NEWS FROM U.S. DISTRICT COURT
March 14, 2025
Local Rules. The Civil and Criminal Local Rules of Practice have been updated and are now available on our District website. Chief Judge Lange’s Memorandum to the Court of Appeals explains the rule changes.
This newsletter will address the parallel updates in both sets of rules. Next month’s newsletter will highlight changes specific to the criminal local rules.
Disclosure Statements. Civil Local Rule 7.1.1 and Criminal Local Rule 12.4 on disclosure statements were modified consistent with the Federal Rules of Procedure. In both instances, the last sentence was struck, thereby defaulting to the time limits contained in Fed. R. Civ. P. 7.1 (“A party, intervenor, or proposed intervenor must . . . file the disclosure statement with its first appearance, pleading, petition, motion, response, or other request addressed to the court”) and Fed. R. Crim. P. 12.4 (“A party must . . . file the Rule 12.4(a) statement within 28 days after the defendant’s initial appearance”).
New Rules. The Court has added two new rules. The first requires each party to file a sealed witness list by noon on the last business day before a trial unless otherwise ordered. See Civ. LR 39.2 and Crim. LR 26.1. The second prohibits an attorney who was a former law clerk to a judge of this Court from appearing before that judge for a period of one year. See Civ. LR 83.12 and Crim. LR 57.12.
Exhibits. Civil Local Rules 43.1 and Criminal Local Rule 57.3 were amended to add a new section (B.2.c) that establishes a procedure for documentary exhibits to be sealed upon motion after a trial or hearing has concluded. It places the burden on the successful movant to refile public exhibits.
Redactions. Civil Local Rule 83.4 and Criminal Local Rule 57.9 were amended to address redactions. Both rules now require that “[i]f it is necessary to redact documents produced pursuant to discovery and/or filed with the court redactions must be made in black, making it clear that information was removed.”
eVoucher Update. The eVoucher system will undergo a major software update tomorrow. Among other changes, the system is moving to direct deposit. If you serve as CJA counsel or as a service provider, you will need to add banking information for payments after the rollout. Watch your email for additional instructions regarding this change.