US District Court for
the District of Utah
Volume 3
December 2005


Note from the Clerk's Office

Welcome to the third edition of our newsletter. This newsletter serves to update all of our e-filers on news that applies to CM/ECF. It also provides tips and reminders to help your electronic filing experience be a pleasant one. Please share this information with all of your support staff who assist with filing in CM/ECF.

MANDATORY electronic filing in all cases is coming soon! If you are not yet a registered e-filer and have not yet signed up for a training session, please do so today! You can now register for training on-line at http://ors.utd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/class.pl

I Attached a PDF, Where Did it Go?

When you are e-filing and need to use the back button on your browser to go back and correct a mistake, do not go back past the attachment of the PDF file. The PDF attachment can be lost if you go back past the PDF attachment screen. The best practice - correcting an error prior to the attachment of the PDF, is to just start over by clicking on the blue ECF bar at the top of the screen. This will ensure that your entry is correct and that you do not lose your PDF.

Invitation to Discuss CM/ECF Policy Issues

Your feedback, insight and concerns about CM/ECF policy issues are important. Magistrate Judge Nuffer will be conducting these sessions in an effort to address any problems or concerns that our e-filers may have. The sessions will be held on Tuesday, December 13, 2005 and Tuesday, January 17, 2006 beginning at 9:00 a.m. in Room 405, Frank E. Moss U.S. Courthouse. If issues are more urgent, please e-mail mj.nuffer@utd.uscourts.gov.

Updating Your E-mail Address

It is very important that you notify the Clerk's Office of any e-mail changes within 24 hours of the change. Once you are a registered e-filer ALL notices from the Court and from opposing counsel will be electronic. There is a form on our website to assist you in notifying us of any changes. The form is located at http://www.utd.uscourts.gov/documents/chgadd.html

Docketing vs. QC - Have You Noticed a Difference?

Since July 1, 2005 there have been 3,046 e-filed records received and checked for quality by the docket clerks here at the Court. The docket clerks have also scanned and docketed 57,207 documents since going live on CM/ECF on May 2, 2005.

Senior Judges Order Courtesy Copies

If your case is assigned to a senior judge, you will be required to provide a paper courtesy copy of all pleadings to the Judge. The courtesy copies should be mailed directly to the Judge's chambers or may be dropped off at the Intake Counter in an envelope addressed to the Judge. This will include any cases assigned to Judge Jenkins, Judge Winder, Judge Greene and Judge Sam.

Submitting Proposed Orders

Remember that ALL proposed orders should be submitted to the chambers of the judge presiding over the issue. There are no courtesy copies required or needed with proposed orders. Please DO NOT submit a paper copy of a proposed order that has been e-mailed to chambers. E-mail addresses for all chambers are now available within CM/ECF. From the Blue Bar click on Utilities, then click on the link to Chambers E-mail Addresses under the Miscellaneous heading.

Electronic Documents Filed
September........563
October............984
November.....1,209
There are now 760 registered e-filers!
How Do I File ____?

Problem: You wish to e-file a memorandum that is not in support or opposition to a motion.
Response: In these instances you would use the "Memorandum (Not to Motion)" event. In civil cases, this is located under the heading "Initial Pleadings and Service." Click on "Other Answers and Responses". Select "Memorandum (NOT to motion)" from the box. In criminal cases look under the heading "Other Filings." Click on "Other Documents." Select "Memorandum (NOT to motion)" from the drop down box.

Problem: You are filing your FRCP Rule 26(b)(3) pretrial disclosures including exhibit and witness lists.
Response: A witness list is a SEALED document, since it contains names of individuals. (See Judicial Conference Privacy Policy) Remember that all sealed documents are to be filed on paper. The best practice is to file the witness list sealed on paper. File your exhibit list electronically. If you must submit a single list, then file on paper as a sealed document.

If you are unsure how to file a document CALL the Help Desk at (801)524-3248

Timeliness of E-filing Documents

Remember that DU Civ R 5-1 is still in effect even with e-filing: "all documents pertaining to a court proceeding must be filed with the clerk a minimum of two (2) business days before the scheduled proceeding."

As the Wave Turns
- (Talented Advice Columnist E(lle) Filer responds to questions submitted by perplexed users of the CM/ECF system. You can ask for advice about the joys and sorrows of electronic filing by sending an e-mail to louise_york@utd.uscourts.gov.)

Dear Elle;

I’m so confused. I was going to e-file my reply to the ridiculous memo in opposition to my brilliantly written motion for summary judgment and got to the screen which asked me what event to link my reply to. I, of course, wanted to chose the terrible memo in opposition - each scurrilous contention of esteemed opposing counsel was demolished by my detailed, extremely well researched and written reply but that wasn’t one of the choices. What gives? This makes no sense.

Signed,
Perplexed Attorney
P.S. I did really well when I passed the bar exam.

Dear Perplexed:

I feel I must respond to you in the words directed to David Carradine playing Kane in the television show Kung Fu, “Grasshopper, you must look beyond what you think you know and what you think you understand. CM/ECF has a logic of its own which is clear only to those who fully submit themselves to study and contemplation of its ultimate reality.”

The “links” in CM/ECF are used to help the court to consider all pleadings related to an issue. The filing of your motion presented the issue to the court. The opposition memorandum is obviously linked to the motion. Your reply should be linked to the original motion. Only the motions accept a link when filing a reply to response to motion. Think of the opposition memorandum and your reply hanging like two ornaments on the same branch. You tried to hook one ornament to another. That will not work in the CM/ECF world. Always link to the original motion and your path in CM/ECF is clear.

The advantage to you and your client is that, if your pleadings are correctly linked, when the court consults the docket to work on your motion, or works from any of the case management reports, the report will show all the filings linked to the motion. The judge will see that, in addition to the motion, the memo in opposition and your remarkably well written reply (as well as properly linked declarations) have been filed and will consider them all before ruling. As chambers works in the electronic file environment and moves away from working from paper courtesy copies, correct linking by an e-filer assures that pleadings will not be overlooked when the court is deciding a motion.

Happy Filing,
E(lle) Filer