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NEWS FROM U.S. DISTRICT COURT

Monday, July 18, 2016

NEW CM/ECF CIVIL EVENT: Last December, Rule 84 of the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure was abrogated (repealed) together with the related Appendix of
Forms. As a result, the court will no longer issue an Order for Form 52 Report and
Scheduling Information in a civil case. Instead, the court may issue an Order for
Discovery Report or an Order for Discovery Report and Scheduling Information. In response
to either of these orders, attorneys should electronically file a Discovery Report using
the new Discovery Report event in CM/ECF located under Civil --> Other Filings -->
Discovery Documents. The previous Form 52 Report event has been removed from
CM/ECF.

NEW CM/ECF CRIMINAL EVENT: The new criminal Restitution Related
Document
event allows attorneys to electronically file documents related to
restitution and sentencing. This event includes new functionality that allows
documents filed using this event to either be sealed or unsealed. During filing,
attorneys will be asked the following question: “Should this document be sealed
because it contains unredacted personal data identifiers or because it contains
confidential information derived from a Presentence Report?” Personal data
identifiers include Social Security numbers, names of minor children, dates of birth,
financial account numbers, and home addresses in criminal cases. If an attorney
answers yes to this question, the document will be sealed. On the other hand, if an
attorney answers no, the document will not be sealed. This new functionality that
allows documents to either be sealed or unsealed by attorneys during filing will
eventually be added to other CM/ECF events.

EX PARTE CM/ECF EVENTS: When an attorney files any civil or criminal ex
parte motion, he or she can also file a separate ex parte memorandum using the Ex
Parte Memorandum in Support of Motion
event and/or a separate ex parte affidavit
using the Ex Parte Affidavit in Support of Motion event. Remember, whenever an
ex parte document is electronically filed in CM/ECF, only court staff and the attorney
who filed the document will receive electronic notice of the document. In addition, no
entry for the ex parte document will ever appear on the public docket sheet. An ex
parte document is only visible on a docket sheet in PACER to the attorney who filed it
and to court staff, including chambers’ office staff, Clerk’s Office staff, and Probation
Office staff.