976. Prior to becoming a Judge, he was an active trial lawyer for 16 years with experience in municipal, civil, criminal and divorce law.

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Scheduling /Conference

Scheduling orders are computer generated by the Case Management Office. The court will hold settlement conferences on request. All parties must attend. The court will hold telephone conferences if any attorney is outside the tri-county area; parties must make arrangements with the Judge’s clerks. Criminal sentences and arraignments are held at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The court will accept pleas to guidelines at arraignment provided the defendant was not on parole or probation at the time of the alleged offense.  Adjournments are permitted by motion only. The court does not allow arraignment by mail; pretrial dates are scheduled at the pretrial conference, generally two weeks after the pretrial conference.

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Motion Practice

Motions heard at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. All motions must be in writing, no oral motions permitted. NO SURPRISES! Length of brief must comport to the court rules. Dispositive motions and motions in limine shall be heard by the date fixed within the pretrial order. No add-ons are accepted to the motion call. Oral arguments are at the Judge's discretion. As a general rule, if the brief is thorough, oral arguments are not necessary. Reply briefs are not accepted.

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TRO / Injunction

All TRO's are pursuant to the court rules. Deviations from the court rules are not permitted.

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Discovery

Discovery is controlled by the Scheduling Order. Extensions for discovery are heard by motion only. The court rules on all discovery issues; masters are not appointed and discovery issues are not referred to the staff attorney.

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Pretrials

Formal pretrial conferences are held in all criminal cases in accordance with the court rules.

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Trials

Trials are scheduled by the Case Management Office.  Adjournments are handled by motion, not by stipulation of the parties. Exhibits must be marked prior to trial; you may obtain stickers from the court reporter. Plaintiffs use numbers and Defendants use letters for exhibits. Court conducts some voir dire and allows attorneys to conduct voir dire. The parties in bench trials shall submit a trial brief with a theory of the case and an exhibit book. Trial briefs shall contain: short statements of facts to be proved at trial and issues of fact, issues of law, summary of each witness testimony and exhibits to be introduced through that witness, conclusion of fact and law and prayer for relief. Court requires proposed jury instructions and theory of the case in both criminal and civil cases. All jury instructions are to be received by the court two weeks prior to trial. Jury instructions are to be one per page, double-spaced, 14-point font, Arial, bold print with headers centered on page. Please submit on a 3.5" diskette in Word 97 format. Trial hours are from 8:30 a.m. until  5:00 p.m.  All proceedings are expected to begin on time.

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General

Court uses facilitation and arbitration as ADR alternatives to trials if the parties agree. However, the request for facilitation or arbitration must be made before the trial date. Drivers license restoration: the court requires a written report from a psychologist / psychiatrist indicating that the defendant is safe to put on the highways of the state. District court appeals are scheduled by the Judges staff attorney.

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