US District Court for
the District of Utah

Volume 13
November/December 2006

Inside This Issue

Attention Criminal Efilers	Criminal Notice of Appearance	Dismissal of Indictments
Do Not Respond	Extensions of Time	Filing a Notice of Appearance
"In Between Functions" Screen	Make Sure Your Browser is Current	Motion to Review Detention
Note from Clerk's Office	Paper Filing vs. Efiling	Register for Efiling
Reminder - Read Screens	Request from Chambers	Rule Change
		View Previous Newsletters

Make sure you are using a current browser:

Beginning Dec. 1, 2006, acceptable browsers to be able to pay fees online will include:
Internet Explorer (6.0 or greater)
Mozilla Firefox (1.5 or greater)
Netscape 7.x or greater
Safari 1.2 (for Macintosh users)

To see what version of browser you have, open your browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape, etc.), and click on Help, About. A window will display telling you the version that you are using.

Register for Efiling

Attorneys with email addresses in the ECF system, but have no login, are not registered for Efiling. Efiling registration allows attorneys to be served by email through the ECF system from other Efiling attorneys. Currently, attorneys without the Efiling login, must still be served by conventional means. By December 12, these email-only attorneys should register for Efiling, or they will be returned to service from the court by US Mail. If you are unsure if this applies to you, please call (801) 524-6105 to verify.

Note from the Clerk's Office

Welcome to this edition of our newsletter. This newsletter serves to update all our e-filers on CM/ECF. It also provides tips and reminders to make your electronic filing experience a more pleasant one. Please share this with your support staff who assist you with filing in CM/ECF.

Efiling is now MANDATORY for all members of the Court's Bar! If you are not yet a registered efiler and have not yet signed up for a training session, please do so today! You can register for training on-line at http://ors.utd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/class.pl

A Request from Chambers

When you are sending an email to a judge's chambers remember to place the case number AND the description of the document that is contained in the email. This helps to ensure proper routing within chambers.

Filing a Notice of Appearance

When filing a Notice of Appearance in a case, you will see this screen:
Notice Screen

You must ALWAYS check the box on the left and leave the "Notice" boxed checked in order to receive notice on the case. (Checking the "Lead" box does nothing more than place the text "LEAD" on the docket sheet.)

REMINDER:
When you are e-filing in CM/ECF - please make sure you are reading all of the information on the screens. There are many reminders and alerts that are built into the system to help you file correctly.

If you are not sure how to efile a document call the Help Desk BEFORE you file the document!

If you believe you have filed incorrectly please call the Help Desk BEFORE you file the document again!

Helpful Hints from the Help Desk
Whenever you see the case number and name on the screen or on the NEF (Notice of Electronic Filing) - remember that it is a link to the docket sheet. Clicking on the case number will bring up a PACER login screen. You may occasionally notice a screen during E-Filing that only shows the case number and case name and a "Next" button. We call those "In Between Functions" screens. Work is being done in the background. You should just click on the "Next" button, not on the case number link to the docket.
betwwen functions screen

Extensions of Time

When you are efiling a motion requesting an extension of time, please be sure to use the right event:

Extension of Time to File Answer - this event should be used when you are requesting time to answer a complaint. Remember to link your motion to the complaint.

Extension of Time to File Response/Reply - this event is used when you are requesting an extension regarding a response or reply to a previously filed document. Remember to link to the document that you are going to be responding or replying to.

Extension of Time to Amend - This should be used whenever you are requesting an extension in reference to a document that is already filed. Some examples include the complaint, answer, or scheduling order. ALWAYS link this motion to the document that you are seeking to amend.

Extension of Time to Complete Discovery - if there is already a scheduling order in the case please use the Extension of Time to Amend.

Extension of Time - use this event ONLY when your filing does not fall under any of the previously mentioned events.

If you are unsure what event to use to file a document, CALL the Help Desk at (801)524-3248.

Criminal Helpful Hints
Question: Why haven't I received a ruling on my Motion to Review Detention?
Answer: Motions to Review Detention are to be ruled upon by the magistrate judge who made the initial detention decision. A copy of the motion should be sent directly to the magistrate for their review as CM/ECF does NOT notify them of the filing of the document. A copy may be delivered on paper or emailed to chambers in pdf format.

ATTENTION EFILERS OF CRIMINAL DOCUMENTS - this information updates the information previously found in the May 2006 Newsletter:

The following events are the only two events that should be used to respond or object to a presentence report:

Objection to Presentence Report
Position on Sentencing Factors

In the past, we've not only reviewed the title of the document but also the content ie: a Position on Sentencing Factors is the title of the document, but we note that objections have been included in the body of the document. We have then asked you to file the document again as an Objection to Presentence Report.

We will now QC these only as to the Title of the Document without regard to the content of the document and will not require you to file anything further.

CRIMINAL NOTICES OF APPEARANCE:

In criminal cases, counsel for defendants must receive a designation from the court, ie: Retained, CJA, Federal Defender. When filing your notice of appearance please note within the pleading whether you are retained or appointed. The Federal Defenders are all known to us.

DISMISSAL OF INDICTMENTS

The administrative process for dismissing indictments, informations and complaints under Rule 48(a) was clarified earlier this year. Here is the procedure for dismissals:

The US Attorney will file a Motion for Leave to File Dismissal along with a Proposed Order granting the motion.

The court will docket the order granting the motion. THIS DOES NOT DISMISS THE INDICTMENT, INFORMATION OR COMPLAINT NOR CLOSE THE CASE.

The US Attorney will file a Notice of Dismissal.

The QC clerk will close the case once the notice has been correctly filed.

Paper filing vs. Efiling

While some things changed, some things didn't.

All pleadings must still be formatted per DUCivR 10-1. (This rule recently changed so be sure to familiarize yourself with the changes.)This includes attorney address information, case caption and proper page size and margins.

When you file on paper you MUST provide courtesy copies for the judge.

The court does not accept initial disclosures, depositions, notices of depositions, or other discovery materials as outlined in DUCivR 26-1 (This rule recently changed so be sure to familiarize yourself with the changes. The changes include adding Certificates of Service for discovery documents to the list of documents not filed with the court.)unless ordered by the court. The court has seen an increase in complete depositions being attached to documents that are efiled. Remember - only the pertinent parts of the deposition should be attached.

DO NOT respond to emails from the court that come from Utdecf_notice@utd.uscourts.gov as there is a delay in reviewing these messages. All of your Notices of Electronic Filing come from this address. Many users try to respond to this address to ask questions about the case or the filing. If you have questions about a filing, please call the HELP DESK at (801)524-3248 or contact the docket clerk for the judge assigned to the case. The only emails that should be sent to the above address are those relating to email type problems, configuration issues or bounced emails. Please remember that it may take the court some time before they respond to you as this mailbox is not constantly monitored.

On December 1, 2006 the Federal Rules of Practices, Procedures and Evidence were updated. The Local Rules for our court were also updated. You may find a outline of the changes on our web site at:

For the Federal Rules:
http://www.utd.uscourts.gov/documents/announce_rules2006.html

For the Local Rules:
http://www.utd.uscourts.gov/documents/announce_localrules2006.html

Please take the time to familiarize yourself with the changes and be sure to download your updated versions today!