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Attorney Newsletter May 2020

NEWS FROM U.S. DISTRICT COURT
May 8, 2020

Masks Required in Courthouses: On April 21, 2020, Chief Judge Lange entered First Amended Standing
Order 20-02. The amended order updates some language on who is and is not allowed in the
courthouse and adds the requirement that all members of the public wear masks or other face
coverings inside our federal courthouses, unless otherwise ordered by the presiding judge. If
persons entering the courthouse to conduct business or attend an in-person hearing do not have a
mask or other face covering, the Court Security Officers will provide one. For more information,
see First Amended Standing Order 20-02.

Compassionate Release Motions: Chief Judge Lange has signed a new standing order that establishes
a procedure for submission and consideration of compassionate release motions under the First Step
Act, 18 U.S.C.§ 3582(d)(1)(A), in the wake of the spread of the COVID-19 virus into the federal
prison system. For more information, see Standing Order 20-06.

Accessing Transcripts Filed in CM/ECF: When a transcript is filed in CM/ECF, access to the
transcript is restricted depending on the type of transcript. Public transcripts are not
accessible for the first 90 days after they are filed. Restricted transcripts are not accessible
for the first 90 days after they are filed and may not be accessible after 90 days except by
certain parties. Sealed transcripts are never accessible. If an attorney purchases a copy of a
public transcript from an official court reporter before 90 days has elapsed or purchases a copy of
a restricted transcript, the court reporter will grant the attorney access to the transcript in
CM/ECF. Because these transcripts are restricted documents, the attorney must access the
transcript like any other restricted document filed in CM/ECF. For more information about
accessing restricted documents filed in CM/ECF, see the CM/ECF User Manual.

New Change PACER Exemption Status Utility in CM/ECF: CurrentGen CM/ECF now has a new toggle
feature that allows CJA attorneys to switch from non-fee exempt status to fee exempt status when
utilizing PACER to access documents and reports via CM/ECF. Activating this feature has two
prerequisites. First, the attorney must have an updated PACER account with CJA privileges. (For
information about upgrading your PACER account, see the January 2020 Attorney Newsletter. For
information about activating CJA privileges, contact the PACER Service Center at 800-676-6856.)
Second, the attorney must set a default PACER login in CM/ECF. Once these prerequisites are met,
CJA attorneys can toggle back and forth between their PACER non-fee exempt account and their PACER
fee exempt account to access documents while logged into CM/ECF. The attached instructions explain
how attorneys can set their default PACER login in CM/ECF and how to use the new CM/ECF utility and
toggle feature. CJA attorneys are advised they can no longer log into PACER by adding an “x-“
prefix to their PACER username to access their fee exempt PACER account. CJA attorneys are also
advised that fee exempt PACER account usage is closely monitored and inappropriate usage will result in a loss of privileges.

Friday, May 8, 2020