Also known as: docket orders · docket-order · scheduling order
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A court order recorded solely as an entry on the docket sheet.
Darrell Duncan and Duffy Construction sued each other over a supply contract. The district court entered a docket order noting that the parties had failed to confer at least twenty-one days before the scheduling conference as required by the rules. Because the order appeared only on the docket sheet, neither side received separate notice until checking the electronic filing system.
Paula Corbin Jones sued William Jefferson Clinton for alleged misconduct. The district court issued a docket order denying the sitting president's request to stay the proceedings. The entry on the docket sheet allowed the case to move forward without a separate written opinion being served on the parties.
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Federal agents arrested a suspect for distributing a designer drug. The district court entered a docket order confirming that the Attorney General had temporarily scheduled the substance to avoid an imminent hazard. The notation on the docket sheet provided the only record of the scheduling action until a formal order followed.
A docket order exists only as an entry on the docket sheet. It carries the same legal effect as a written order but does not require separate service or a full opinion.
A court may use a docket order to establish deadlines for joinder, amendment, discovery, and motions under Rule 16(b)(3)(A). The entry must still comply with the timing requirements of Rule 16(b)(2).
Yes. Rule 16(b)(1) requires the court to issue a scheduling order. Recording the order on the docket sheet fulfills that obligation even without a separate document.
Parties may seek modification of a docket order only upon a showing of good cause under Rule 16(b)(4). The court retains discretion to grant or deny the request after weighing diligence and prejudice.
…reasonable determination (announced in open court) of his scheduling needs, nor could it permit the issuance of a trial scheduling order that would significantly interfere with the President's discharge of his duties—in a private civil damages action the trial of which might be postponed without the plaintiff suffering…