Appearances and Conduct of Counsel

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i. Pro Hac Vice appearances: E.D. Mich. LR 83.20(c) does not allow pro hac vice admission of counsel, and the court does not vary from that Rule.

ii. Withdrawal of an appearance: An attorney who enters an appearance in a criminal case will be presumed by the court to be committed to remain in the case through the filing of any notice of appeal. The court does not permit the withdrawal of retained counsel simply because a fee dispute has emerged after counsel has undertaken representation. The court readily permits substitution of new counsel so long as substitute counsel is prepared to proceed on the established schedule without delay.

iii. Rule 44(c) joint representation: The court almost never will permit the representation of more than one defendant by a single attorney, and will issue a Rule 44(c) Order for Hearing in such instances.

iv. Conduct of counsel in trial: The court provides a Guideline for Conduct of Trial Counsel with specific information on the court's expectations for the conduct of hearings and trials. In it, the court states, among other things, that it discourages excessive sidebar conferences and requests counsel to make sidebar matters known either before the opening of jury presentation or at other times when the jury would not be inconvenienced by out-of-presence discussions. The court directs that any objection made during trial is to be delivered without extraneous argument or lecturing to the jury.