NEWS FROM U.S. DISTRICT COURT
October 8, 2021
Procedures in Social Security Cases. Chief Judge Lange has signed a new standing order effective November 1, 2021, designed to conserve judicial resources and promote efficiency. Standing Order 21-10 requires that cases filed under 42 U.S.C. § 405(b) be direct assigned to a magistrate judge by division. After a magistrate judge is assigned, each party is required to submit a completed Social Security Case Assignment form, through which the party either (1) consents to disposition of the case by the magistrate judge under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), or (2) requests that a district judge be assigned to the case. The Social Security Case Assignment form, available on the court’s website, must be submitted to the clerk in paper form and should not be filed in CM/ECF. If any party requests that a district judge be assigned to the case, the district judge will be assigned by division. The magistrate judge will remain on the case as a referral judge and will conduct any proceedings directed by the district judge.
Ex Parte Criminal Subpoenas. If you have been appointed to represent a defendant under the Criminal Justice Act, you know that Rule 17(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure requires you to move for issuance of subpoenas. The best way to ensure expedited process is to attach a prepared subpoena to your ex parte motion using the AO 89 or AO 89B form. If you do not include a physical address, the United States Marshals Service will not be able to serve your subpoenas. It is also important to indicate a realistic reporting time. It is unrealistic in most cases to instruct a defense witness to report on the first day of trial.
Email Address Updates. With the court’s update to NextGen, where attorneys’ primary and secondary email addresses are stored has changed. Attorney primary email addresses are now stored nationally at the PACER Service Center and any secondary email addresses are stored locally in CM/ECF. It is counsel’s responsibility to keep both primary and secondary email addresses up to date within each system. Information on how to update both your primary and secondary email addresses can be found in the CM/ECF User Manual located on our website (www.sdd.uscourts.gov), beginning at page 115.
Holiday Calendar. The Clerk’s Office and the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services Office will be closed on Friday, November 26, 2021, the day after Thanksgiving. Both offices will also be closed Friday, December 24, 2021, and Friday, December 31, 2021.