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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA _______ DIVISION , Plaintiff, v. , Defendant. Case No.: INITIAL ORDER GOVERNING ALL FURTHER PROCEEDINGS This order governs all further proceedings in this court. The court assumes that all attorneys and pro se parties have read this order and the Local Rules of the Northern District of Alabama and will comply with them. The Local Rules are available at www.alnd.uscourts.gov. I. DUTIES UNDER FEDERAL RULE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE 26(f) A. The Planning Conference Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f) requires the parties to confer “as soon as practicable,” which in this action is no later than twenty-one days from the date of this order. At this planning conference, the parties must, at a minimum: • Discuss the nature and basis of their claims and defenses; • Discuss the possibility of a prompt settlement or resolution of the case (see also infra Part I.D); • Make or arrange for the disclosures required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(1); • Develop a proposed discovery plan that indicates the parties’ views and proposals concerning the matters addressed in Rule 26(f)(1)-(4); and, in appropriate cases, • Consider whether to consent to the exercise of Magistrate Judge jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). If the parties fail to agree within seven days of the date of this order upon a date, time, or place for such conference, the parties are hereby ORDERED to telephone the chambers of the undersigned judge to report their failure to so agree and receive further instructions. If a party is proceeding without counsel, the obligation to telephone chambers rests upon counsel for the opposing party. B. Report of the Planning Conference Within fourteen days of the planning conference, the parties must jointly file a report with the Clerk of Court that follows the general format of Appendix III to this order. The report should include a brief synopsis of the case that advises the court of the general claims and defenses of the parties. Such synopsis must not exceed one page. Should the parties disagree about an item in the report, the positions of the parties as to that item should be clearly set forth in separate paragraphs. When preparing the report, the parties should be aware that absent extraordinary circumstances, this case should be ready for trial within fifteen months from the date of service of the complaint. If the parties believe that the case will take 2 more than fifteen months to bring to trial, the parties must state with specificity their grounds for suggesting deadlines beyond that time frame. The report must include a discovery plan stating the parties’ views and proposals on: • any issues about disclosure, discovery, or preservation of electronically stored information, including the form or forms in which it should be produced; and • any issues about claims of privilege or of protection as trial-preparation materials, including the time for complying with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(A). If the parties agree on a procedure to assert these claims after production (i.e., a “clawback” agreement), the report should include a statement whether they want the court’s scheduling order to adopt their agreement under Federal Rule of Evidence 502. Upon receipt of the report, the court may set a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b) scheduling conference. If the parties would like for the court to set such a conference, the parties should request one in their report. C. Compliance with HIPAA In accordance with the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), Pub. L. No. 104-191, 110 Stat. 1936 (1996), and regulations promulgated thereto, when Protected Health Information is relevant to the claims or defenses presented in an action, a party seeking such Protected Health Information must present a valid authorization at the Rule 26 planning meeting to be executed by the party from whom such Protected Health Information is sought. This authorization need not be filed with the court. 3 The parties may file with the court a motion for a qualified protective order, to which all parties stipulate, and, contemporaneously with that filing, e-mail to [email protected], a proposed qualified protective order, in substantially the form attached to this order as Appendix I, to be entered by stipulation of counsel for all parties. D. Suitability of Action for Alternative Dispute Resolution To avoid unnecessary costs and fees, the court requires that the attorneys for all parties make an early analysis of the case along with their clients and be prepared to discuss settlement at the planning conference. The parties must also consider and discuss at that time whether this action may be suitable for mediation, whether under the court’s ADR plan or otherwise. The parties should expect the court to order this case to mediation before the submission of dispositive motions. E. Commencement of Discovery The parties are authorized to commence discovery pursuant to the terms of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 immediately after the required planning report has been filed. In cases removed from state court in which any discovery requests were filed before such removal, those discovery requests shall be deemed to have been filed on the date the parties file the required planning report. The court instructs the parties to review Local Rule 5.3 regarding the non-filing of discovery materials in civil cases. 4 II. Submissions Procedures A. CM/ECF Record The official record of this case is maintained electronically pursuant to CM/ECF. Documents must be filed through CM/ECF in Portable Document Format (“PDF”), unless submitted by a party appearing pro se, in which instance documents should be filed with the Clerk of Court. Except in extraordinary circumstances, all filings must be consistent with the Civil Administrative Procedures Manual found on the court’s website. B. Protected Information Counsel are reminded to comply with the Administrative Procedures Manual’s requirements for redacting personal identifiers (e.g., Social Security numbers, drivers’ license numbers, birth dates, addresses, telephone numbers, and bank account or credit card information) and other personal or sensitive information in compliance with the E-Government Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-347, 116 Stat. 2899 (2002), and regulations promulgated thereto. The parties must comply with the Administrative Procedures Manual when filing materials under seal. C. Required Electronic Submissions to Chambers Counsel must e-mail a copy of any filed motion or brief, and any proposed order, to [email protected]. All digital copies should be sent in Microsoft Word format. All communications to the chambers e-mail address must 5 show a copy to opposing counsel or pro se parties. If a pro se party does not have an e-mail address on file, the sender must certify that a copy of the communication will be sent to the physical address given. D. Required Paper Submissions to Chambers For all submissions exceeding fifty pages (including exhibits), the filing party must submit, within three business days of filing, an exact courtesy copy of the submission, reflecting the CM/ECF filing stamps at the top of each page, to the Clerk’s office for delivery to chambers. Deliveries are not accepted in chambers. All hard copies must be double-sided and securely bound, whether in a three-ring binder or with a large clip. III. Motion Practice All motions must comply with the requirements of this order. Except for good cause shown, motions and briefs that do not conform to the requirements of this order may be stricken. Materials submitted after the close of the submission schedule will not be considered absent leave of court. A. Format The parties’ motions and briefs must be in Times New Roman font and fourteen-point type, except that footnotes may be in twelve-point type. Documents must be double-spaced except that footnotes and indented quotations may be single- spaced. The court will not consider arguments incorporated by reference to earlier 6 filings and will not consider substantive arguments raised only in footnotes. Citations to the record must refer to the CM/ECF document number, page number, and, where available, paragraph or line number. Requests for oral argument, if applicable, must appear on the first page of the motion, brief, or opposition directly below the case number in the caption of the pleading. For all motions other than summary judgment motions, an indication whether the motion is opposed or unopposed must appear in both the title and the caption of the motion. B. Separately Filed Exhibits When parties submit evidentiary materials in connection with a motion, brief, or response thereto (except on summary judgment), each exhibit must be separately filed in CM/ECF as its own sub-document to the motion, brief, or response thereto, which should be designated in CM/ECF as the main document. For example, a motion might be Doc. 12, and exhibit A to that motion would be Doc. 12-1. Special requirements for separately filed evidentiary submissions in connection with summary judgment motions are enumerated in Appendix II, infra. Parties must contact chambers for further instructions to submit evidentiary materials that may not be electronically filed through CM/ECF, such as video recordings or physical items. 7 C. Proposed Orders Any motion, opposition, or reply may be accompanied by a proposed order. All proposed orders must be both filed in CM/ECF (as a separate sub-document to the main filing) and e-mailed (in Microsoft Word format) to the chambers e- mail address. D. Dispositive Motions Any motion for summary judgment filed in this action must comply with all requirements of Appendix II to this order. Any other dispositive motion must comply with the requirements of Appendix II to the extent practicable. E. Other Motions A party filing a motion that is not a summary judgment motion may either incorporate in the motion the arguments and authorities upon which it relies, or simultaneously file a separate brief with its motion. The total number of pages filed must not exceed fifteen (exclusive of exhibits). If the court requires briefing, the court will set a briefing schedule. If a non- moving party wishes to file an opposition, counsel for that party may send a message to [email protected] to request a briefing schedule. If the non- moving party does not promptly request a briefing schedule, the court may rule on a motion without briefing. Responsive briefs are limited to fifteen pages, exclusive of exhibits. Reply briefs, if any, are limited to ten pages. Sur-replies are not permitted without leave of court. 8 F. Motions About Discovery Disputes Parties must seek leave of the court before filing a motion about a discovery dispute. Counsel for the moving party must confer with opposing counsel to attempt to resolve their disagreements regarding discovery. If the parties are unable to resolve their dispute in that manner, then the party filing the motion for leave of the court shall describe all efforts taken to resolve the disputed matter and shall certify in the motion that the parties conferred pursuant to this order and were unable to reach an agreement. If an attorney makes a good faith effort but is unable to contact opposing counsel, then the attorney shall describe in the motion the attorney’s efforts to contact and coordinate with opposing counsel. Failure to include a statement of the parties’ attempt to resolve the matter without the court’s intervention may result in an automatic denial of the motion. If a motion for leave is opposed, the non-moving party may file a response within three days. The motion for leave must specify the nature of the discovery dispute and the steps the parties have taken to resolve it. The motion for leave need only include the facts relevant to the dispute; legal argument and citations are not necessary in the motion for leave. If the court grants leave, the moving party must file the discovery motion no later than the next business day. G. Motion of Counsel to Withdraw 9 Once an attorney has appeared as counsel for a party, he or she may not withdraw from the action merely by filing a “notice of withdrawal,” but must file a motion stating the specific grounds for withdrawal and seeking permission of the court to do so. Any motion to withdraw which, if granted, would leave a party unrepresented by counsel must include a certification that the moving attorney has served a copy of the motion on his or her client and has informed the client of the right to promptly file an objection with the court. The motion must also include the notation, “Future notice to (name of party) is to be made at the following address: (state last known address of the party).” H. Motions for Extension of Time Absent extraordinary unforeseen circumstances, any motion for an extension of any deadline must be filed three or more days before the deadline sought to be extended. Motions for an extension of time that do not satisfy this requirement will ordinarily be automatically denied. Successive requests for extensions by the same party are disfavored. Parties may agree among themselves to adjust deadlines for expert testimony without leave of court so long as such adjustments are agreed upon by all parties and do not affect the discovery cutoff or dispositive motions deadline. Extensions for the deadlines set to complete all discovery and file dispositive motions will not be granted absent extraordinary cause. 10 Any motion to extend the deadline to complete all discovery must state when the moving party first propounded discovery requests and/or noticed depositions and must include any other information that will help the court determine how effectively the parties have used the amount of time originally allowed for discovery. I. Motions To Seal Any motion to seal must satisfy the legal standard in Romero v. Drummond Co., Inc., 480 F.3d 1234 (11th Cir. 2007). Motions that do not satisfy this standard will be routinely denied. J. Oral Argument If any party desires to have the opportunity for oral argument on a motion, that party should request argument in its motion (or response). To develop future generations of practitioners, in deciding whether to have argument the court will consider, among other things, whether an attorney with fewer than seven years of experience will be arguing. If the court grants the request for oral argument and one of the participating attorneys has fewer than seven years of experience, the court will give the parties additional time for argument to provide a more experienced attorney the opportunity to supplement the less experienced attorney’s argument (and an appropriate response). All attorneys will be held to the highest professional standards. All attorneys are expected to be prepared and to have a degree of authority commensurate with 11 the proceeding. The court recognizes that there may be many different circumstances in which it is not appropriate for a newer attorney to argue a motion. Thus the court emphasizes that it draws no inference from a party’s decision not to have such an attorney argue any particular motion. Additionally, the court draws no inference about the relative importance of a particular motion, or about the merits of a party’s arguments, from the party’s decision to have (or not to have) a newer attorney argue the motion. DONE and ORDERED this 21st day of January, 2026. _________________________________ ANNA M. MANASCO UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 12 APPENDIX I UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA ________ DIVISION [Name of plaintiff(s)], Plaintiff(s), v. [Name of defendant(s)], Defendant(s). Case No.: QUALIFIED HIPAA PROTECTIVE ORDER The court GRANTS the parties the right, upon compliance with the applicable discovery provisions of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the orders of this court, to obtain from any health care provider, health plan, or other entity covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104- 191, 110 Stat. 1936 (1996) (“HIPAA”), any and all information relating to the past, present, or future medical condition of any individual who is a party to this action (or the decedent or ward of a party who sues in a representative capacity), as well as any and all information relating to the provision of health care to such individual and payment for the provision of such health care. This order authorizes any third-party who is provided with a subpoena requesting the production of documents or commanding attendance at deposition or trial to disclose the Protected Health Information in response to such request or subpoena. This order is intended to authorize such disclosures under the privacy regulations issued pursuant to HIPAA. 45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e)(1)(i). The court expressly prohibits the parties from using or disclosing the Protected Health Information obtained pursuant to this order for any purpose other than this action. Further, the court orders the parties either to return to the covered entity from whom or which such protected health information was obtained, or to destroy the protected health information (including all copies made), immediately upon conclusion of this action. See 45 C. F. R. §§ 163.502(b); 164.512(e)(1)(v). DONE and ORDERED this ________ day of ________________, ______. __________________________ Anna M. Manasco United States District Judge 14 APPENDIX II SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION PRACTICE This appendix contains mandatory instructions that must be followed. Except for good cause shown, briefs and evidentiary submissions that do not conform to the following requirements may be stricken. I. SUBMISSION DATES The court will set a deadline for the parties to file dispositive motions. Any motion for summary judgment and briefs and evidentiary submissions must be filed on or before that deadline. The opponent’s responsive brief must be filed no later than twenty-one days after the movant’s brief, unless otherwise ordered by the court. The movant’s reply brief, if any, must be filed no later than fourteen days after the date on which the opponent files its responsive brief, unless otherwise ordered by the court. If the due date for a response or reply falls on a weekend or court holiday, the due date shall be the next business day. To ensure that each party is afforded a full and fair opportunity to be heard, the parties must deliver copies of briefs and evidentiary submissions to opposing parties without undue delay and, generally, on the same date such materials are submitted to the court. II. SUBMISSIONS The parties’ submissions in support of and opposition to summary judgment motions must consist of: (1) a brief containing, in separately identified sections (a) a statement of allegedly undisputed relevant material facts (or rebuttal to such statement, for an opposition filing) and (b) a discussion of relevant legal authorities; and (2) copies of any evidentiary materials upon which the party relies. More detailed requirements for these submissions are explained below. III. REQUIREMENTS FOR BRIEFS A. Format Initial and response briefs are limited to thirty-five pages. Reply briefs are limited to fifteen pages. Briefs that exceed twenty pages must include a table of contents that accurately reflects the organization of the document. The table of contents is not included in the page limit. The text of briefs must be double-spaced (except for quotations exceeding fifty words, which may be block indented from the left and right margins and single-spaced) using fourteen-point Times New Roman typeface. The court will not consider arguments incorporated by reference to earlier filings and will not consider substantive arguments made in footnotes. The court may strike any brief that would exceed the page limits because of attempts to incorporate by reference or include substantive arguments in footnotes. 16 B. Submissions The parties must electronically file the original brief. The parties also must e- mail to [email protected] such brief in Microsoft Word format, contemporaneously with the filing of the brief. C. Manner of Stating and Supporting Facts Counsel must state facts in clear, unambiguous, simple, declarative sentences. All statements of fact, in all sections of the brief, must be supported by specific reference to the CM/ECF document and page number of the evidentiary submission. COMPLIANCE WITH THIS REQUIREMENT WILL NECESSITATE FILING THE EVIDENTIARY SUBMISSION IN SUPPORT OF THE BRIEF SEPARATELY FROM THE BRIEF AND MAY NECESSITATE FILING THE EVIDENTIARY SUBMISSION ONE OR MORE DAYS PRIOR TO FILING THE BRIEF. BOTH THE BRIEF AND EVIDENTIARY SUBMISSION MUST BE FILED ON OR BEFORE THE FILING DEADLINE. 1. Moving Party’s Initial Statement of Facts The moving party’s brief must set forth each material fact that, when construed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, the movant contends is true, material, and not in genuine dispute, and upon which the moving party relies to demonstrate that it is entitled to summary judgment. Each statement of fact must 17 be followed by a specific reference to those portions of the evidentiary record that the movant claims support it. 2. Opposing Party’s Statement of Facts Each party opposing a summary judgment motion also must submit a statement of facts. This statement of facts must include (although not necessarily in this order) (1) the non-movant’s disputes, if any, with the movant’s claimed undisputed facts; (2) additional undisputed facts, if any, that the non-movant contends require denial of summary judgment; and (3) disputed facts that the non- movant contends require denial of summary judgment. Each statement of fact must be followed by a specific reference to those portions of the evidentiary record that the opposing party claims support it. All material facts set forth in the statement required of the moving party will be deemed to be admitted for summary judgment purposes unless controverted by the response of the party opposing summary judgment. 3. Moving Party’s Reply The reply submission, if any, must include the moving party’s disputes, if any, with the non-moving party’s additional claimed undisputed facts. Any statements of fact that are disputed by the moving party must be followed by a specific reference to those portions of the evidentiary record upon which the dispute is based. All additional material facts set forth in the statement required of the opposing parties 18 will be deemed to be admitted for summary judgment purposes unless controverted by the statement of the movant. IV. REQUIREMENTS FOR EVIDENTIARY SUBMISSIONS To facilitate the court’s requirement that the parties’ briefs cite to CM/ECF document and page numbers, the parties must electronically file all evidentiary materials (e.g., affidavits, exhibits, depositions, or other products of discovery) relied upon in support of or opposition to summary judgment motions separately from their briefs and before they file their briefs in support of or opposition to summary judgment. Any party opposing a summary judgment motion may reference materials in the moving party’s evidentiary submission without refiling those materials. Parties should refrain from re-submitting additional copies of the same documents. A. Organization The evidentiary submission must include a table of contents that includes a brief narrative description of each document included: e.g., “Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1, the Deposition of John Jones.” For ease of citation, each affidavit, exhibit, deposition, or other product of discovery must be separately identified by a capital letter or numeral (i.e., “Exhibit A” or “Exhibit 1”); and, if the exhibit contains more than one page, each page must be separately numbered. 19 B. Depositions The parties must submit entire depositions, even if they rely only on excerpts, including all exhibits to the depositions. Deposition travel transcripts that are submitted as part of the evidentiary record should include no more than four pages of deposition text per 8½ by 11 inch page. C. Submissions The parties must electronically file their evidentiary submissions. The parties must also submit to the Clerk of Court a courtesy copy of their evidentiary submissions, reflecting the CM/ECF filing stamps at the top of each page, for delivery to the court’s chambers. The courtesy copy should follow the instructions for courtesy copies that appear in the Initial Order. Additionally, the courtesy copy should include a tab corresponding to each item of evidence. Regarding courtesy copies of depositions, parties must include the entire deposition, in travel transcript format consisting of no more than four pages of deposition text per 8 ½ by 11 inch page, as well all exhibits to the depositions with sub-tabs, clearly labeled. The courtesy copy must be provided to the Clerk within three business days of the electronic filing of the evidentiary submission. D. Conventional Submissions 20 To the extent a party cannot electronically file a piece of evidence in accordance with this Appendix, Section IV.C., the evidence must be conventionally filed with the Clerk of Court. To conventionally file a piece of evidence, the party must file a Notice of Conventional Filing at the time they electronically file their evidentiary submissions. The subject evidence must be conventionally filed with the Clerk of Court within twenty-four hours of the Notice of Conventional Filing. Including conventionally filed evidence with the courtesy copy to chambers is not filing and does not satisfy this obligation. If a party fails to comply with this requirement, that party bears the risk of loss of or destruction to the evidence. 21 APPENDIX III UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA ________ DIVISION [Name of plaintiff(s)], Plaintiff(s), v. [Name of defendant(s)], Defendant(s). Case No.: REPORT OF THE PARTIES’ PLANNING MEETING 1. 2. Synopsis of the case: <Provide a brief synopsis of the case that advises the court of the general claims and defenses of the parties. This synopsis must not exceed one page.> The following persons participated in a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f) conference on <Date> by <State the method of conferring>: <Name>, representing the <plaintiff(s)> <Name>, representing the <defendant(s)> 3. Initial Disclosures. The parties [have completed] [will complete by <Date>] the initial disclosures required by Rule 26(a)(1). 4. Discovery Plan. The parties propose this discovery plan: <Use separate paragraphs or subparagraphs if the parties disagree.> (a) Discovery will be needed on these subjects: <Describe>. (b) <Dates for commencing and completing discovery, including discovery to be commenced or completed before other discovery.> <Maximum number of interrogatories by each party to another party, along with the dates the answers are due.> (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) <Maximum number of requests for admission, along with the dates responses are due.> <Maximum number of depositions by each party, excluding experts and parties.> <Limits on the length of depositions, in hours.> <Dates for exchanging reports of expert witnesses.> <Dates for supplementations under Rule 26(e).> 5. Other Items: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) <A date if the parties ask to meet with the court before a scheduling order.> <Final dates for the plaintiff to amend pleadings or to join parties.> <Final dates for the defendant to amend pleadings or to join parties.> <Final dates to file dispositive motions.> <State the prospects for settlement.> <Identify any alternative dispute resolution procedure that may enhance settlement prospects.> <Suggested trial date and estimate of trial length.> <Other matters.> Date: <Date> Date: <Date> <Signature of the attorney or unrepresented party> ____________________________________ <Printed name> <Address> <E-mail address> <Telephone number> <Signature of the attorney or unrepresented party> ____________________________________ <Printed name> <Address> <E-mail address> <Telephone number> 23

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA ________ DIVISION [Name of plaintiff(s)], Plaintiff(s), v. [Name of defendant(s)], Defendant(s). Case No.: SCHEDULING ORDER The court enters this order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b) based on the parties’ report of a planning meeting. Doc. __. This order governs further proceedings in this action unless modified for good cause shown. Extensions for the deadlines set to complete all discovery and file dispositive motions will not be granted absent extraordinary cause. In the event extraordinary cause is shown, only one extension will be granted. I. PLEADINGS AND PARTIES: Unless a party’s pleading may be amended as a matter of course pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a), the party must file a motion for leave to amend. Such motion for leave to amend shall state with specificity those matters the party wishes to add or delete and shall contain, attached as an exhibit, the complete and executed amended pleading, suitable for filing. The motion for leave to amend, with the attached amended pleading, must be served in accordance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5. No causes of action, defenses, or parties may be added after Click here to enter a date. as to plaintiff(s) and Click here to enter a date. as to defendant(s). [6 weeks after ID for P and 10 weeks after ID for D] II. DISCOVERY LIMITATIONS AND DEADLINES A. Depositions: Interrogatories: Requests for Production: Requests for Admission: Maximum of __ by each party (excluding experts and parties). Each deposition is limited to a maximum of seven hours. Maximum of __ by any party directed to any other party. Maximum of __ by any party directed to any other party. Maximum of __ by any party directed to any other party. B. Expert Testimony: Unless modified by stipulation of the parties, the disclosures of expert witnesses—including a complete report under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B) from any specially retained or employed expert—are due: From plaintiff(s): by Click here to enter a date. [4 mos after ID] From defendant(s): by Click here to enter a date. [5 mos after ID] C. Supplementation: Supplementation of disclosures and discovery under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(e) is due within a reasonable period of time after discovery of such information (which ordinarily will be within twenty-one days of counsel becoming aware of the need to supplement), but in any event all such supplementation shall be provided no later than thirty days before the close of discovery. D. Deadline: All discovery must be commenced in time to be completed by Click here to enter a date. [6 mos after ID] E. Clawback Agreement: The court adopts and incorporates by reference the parties’ clawback agreement contained in their report as if fully set out here, pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502. F. Motions About Discovery Disputes: Counsel for the moving party must confer in person or by telephone with opposing counsel to attempt to resolve their disagreements regarding discovery requests. If the 2 parties are unable to resolve their dispute in that manner, then the party filing the motion for leave of the court shall describe all efforts taken to resolve the disputed matter and shall certify in the motion that the parties conferred pursuant to this order and were unable to reach an agreement. If an attorney makes a good faith effort but is unable to contact opposing counsel, then the attorney shall describe in the motion the attorney’s efforts to contact and coordinate with opposing counsel. Failure to include a statement of the parties’ attempt to resolve the matter without the court’s intervention may result in an automatic denial of the motion. III. DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS: All potentially dispositive motions and evidentiary submissions upon which a party will rely in support of the motion must be filed no later than Click here to enter a date. [1 month after DD] The parties must file and brief all dispositive motions consistent with the initial order. Any motion for summary judgment must comply with all the requirements of Appendix II which is attached to the court’s initial order. Any other dispositive motion must comply with the requirements of Appendix II to the extent practicable. Compliance with this requirement will necessitate filing the evidentiary submission in support of the brief separately from the brief and may necessitate filing the evidentiary submission one or more days prior to filing the brief. Both the brief and evidentiary submission must be filed on or before the filing deadline. IV. EXTENSIONS: Absent extraordinary unforeseen circumstances, any motion for an extension of any deadline must be filed three or more days before the deadline sought to be extended. Motions for an extension of time that do not satisfy this requirement will ordinarily be automatically denied. Successive requests for extensions by the same party are disfavored. Any motion to extend the deadline to complete all discovery must state when the moving party first propounded discovery requests and/or noticed depositions and must include any other information that will help the court determine how effectively the parties have used the amount of time originally allowed for discovery. 3 V. MEDIATION: Unless a party objects, the court will enter an order referring the parties to mediation and setting a deadline by which mediation must occur. Objections to mediation should be included in the joint status report as described in Part VI. As a general rule, if the court refers the case to mediation, the court will not stay discovery and dispositive motion deadlines. VI. JOINT STATUS REPORT: The parties shall file a joint status report on or before Click here to enter a date. [2 weeks before DD; status conf 1 week before DD] The status report should state whether the parties object to mediation and include enough information to allow the court to understand the nature of the case, its current status, including any pending motions, and any current or anticipated problems in preparing the case for trial. Specifically, the court should be advised of the pertinent issues and the parties’ positions as to those issues. The status report should not be used to argue the party’s case, nor to present all possible legal theories; instead, the report should apprise the court of the case and current issues affecting trial preparation, including the status of critical discovery. VII. PRETRIAL CONFERENCE: A pretrial conference will be scheduled as needed by separate order. Due dates for lists of trial witnesses, exhibits, and objections under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3) shall be established as needed in a separate pretrial order. VIII. TRIAL: The parties shall be ready for trial in Click here to enter a date. [4-5 mos after DMD], to be scheduled by separate order. IX. NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT: The parties must notify the court within two business days of reaching any settlement. 4

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CIVIL CASES Administrative Procedures FOR FILING, SIGNING, AND VERIFYING PLEADINGS AND DOCUMENTS IN THE DISTRICT COURT UNDER THE CASE MANAGEMENT/ELECTRONIC CASE FILES SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES FOR FILING, SIGNING, AND VERIFYING PLEADINGS AND DOCUMENTS IN THE DISTRICT COURT UNDER THE CASE MANAGEMENT/ELECTRONIC CASE FILES SYSTEM IN CIVIL CASES TABLE OF CONTENTS I. THE CASE MANAGEMENT/ELECTRONIC CASE FILES SYSTEM…. ....................1 A. AUTHORIZATION ....................................................................................................1 B. DEFINITIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS .....................................................................1 C. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS..............................................................................2 D. SYSTEM AVAILABILITY ........................................................................................3 E. SELECTION OF CASES ............................................................................................3 F. REGISTRATION ........................................................................................................4 G. LOGIN and PASSWORD ...........................................................................................5 II. ELECTRONIC FILING AND SERVICE OF DOCUMENTS ..........................................6 FILING ......................................................................................................................6 A. SERVICE ...................................................................................................................9 B. SIGNATURES AND AFFIDAVITS .........................................................................10 C. D. FEES PAYABLE TO THE CLERK..........................................................................11 E. ORDERS ....................................................................................................................11 TITLE OF DOCKET ENTRIES ................................................................................11 F. G. CORRECTING DOCKET ENTRIES .....................................................................12 TECHNICAL FAILURES .........................................................................................12 H. PRIVACY ..................................................................................................................13 I. III. CONVENTIONAL FILING OF DOCUMENTS ................................................................14 A. DOCUMENTS TO BE FILED UNDER SEAL ........................................................14 PRO SE LITIGANTS ................................................................................................14 B. C. SOCIAL SECURITY AND 28 U.S.C. § 2254 CASES .............................................14 D. COPY REQUIREMENT FOR OVERSIZE DOCUMENTS ....................................15 RETENTION OF ORIGINALS OF DOCUMENTS REQUIRING SCANNING ....16 E. SERVICE OF CONVENTIONAL FILINGS ............................................................16 F. IV. EXHIBITS ...............................................................................................................................16 A. ATTACHMENTS/EVIDENCE NOT IN SUPPORT OF A MOTION .....................16 EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF OR IN OPPOSITION TO A MOTION ..................17 B. TRIAL AND HEARING EXHIBITS ........................................................................17 C. V. PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE SYSTEM DOCKET...............................................................19 PUBLIC ACCESS AT THE COURT........................................................................19 A. B. INTERNET ACCESS ................................................................................................19 C. CONVENTIONAL COPIES AND CERTIFIED COPIES .......................................20 FORM ATTACHMENT .................................................................................................................21 FORM A - CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE ........................................................................22 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES FOR FILING, SIGNING, AND VERIFYING PLEADINGS AND DOCUMENTS IN THE DISTRICT COURT UNDER THE CASE MANAGEMENT/ELECTRONIC CASE FILES SYSTEM IN CIVIL CASES I. THE CASE MANAGEMENT/ELECTRONIC CASE FILES SYSTEM A. AUTHORIZATION General Order 04-0001 adopts the Case Management/Electronic Case Files (“CM/ECF”) System and authorizes electronic filing in conjunction with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5(e). Pursuant to this order, the following procedures govern electronic filing in this district unless, due to extraordinary circumstances in a particular case, a judicial officer determines that the requirements of these policies and procedures should be modified in the interest of justice. The General Order and these Procedures are effective November 1, 2004. B. DEFINITIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS The following definitions and instructions shall apply to these Procedures for the CM/ECF System:        The term “document” shall include pleadings, motions, exhibits, declarations, affidavits, memoranda, papers, orders, notices, and any other filing by or to the court. The term “party” shall include counsel of record, pro se litigants, and other persons or entities eligible to receive notice. The terms “CM/ECF” and “the System” refer to the court’s Case Management/Electronic Case Files System. The term “CM/ECF website” refers to the official Internet site of the Northern District of Alabama at http://www.alnd.uscourts.gov. Click on the CM/ECF link. A “CM/ECF user” is a person who is registered to file electronically, receive electronic noticing and to browse the System. “Electronic filing” means uploading a document directly from the registered user’s computer, using the court’s Internet-based System, to file that document in the court’s case file. Sending a document to the court via email does not constitute “electronic filing.” The “Email Address of Record” refers to the Internet email address(s) of each party to the case as maintained by the Clerk. 1 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021       A “Notice of Electronic Filing” (“NEF”) is generated automatically by the ECF System upon completion of an electronic filing. The NEF emailed to the email addresses of record in the case acts as the proof of service, except as noted in these procedures. The term “PDF” refers to Portable Document Format. A PDF document allows anyone to open the converted document across a broad range of hardware and software, with layout, format, links, and images intact. For information on PDF, users may visit the websites of PDF vendors, such as http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat or http://www.fineprint.com. Users are encouraged to use Adobe to save PDF documents. The term “conventional filing” refers to documents filed in paper. The term “initial pleading” refers to any document that results in the opening of a civil case. Procedures and instructions for using the court’s CM/ECF System consistent with these policies may be found on the CM/ECF website. All hours stated shall be Central time. C. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 1. While the System requirements may be set forth more completely in a User’s Manual or other court publication, it is expected that the following hardware and software will be needed to electronically file, view and retrieve documents in the electronic file System. Other specifications are also indicated for optimum performance. a. b. c. d. e. A computer running a Windows or a Macintosh operating system. Software able to convert documents from a word processor such as WordPerfect or Word to PDF. Adobe is preferred as the software for conversion to PDF. Netscape browser version 4.7x or higher or Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher, each with 128 bit encryption is strongly recommended. High speed internet access. A scanner, if non-computerized documents need to be imaged. 2. When scanning documents to be subsequently filed electronically, filing parties should make certain their scanners are configured for 200 dpi and black and white rather than color scanning. The filing party is responsible 2 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 for the legibility of the scanned document. If for any reason a document cannot be easily read after scanning, the filing party should not electronically file the document. Instead, the filing party must conventionally file it with the Clerk’s office. 3. Because large documents may not upload properly to the System or download within a reasonable amount of time for users with a 56K modem, documents more than 10 megabytes will be rejected by the System and may be filed conventionally if the filer cannot break the document into segments than 10 megabytes. As an estimate, PDF documents of not more produced by converting a normal text file using conversion software can yield between 300 and 500 pages per 1 megabyte depending on the software used; pages (approximately one-tenth the number of pages depending on the scanner settings). Documents with color and graphics may yield even fewer pages. Filers are encouraged to save document to black and white only in PDF format using Adobe software which produces a smaller document. scanned documents will considerably fewer yield D. SYSTEM AVAILABILITY The court’s System is designed to provide service 24 hours a day. The parties, however, are encouraged to file documents in advance of filing deadlines and during normal business hours. Several judges restrict filing times to normal business hours of the Clerk of Court. Restrictions are listed on the webpages of the individual judges which can be accessed on the court’s Internet site at www.alnd.uscourts.gov. Clerk’s office staff is available to respond to questions regarding the electronic files system and the registration process and to receive voice mail messages. The deputy docket clerk assigned to each of the judges is available from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and will accept voice mail messages at any time. Calls received after 4:30 p.m. will be returned the morning of the next business day. If a party misses a filing deadline due to an inability to file electronically, the party may seek relief by filing an appropriate motion. E. SELECTION OF CASES Unless otherwise permitted by these administrative procedures or unless otherwise authorized by the assigned judge, all documents1 submitted for filing in this district after the official implementation date, currently January 1, 2005, in all cases, no matter when a case was originally filed, shall be filed electronically, with the following exceptions: 1The requirement that “all documents” be filed electronically includes briefs, transcripts of proceedings, and deposition transcripts used in support of motions. 3 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 1. 2. 3. 4. Parties proceeding pro se shall not file electronically. Attorneys appearing in cases with pro se parties may electronically file documents and serve pro se parties conventionally. The filing of social security cases shall be subject to the limitations imposed in Section III(C) of these procedures. A registered CM/ECF user may apply in a particular case to the assigned judge for permission to file documents conventionally, for good cause shown. Even if the assigned judge initially grants an attorney permission to file documents conventionally, the assigned judge may withdraw that permission at any time during the pendency of a case and require that documents be filed electronically using the System. If the case is reassigned, the judge receiving the case may review and withdraw previously granted permission to file conventionally. The Clerk’s office or any judge of this court may deviate from the requirements of these procedures in specific cases, without prior notice, if deemed appropriate in the exercise of discretion, considering the need for the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of matters pending before the court. Documents filed thereafter will be affected by the change. The court may also amend these procedures at any time without prior notice. The most current version of Civil Administrative Procedures can always be found on the court’s website at www.alnd.uscourts.gov. F. REGISTRATION 1. 2. Each attorney who wishes to practice in this court will register for CM/ECF Electronic Noticing. The Attorney Update and Registration for E-Noticing form is available on the court’s website at http://www.alnd.uscourts.gov; click on the CM/ECF link. The court will issue logins and passwords to attorneys in good standing in the Northern District of Alabama. To be in good standing, an attorney must meet the requirements in N.D. ALA. LR 83.1. The login assigned will correspond to the attorney’s Alabama State Bar identification number. The initial password will be assigned by the court. Attorneys should change their password as soon as possible after registering. The court will issue logins and passwords to attorneys practicing pro hac vice in the Northern District of Alabama. The login assigned will correspond to the Bar identification number assigned in his/her state of residence. Attorneys should contact the Clerk’s office to resolve any question regarding assignment of the login. 3. To ensure that the Clerk’s office has correctly entered a registering attorney’s email address in the System, the Clerk’s office will send the attorney an email 4 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. message after the registration is processed. The user must reply to the email for confirmation to activate the account. Each attorney filing electronically must complete and submit an Attorney Electronic Filing Registration Form. The form is available on the court’s website at http://www.alnd.uscourts.gov; click on the CM/ECF link. Once registered, attorneys may withdraw from participating in CM/ECF only with written permission from the court for good cause shown. Upon entry of an order withdrawing an attorney, the Clerk’s office will immediately cancel the attorney’s password and delete the attorney’s name from applicable electronic service lists. After registering, attorneys should change their passwords. If an attorney has information that the security of an existing password may have been compromised, the attorney should immediately change his or her password and notify the Clerk’s office about the potential breach of security. An attorney whose email address, mailing address, telephone or fax number has changed shall timely file a Notice of Change of Address in any active case in which that attorney is attorney of record. One notice to the court will change the address in every active case as of the date the notice is electronically filed. A PACER login is required in addition to the CM/ECF login and password issued by the court in order to file electronically and to access the System. To register for PACER, a user must complete the online form or submit a the PACER website at http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov. form, available on registration G. LOGIN AND PASSWORD Each attorney admitted to practice in the Northern District of Alabama shall be entitled to one login and password from the District Court. The login and password permit the attorney to participate in the electronic retrieval and filing of pleadings and other papers. 1. 2. No attorney shall knowingly permit or cause to permit his or her password to be utilized by anyone other than an authorized employee of his or her office. Once registered, the attorney shall be responsible for all documents filed with his or her password. Use of the login and password to file documents will have the same effect as an original signature under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 3. Registration for a login and password is governed by Section I(F). 5 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 4. 5. An attorney admitted pro hac vice must register for a login and password in accordance with these Administrative Procedures. The $50 fee may be paid online via Pay.gov during the filing of the event or mailed to the Clerk at the time the motion for pro hac vice admission is electronically filed. To comply with CM/ECF requirements, the password must consist of (a) at least eight characters, (b) contain both uppercase and lowercase characters, and (c) contain at least one numeral or special character (such as $, %, #, *, &, ?). II. ELECTRONIC FILING AND SERVICE OF DOCUMENTS A. FILING 1. 2. Electronically filed documents must meet the requirements of Rule 10 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Form of Pleadings). All pleadings, motions, applications, briefs, memoranda of law, deposition transcripts, transcripts of proceedings, or other documents in a case shall be electronically filed on the System except as otherwise provided by these administrative procedures. Emailing a document to the Clerk’s office or to the assigned judge shall not constitute “filing” of the document. A document shall not be considered filed for purposes of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure until the filing party receives a System-generated “Notice of Electronic Filing” described in Section II(B)1 of these procedures. 3. Summons and Complaints. (a) A party may submit initial pleadings (complaint, notice of removal, miscellaneous motions, summons, and civil cover sheet) in two ways: (1) via CM/ECF under the section entitled “Send New Case to Clerk” under CASE INITIATING DOCUMENTS or (2) file it in the Clerk’s office in paper format. If filing in paper format your document must be signed and you must provide the Clerk a disk with a PDF image of all initial pleadings and documents. Payment of the initial filing fee may be made in the Clerk’s office by check or credit card or electronically in CM/ECF via Pay.gov. The Clerk will assign a judge and electronically file the initial pleading document when the case is opened so that images will be available in CM/ECF. (b) A party may not electronically serve a summons and complaint, but instead must perfect service according to one of the methods allowed by Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 6 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 (c) If a party wishes the Clerk’s office to effect service of the initial pleading by means of certified mail, the party must file a written request for certified mail service and provide to the Clerk’s office service materials including copies of all documents to be served, summonses, and pre-addressed envelopes with postage and certified mail, return receipt requested (“CMRRR”) forms returnable to the Clerk of Court. The filing party may elect some other conventional form of service permitted by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Pleadings or documents will be deemed timely filed on any particular date if filed prior to midnight on that date unless otherwise limited by order of this court. The time of filing is governed by the Notice of Electronic Filing which is generated after the document is uploaded to the court’s CM/ECF server. Attorneys should be aware that large filings initiated close to midnight may not complete before the date changes in the System. Documents which require leave of court, such as amended complaints, shall be attached as an exhibit to the motion for leave to file as set out in Section IV(B). If the court grants the motion, the attorney must electronically file an exact duplicate of the attachment. Pleadings, attachments and exhibits larger than 10 megabytes may be filed electronically in separate 10 megabyte segments. Documents and exhibits which cannot be produced in digital format may be filed in paper format with conventional service on the other side. The filing party must additionally file an electronic notice of filing of paper documents in the CM/ ECF system. The Clerk’s office shall not maintain a paper court file in any case begun after the effective date of these procedures except as otherwise provided in these procedures. The official court record shall be the electronic file maintained on the court’s servers. The official record shall include, however, any conventional documents or exhibits filed in accordance with these procedures. The filing of civil discovery shall be governed by N.D. ALA. LR 5.1. The filing of discovery materials as required by N.D. ALA. LR 5.1(c) or as required by the court shall be accomplished electronically. Attorneys shall determine among themselves the manner of exchanging discovery, whether it be by posted mail, email, courier, etc. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. For all filings electronic or conventional, the style of the civil case number on the face of the document will change as follows: [Division#]:[2-digit year]-cv-[case #][Initials of presiding judge][Initials of referral judge] 7 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 10. 11. 12. Division numbers: 1-Eastern, 2-Southern, 3-Northwestern, 4-Middle, 5-Northeastern, 6-Jasper, 7-Western For example, 2:04-cv-5000-KOB-JEO is the court’s 5,000th civil case filed in 2004. The case was filed in the Southern Division and is assigned to Chief Judge Bowdre and referred to Chief Magistrate Judge Ott. The system will read case number with or without dashes and will find the case with only the year and number. All motions, pleadings, and other papers filed electronically during or within twenty-four hours prior to a trial, hearing, or other proceeding related to the case in which the filing occurs shall be accompanied by a paper copy of the filing to be distributed to the appropriate chambers by the Clerk. Affidavits and requests for execution of judgment shall be electronically filed, but proposed execution orders and process, such as garnishments, notices of garnishment, levies, and executions, shall be emailed (in Word or WordPerfect format) to the appropriate judicial officer’s helpdesk as listed on the court’s webpage. Forms necessary for the Marshal to serve execution orders (e.g., USMS-285) are to be prepared in conventional paper format and hand delivered to the Clerk for forwarding to the Marshals Service. Pursuant to the policy set forth in Rule 13 of the Model Local Rules for Electronic Case Filing, endorsed by the Judicial Conference in October 2005, a hyperlink contained in a filing is no more than a convenient mechanism for accessing material cited in a document. A hyperlink reference is extraneous to a filed document and is not a part of the court’s record. In order to preserve the integrity of the court record, users wishing to insert hyperlinks in court filings shall continue to use the conventional citation method for the cited authority, in addition to the hyperlink. Hyperlinks are only permissible for legal references and citations and are not to include advertisements. The court may direct the Clerk to strike any pleading which contains an inappropriate hyperlink. 13. Filing a Document Containing Redactions Unless redacted properly, redactions in pdf documents can be revealed using Adobe Acrobat Pro, even after the document has been filed electronically in the CM/ECF system. Adobe provides an overview of how to redact documents and remove sensitive link: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/removing-sensitive-content-pdfs.html information at the following Here is an additional link for assistance with handling redactions in a pdf document: https://lawyerist.com/how-to-redact-a-pdf/ To properly make redactions that cannot be revealed, use the following steps: 8 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 First, open the document you wish to redact in Acrobat Pro, go to the Tools menu, then select Redact. Doing so will bring up the redaction tools when you return to your document. Select Mark for Redaction and Adobe will remind you that redacting is a two-step process. In the document, highlight the text you want to redact and Acrobat will outline it in red. Then click Apply to redact the highlighted text. Acrobat will ask if you are sure you want the material redacted. If so, click OK. The second step of the two-step process is to remove metadata regarding the redacted text. After you click OK, Acrobat will then ask you if you want to find and remove any other hidden information. You should always say Yes to this. Acrobat is asking if you want to remove the metadata, and you always want to remove the metadata. Alternatively, to assure that redactions cannot be revealed once a document is filed in CM/ECF, the document should be printed and the redactions made with a black marker. The marked document can then be scanned and the resulting pdf can be filed in CM/ECF. B. SERVICE 1. 2. Whenever a pleading or other paper is filed electronically in accordance with these procedures, the System shall generate a NEF to the filing party and to any other party who is a registered user and has requested electronic notice in that case.2 (a) If the recipient is a registered participant in the System, the System’s emailing of the NEF shall be the equivalent of service of the pleading or other paper by hand delivery. (b) Service of the NEF on a party who is not a registered participant in the System may be accomplished by email, subject to the additional service requirements of paragraph B(3) below. A certificate of service on all parties entitled to service or notice is still required when a party files a document electronically. The certificate must state the manner in which service or notice was accomplished on each party so entitled. Sample language for a certificate of service is attached to these procedures as Form A. 2To determine whether another party is a registered user, the filer can select the System’s “Utilities” category, and then click on “Mailing Information for a Case” on the pull-down menu. The filer then enters the case number and the System information will appear, stating whether or not the filer must mail a copy or if the System will electronically generate one. 9 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 3. 4. A party who is not a registered participant of the System is entitled to a paper copy of any electronically filed pleading, document, or order. The filing party must therefore provide the non-registered party with the pleading, document, or order according to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. When mailing paper copies of documents that have been electronically filed, the filing party must include the NEF to provide the recipient with proof of the filing. A filer who elects to bring a document to the Clerk’s office for scanning and uploading to the System due to technical difficulties, must serve conventional copies on all non-registered parties to the case. Some delay in the uploading and subsequent electronic noticing of the document may be expected. If time is an issue, filers should consider paper service or notice by an alternate means on registered parties, such as email or fax. C. SIGNATURES AND AFFIDAVITS 1. A pleading or other document requiring an attorney’s signature shall be signed in the following manner if filed electronically: “s/(attorney name).” The correct format for an attorney signature is as follows: [or electronic signature] s/E. Cape Able Able Attorney Bar Number: 12345 Attorney for (Plaintiff/Defendant) ABC Law Firm 123 Biscuit Street Birmingham, Alabama 35203 Telephone: (205) 123-4567 Fax: (205) 123-7654 Email: [email protected] 2. Documents that must contain original signatures, such as affidavits, contracts, bonds, etc., or which require either verification or an unsworn declaration under any rule or statute, shall be filed electronically with originally executed copies maintained by the filer. The electronic filing must include a certificate that the filer currently holds the original signature document with all the formalities. The pleading or other document electronically filed shall indicate a signature, e.g., “s/Jane Doe,” or the original may be scanned and electronically filed in the ECF System. The filing party or attorney shall retain the hard copy of the document containing the original signatures for at least one (1) year after exhaustion of time to appeal final resolution of the action, or issuance of mandate from the Court of Appeals. 3. In the case of a stipulation or other document to be signed by two or more persons, the following procedure should be used: 10 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 Documents requiring signatures of more than one party shall be filed by submitting a scanned document containing all necessary signatures. D. FEES PAYABLE TO THE CLERK Any fee required for filing a pleading or paper in District Court is payable to the Clerk of the Court by check, money order, or cash. The Clerk’s office will document receipt of fees on the docket with a text-only entry. The court will not maintain electronic billing or debit accounts for lawyers or law firms. E. ORDERS 1. 2. 3. Court personnel will electronically file all orders and notices entered by the court. An order signed, entered and noticed electronically has the same force and effect of a traditional paper copy of the order signed and entered conventionally. The court will fax or mail copies of orders entered electronically to pro se parties who are not registered participants of the CM/ECF System. Submitting Proposed Orders Proposed orders may be electronically submitted directly to chambers as an attachment to an email and not submitted electronically through the court’s CM/ECF System. The email should include the case number and style in the subject line. Attorneys are encouraged to send proposed orders directly to chambers in Word or WordPerfect format. Special email addresses for each judge are listed on the court’s website. If the judge approves the proposed order, it will be electronically signed and filed in CM/ECF by court staff. 4. Filing Proposed Documents If leave of court is required before a party may file a document, such as an amended complaint or a document which will be filed out of time, the proposed document shall be attached as an exhibit to the motion requesting leave of court. If the court grants the motion, the attorney must file electronically an exact duplicate of the proposed document. F. TITLE OF DOCKET ENTRIES The party electronically filing a pleading or other document shall be responsible for designating a docket entry title for the document by using one of the docket event categories prescribed by the court.3 3Readers may view the ACM/ECF Civil Menu for Attorneys@ on the CM/ECF link on the court’s website: www.alnd.uscourts.gov. 11 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 G. CORRECTING DOCKET ENTRIES 1. 2. 3. 4. Once a document is filed electronically and becomes part of the case docket, corrections to the docket are made only by the Clerk’s office. The System will not permit the filing party to make changes to the document(s) or docket entry filed in error once the transaction has been accepted and the Notice of Electronic Filing has been displayed. A document incorrectly filed in a case may be the result of posting the wrong PDF file to a docket entry, selecting the wrong document type from the menu, or entering the wrong case number and not catching the error before the transaction is completed. The filing party should not attempt to re-file the document. As soon as possible after an error is discovered, the filing party should contact the Clerk’s office with the case number and document number for which the correction is being requested. If appropriate, the court will make an entry indicating that the document was filed in error. The filing party will be advised if the document needs to be re-filed. The Clerk will correct filing-process errors, such as errors related to case numbers, document-type selection, filing in the wrong case, and obviously erroneous filings, but will not remove or correct documents correctly filed in a case simply because counsel requests removal or correction for reasons unrelated to errors in the process of electronic filing. H. TECHNICAL FAILURES 1. 2. 3. The Clerk’s office shall deem the Northern District of Alabama CM/ECF site to be subject to a technical failure on a given day if the site is unable to accept filings continuously or intermittently over the course of any period of time greater than one hour after 10:00 a.m. that day. Scheduled maintenance outages of the system will be posted on the website prior to the outage. Technical problems encountered by the filer, such as phone lines, the filer’s Internet Service Provider (“ISP”), or hardware or software problems, will not constitute a technical failure under these procedures nor excuse an untimely filing. A filer who cannot file a document electronically because of his own technical problems may bring a disk to the Clerk’s office for filing. A filing party whose pleading is made untimely as the result of a technical failure of the court’s CM/ECF site may seek relief by filing an appropriate motion. 12 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 I. PRIVACY To address the privacy concerns created by Internet access, you should not include certain types of sensitive information in any document filed with the court unless such inclusion is necessary and relevant to the case. You must remember that any personal information not otherwise protected will be made available over the Internet via CM/ECF. Pursuant to the E-Government Act, e-filers are required to redact the five personal data identifiers from electronically filed documents, unless otherwise ordered by the court: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Social Security numbers. If an individual’s social security number must be included in a document, only the last four digits of that number should be used. Names of minor children. If the involvement of a minor child must be mentioned, only the initials of that child should be used. Dates of birth. If an individual’s date of birth must be included in a document, only the year should be used. Financial account numbers. If financial account numbers are relevant, only the last four digits of these numbers should be used. Addresses of Individuals. If the address of an individual is relevant, only the city and state should be used. the personal data In compliance with the E-Government Act of 2002, a party wishing to file a identifiers specified above may document containing conventionally file, with leave of court, an un-redacted document under seal. This document shall be retained by the court as part of the record. The court, however, will require a redacted version of the pleading to be filed electronically for the public file. Caution is recommended with regard to other personal identifiers, such as driver’s license, medical records, treatment and diagnosis, employment history, individual financial information, and proprietary or trade secret information. Counsel is strongly urged to share this information with all clients so that an informed decision about the inclusion, redaction and/or exclusion of certain materials may be made. It is the sole responsibility of counsel and the parties to ensure that redaction of personal identifiers is done. The Clerk will not review each pleading for redaction. SPECIAL NOTICE TO ATTORNEYS INVOLVED IN SOCIAL SECURITY CASES - It is the responsibility of counsel for the Social Security claimant to provide to the U.S. Attorney’s office, by separate letter, the social security number of the plaintiff upon the filing of a new social security case. 13 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 III. CONVENTIONAL FILING OF DOCUMENTS The following procedures govern documents filed conventionally. Attorneys are required to additionally submit, with the paper filing, a disk containing a PDF image of the complaint. The Clerk will scan and electronically file paper documents for pro se parties and others excused by the court for good cause shown from the requirement of submitting a disk. Documents which are not available in electronic format such as transcripts before the Office of Hearings and Appeals filed in Social Security cases and state trial transcripts offered by the State of Alabama in habeas corpus cases may be filed conventionally as set out in Section III(C) below. The court may authorize conventional filing of other documents upon a showing of good cause by the filer. A. DOCUMENTS TO BE FILED UNDER SEAL Before a document is filed under seal, the filing party first must obtain permission from a judicial officer by filing a motion or application seeking leave to file a sealed document. At the same time, the document(s) proposed to be sealed is to be submitted to the Clerk in conventional paper format with a PDF copy of the document(s) on a disk. A party must electronically file the motion or application for leave to file documents under seal, but the filer should not electronically attach the document(s) proposed to be sealed. A motion or application for leave to file documents under seal which is not filed electronically shall be presented in conventional paper format to the Clerk’s office, together with a PDF version of the motion and sealed document(s) on a disk, along with a proposed order in paper format. If the motion or application is granted, the assigned judge, or designee, will enter an order authorizing the filing of the document(s) under seal, and the Clerk will file electronically the PDF version of the sealed document(s). The filer should not undertake to electronically file the sealed document(s). Documents so filed will be available for viewing only by counsel in the case and court staff assigned to the presiding judicial officer(s). Counsel must serve copies of seal documents on opposing counsel by mail. B. PRO SE LITIGANTS Pro se litigants shall file paper originals of all complaints, pleadings, motions, affidavits, briefs, and other documents which must be signed or which require either verification or an unsworn declaration under any rule or statute. The Clerk’s office will scan and file the document electronically and retain the paper original. The official court record will be the electronic file maintained on the court’s servers. C. SOCIAL SECURITY AND TITLE 28 U.S.C. § 2254 CASES Absent a showing of good cause, all documents, notices, and orders filed in social security reviews and state habeas cases shall be filed and noticed electronically, except as noted: 14 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Answers of the government in Social Security cases will be electronically filed. The transcript of the Office of Hearings and Appeals, which is attached as an exhibit to the answer, will be electronically filed by the Social Security Administration (“SSA”); a paper courtesy copy will also be provided to the court on the same day according to Section II(A)(3) of these procedures. Service of electronic copies on opposing counsel will be accomplished via CM/ECF; pro se and/or incarcerated parties shall be by conventional means. If conventionally filed, the Clerk will not scan or place the transcript into the System, but will retain the paper copy of the transcript in accordance with the records management guide. Answers in habeas corpus cases filed pursuant to Title 28 U.S.C. § 2254 will be electronically filed. The transcript of the state proceedings, which is attached as an exhibit to the answer, will be conventionally filed in paper on the same day according to Section II(A)(3), unless an electronic version is available. Service on opposing counsel, pro se and/or incarcerated parties shall be by conventional means. If conventionally filed, the Clerk will not scan or place the transcript into the System, but will retain the paper copy of the transcript in accordance with the records management guide. All other documents in Social Security and habeas corpus cases, including briefs, will be filed and served electronically unless the court otherwise orders. If filed electronically, transcripts and exhibits in a Social Security case will be available only to attorneys of record and court staff. Internet access to all other documents filed in a Social Security case will be identical to all other civil cases. Counsel and pro se parties filing Social Security cases are required to provide the social security number of the plaintiff to the U. S. Attorney by separate letter outside the CM/ECF System. D. COPY REQUIREMENT FOR OVERSIZE DOCUMENTS For all electronic filings of twenty-five (25) pages or more, counsel is required to supply one conventional (paper) copy of the filing to the Clerk of Court. Such paper copies of the documents are to be submitted to the Clerk’s office, not to chambers, within twenty-four hours after the electronic filing. The electronically filed document shall remain the official filing, and any discrepancy between it and the paper copy is resolved in favor of the electronically filed version. Some judges have waived this requirement with respect to filings other than summary judgment submissions, which can be determined by reviewing the judge’s personal webpage linked to the court’s webpage. 15 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 E. RETENTION OF ORIGINALS OF DOCUMENTS REQUIRING SCANNING Originals of documents which have been scanned by counsel and filed electronically must be retained by the filing party and made available upon request to the court and other parties for a period of at least one (1) year following the expiration of all time periods for appeals, or resolution of appeals, whichever is later. F. SERVICE OF CONVENTIONAL FILINGS A filer who files documents conventionally pursuant to these Administrative Procedures by bringing a document to the Clerk’s office for scanning and uploading to the System must serve conventional copies on all non-registered parties to the case in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Some delay in the uploading and subsequent electronic noticing of the document may be expected. If time of receipt by opposing counsel is an issue, filers should serve paper copies on registered parties conventionally or by an alternate means, such as email or fax. IV. EXHIBITS A. ATTACHMENTS/EVIDENCE NOT IN SUPPORT OF A MOTION This section applies to attachments and exhibits other than those submitted in support of a motion, e.g., an attachment to a complaint. Exhibits submitted in support of a motion are governed by Section IV(B) of these procedures. 1. 2. Attachments and exhibits to documents which are too large to convert to a usable electronic format, such as books, large color pictures or old documents of poor quality, may be conventionally filed with the Clerk and served on opposing counsel. The conventionally filed document or electronically filed document with exhibits must include a statement that the attachments and/or exhibits are being conventionally filed. Documents so filed shall be retained by the Clerk in accordance with the records management guide. If possible, filers should electronically image, i.e., “scan,” a paper exhibit that is fewer than 10 megabytes and submit the exhibit as a PDF file. Because PDF files containing scanned documents take up considerably more space on the System than PDF files containing electronically generated documents, filing parties may submit PDF files containing scanned documents of more than 10 megabytes only if they are filed in separate 10-megabyte segments. Electronically filed documents with large attachments and/or exhibits must attach an appendix clearly identifying the exhibits and attachments. Additionally, each PDF attachment of exhibits or evidence should clearly identify the content in the description field on the electronic filing. 16 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 3. 4. 5. If the scanner is set to scan in color, documents will take much longer to upload; filing parties should configure their scanners to scan documents at 200 dpi and in black and white, not in color. Documents appearing in color in their original form, such as color photographs, may be scanned in color and then uploaded to the System. The filing party must verify the readability of scanned documents before filing them electronically with the court. Exhibits submitted conventionally shall be served on other parties conventionally. B. EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF OR IN OPPOSITION TO A MOTION 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. A party electronically submitting evidentiary materials to the Clerk’s office in support of, or in opposition to, a motion shall reference the base motion being supported or opposed in the caption of the pleading and include as the first attachment an index listing each item of evidence being filed. Attachments and exhibits which are too large to file electronically shall be filed in accordance with Sections IV(A)(1)&(2). If possible, filing parties should electronically image, i.e., “scan,” a paper exhibit and attach the resulting PDF file(s) to the electronically filed motion if the attached files are no more than 10 megabytes each. Note that multiple files can be attached to a filing, so long as each does not exceed the 10 megabyte limitation. Each separate file attachment must be clearly identified in the index of the attachment for easy recognition. If the scanner is set to scan in color, documents will take much longer to upload; filing parties should configure their scanners to scan documents at 200 dpi and in black and white, not in color. Documents appearing in color in their original form, such as color photographs, may be scanned in color and then uploaded to the System. The filing party is required to verify the readability of scanned documents before filing them electronically with the court. Copies of conventionally filed supporting materials shall be served on other parties conventionally. C. TRIAL AND HEARING EXHIBITS Effective December 1, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit adopted changes to its Local Rules and Internal Operating Procedures that impact the manner in which trial or hearing exhibits are transmitted to the court of 17 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 appeals in connection with appeals. For purposes of CM/ECF, there are three (3) important requirements: • • • “The district court clerk must include in the electronic record on appeal electronic versions of all documentary exhibits admitted into evidence at trial or any evidentiary hearing”; “If documentary exhibits have been sealed or marked confidential by the district court or the district court clerk, the district court clerk must transmit any such sealed or confidential documentary exhibits to this court either in their original form or in electronic form provided the electronic access is appropriately restricted,…”; and “As to non-documentary physical exhibits, the parties are required to include photographs or other reproductions of such exhibits in the electronic record on appeal.” In order to comply with the Eleventh Circuit’s requirements, beginning December 1, 2016, counsel offering any documentary exhibit at a trial or hearing must supply the courtroom deputy assigned to the trial or hearing a full, complete, and unaltered electronic version of each offered documentary exhibit, scanned or created in PDF format. (Counsel should refer to paragraph I(C)(2) of this Administrative Procedures Manual for specifications related to scanning and creating PDF-formatted files). To enable the courtroom deputy to electronically docket each separate exhibit, each exhibit shall be a separate PDF-formatted electronic file (i.e., trial or hearing exhibits should NOT be combined in one large PDF file). At the beginning of the trial or hearing, counsel must supply the courtroom deputy with a disk or other electronic medium on which such separate exhibit files have been stored so that the courtroom deputy may upload each such exhibit file to CM/ECF at the conclusion of the trial or hearing. The labeling of each electronic exhibit file must correspond to the exhibit number or other identification on the documentary exhibit. If counsel offers an exhibit for which he or she has not supplied an electronic version at the beginning of the trial or hearing, counsel shall provide such an electronic version before the end of the proceeding. In the event counsel desires to keep an exhibit confidential or sealed, counsel should bring that to the attention of the court and the courtroom deputy so that appropriate docketing can occur. For every non-documentary physical exhibit, counsel must supply the courtroom deputy with one or more unaltered and unannotated photographs, drawings, diagrams, or other depictions of the exhibit, scanned or created in PDF format for electronic filing. Multiple photographs, drawings, diagrams, 18 1. 2. 3. 4. CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 or depictions of the same physical exhibit may be combined into one PDF-formatted file, but separate electronic files will be provided for each separate exhibit. 5. 6. At the beginning of a trial or hearing, counsel shall provide the courtroom deputy with a disk or other electronic medium on which such PDF-formatted electronic files depicting physical exhibits have been stored. The courtroom deputy will upload and docket into CM/ECF the electronic files related to admitted exhibits at the conclusion of the trial or hearing. The labeling of each electronic exhibit file must correspond to the exhibit number or other identification on the physical exhibit. If counsel offers an exhibit for which he or she has not supplied an electronic depiction at the beginning of the trial or hearing, counsel shall provide such an electronic depiction before the end of the proceeding. Counsel may request that the court instruct the courtroom deputy to upload and docket a documentary exhibit or depictions of a physical exhibit not admitted into evidence by the court for purposes of preserving for appeal an offer of proof as to such an exhibit, but such exhibit shall not be displayed to or revealed to the jury. V. PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE SYSTEM DOCKET A. PUBLIC ACCESS AT THE COURT Electronic access to the electronic docket and documents filed in the System is available at no charge at the Clerk’s office during regular business hours. A copy fee for an electronic reproduction is required in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1930. B. INTERNET ACCESS Remote electronic access to the System for viewing purposes is limited to subscribers to the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (“PACER”) system. The Judicial Conference of the United States has ruled that a user fee will be charged for remotely accessing certain detailed case information, such as filed documents and docket sheets in civil cases, but excluding review of calendars and similar general information.4 4According to a memorandum from the Administrative Office of the United States Courts dated April 9, 2002, non-judiciary CM/ECF users will be charged a fee of seven cents per page starting on July 1, 2002, to access electronic data such as docket sheets and case documents obtained remotely through the PACER system. The maximum charge per document is $2.10. The access fee does not apply to official recipients of electronic documents, i.e., parties legally required to receive service or to whom service is directed by the filer in the context of service under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Official recipients will receive the initial electronic copy of a document free to download as they see fit, but if they remotely access the document again, they will be charged seven cents a page. 19 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 C. CONVENTIONAL COPIES AND CERTIFIED COPIES Conventional copies and certified copies of electronically filed documents may be purchased at the Clerk’s office. The fee for copying and certifying will be in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1914. 20 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 FORM ATTACHMENT 21 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures - Civil 05-18-2021 FORM A S A M P L E F O R M A T IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA SOUTHERN DIVISION Plaintiff, vs. Defendant. Case No. 2:04-cv-5000-KOB-JEO CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on (Date), I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to the following: ____________________________________________, and I hereby certify that I have mailed by United States Postal Service the document to the following non-CM/ECF participants:_________ ______________________________. Respectfully submitted, s/[Name of Password Registrant] Name of Password Registrant Address City, State, Zip Code Phone: (xxx) xxx-xxxx Fax: (xxx) xxx-xxxx Email: [email protected] [attorney bar number, if applicable] 22

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA ___________________ DIVISION UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, vs. _____________________________ , Defendant. Case No. ______________________ GUILTY PLEA ADVICE OF RIGHTS CERTIFICATION1 Instructions to Counsel Before the offer of a plea of guilty, counsel for the defendant must personally discuss, in detail, each of the following matters with the defendant. If able, the defendant should inscribe his or her initials in the appropriate places on this form. Once completed, the certification will be filed on the record. A. At the Change of Plea Hearing 1. I will be placed under oath. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. I will be subject to penalties for perjury or further prosecution if I willfully make a false statement. If anything is said or done in court that I do not understand, I must tell the judge. I may be asked about my education and job history and whether I read, write, and understand the English language. I will be asked if I have any mental or emotional impairment or physical illness that might affect my ability to understand the court proceedings. I will be asked if I have taken any drugs, medications, or other substances that might affect my ability to understand the court proceedings. I understand, __________. I understand, __________. I understand, __________. I understand, __________. I understand, __________. I understand, __________. 1 This form was approved for use in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama on May --, 2013. Do not use an earlier version. 1 of 5 7. I will be asked if my plea is voluntary. 8. I will be asked if anyone coerced or threatened me to plead guilty. 9. I will be asked if I have any complaints about my attorney. 10. I will be asked: a. If I received the indictment; b. If I read the indictment or my attorney read it to me; and c. If I understand the charge(s) against me. 11. I will be asked: I understand, __________. I understand, __________. I understand, __________. I understand, __________ __________ __________. I understand, a. If I have read the plea agreement or my attorney read it to me; __________ b. If I had enough time to discuss the content of the plea agreement with my attorney; __________ c. If the plea agreement includes all agreements with the prosecutor; __________ d. If I personally understand the content of the plea agreement. __________. B. Explanation of Substantive Rights 1. I am not required to plead guilty to any charge. 2. By pleading guilty, I am giving up the following: a. The presumption of innocence; b. A speedy and public jury trial in which the Government must prove each and every element of the charge(s) beyond a reasonable doubt; c. The right to confront the Government’s witnesses; d. The right to cross-examine the Government’s witnesses; e. The right to call witnesses on my behalf; f. The right to choose to testify. 2 of 5 I understand, __________. I understand, __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________. 3. 4. If I decided to testify at trial, I would be placed under oath, and I would be subject to cross-examination by the prosecutor. If I decided not to testify at trial or to offer any evidence in my defense, those facts could not be used against me. 5. By pleading guilty, I am not giving up the right to be represented by a Constitutionally adequate attorney. C. Explanation of the Charge(s) 1. 2. I will be asked if I had enough time to discuss the case with my attorney. I will be asked if my attorney has explained the elements of the charge(s) against me. 3. The judge will not accept my guilty plea(s) until he or she is satisfied that the Government can prove a factual basis for each element of the charges to which I am pleading guilty. 4. If my guilty plea(s) is accepted by the judge, only two things remain to be done: a. A United States Probation Officer will conduct a presentence investigation and produce a Presentence Investigation Report; and b. The judge will impose a sentence. D. Explanation of Possible Penalties 1. 2. I will be asked if my attorney has explained the mandatory statutory minimum sentence (if any) and the maximum statutory penalty for each charge against me. If a mandatory statutory minimum sentence is applicable, the judge cannot sentence me below the minimum sentence unless a rare exception exists. 3. The judge is required to consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines before imposing a sentence. 4. I will be asked if my attorney has discussed the Guidelines with me and the fact that the judge may sentence me to a higher or lower sentence. 3 of 5 I understand, __________. I understand, __________. I understand, __________. I understand, __________. I understand, __________. I understand, __________. I understand, __________ __________. I understand, __________. I understand, __________. I understand, __________. I understand, __________. 5. The judge will require me to make restitution to any and all victims of the charge(s) to which I am pleading guilty. 6. The amount of restitution, and the schedule of its payment, will be based on the information within Presentence Investigation Report. 7. The judge may require that I be supervised by the United States Probation Office following any term of imprisonment. 8. The judge may be required to impose a fine, unless: a. I am unable to pay a fine, or; b. Imposing a fine would unduly burdensome. 9. If I have financial means, the judge may require me to pay all or part of the costs of my imprisonment or supervision. 10. If I am not a citizen of the United States, I may be deported as a result of the guilty plea. E. Plea Agreement 1. If there is a plea agreement, the agreement will be disclosed on the record. 2. The judge is not bound by the terms of plea agreement, and if the agreement is rejected, I cannot withdraw the guilty plea. I understand, __________. I understand, __________. I understand, __________. I understand, __________ __________. I understand, __________. I understand, __________. I understand, __________. I understand, __________. F. Certification of Defendant 1. 2. 3. I, _______________________________, hereby acknowledge that my attorney, whose name is signed to the attorney certification below, has explained to me, in detail each of the matters set out above. I also certify that I am satisfied with the representation my attorney has provided me, and that I have no complaints about any aspect of his or her representation of me. I further certify that I am not under the influence of any alcoholic beverage, intoxicating liquor, drugs, medication, or other substance that affected my ability to understand all of the matters set out above. 4 of 5 4. Finally, I certify that I am entering my guilty plea(s) because I am in fact guilty, and I request that the court accept my plea(s). __________________________ Date ____________________________________ Signature of Defendant G. Certification of Counsel As counsel of record for the above named defendant, I hereby certify that: 1. I have discussed with the defendant, in detail, each of the matters set out above; 2. 3. I have observed the defendant today, before the plea proceeding, and I am aware of no reason why the defendant is not competent to enter a guilty plea(s) at this time; and, I am aware of no reason, at this time, why the defendant’s guilty plea(s) should not be accepted by the court. __________________________ Date ____________________________________ Signature of Attorney for Defendant 5 of 5

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CRIMINAL CASES Administrative Procedures FOR FILING, SIGNING, AND VERIFYING PLEADINGS AND DOCUMENTS IN THE DISTRICT COURT UNDER THE CASE MANAGEMENT/ELECTRONIC CASE FILES SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES FOR FILING, SIGNING, AND VERIFYING PLEADINGS AND DOCUMENTS IN THE DISTRICT COURT UNDER THE CASE MANAGEMENT/ELECTRONIC CASE FILES SYSTEM IN CRIMINAL CASES TABLE OF CONTENTS I. THE CASE MANAGEMENT/ELECTRONIC CASE FILES SYSTEM…. ....................1 A. AUTHORIZATION ....................................................................................................1 B. DEFINITIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS .....................................................................1 C. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS..............................................................................2 D. SYSTEM AVAILABILITY ........................................................................................3 E. SELECTION OF CASES ............................................................................................3 F. REGISTRATION ........................................................................................................4 G. LOGIN and PASSWORD ...........................................................................................6 II. ELECTRONIC FILING AND SERVICE OF DOCUMENTS ..........................................6 FILING ......................................................................................................................6 A. SERVICE ...................................................................................................................9 B. SIGNATURES AND AFFIDAVITS .........................................................................9 C. D. FEES PAYABLE TO THE CLERK..........................................................................10 E. ORDERS ....................................................................................................................10 TITLE OF DOCKET ENTRIES ................................................................................11 F. G. CORRECTING DOCKET ENTRIES .....................................................................11 TECHNICAL FAILURES .........................................................................................12 H. PRIVACY ..................................................................................................................13 I. III. CONVENTIONAL FILING OF DOCUMENTS ................................................................14 A. DOCUMENTS TO BE FILED UNDER SEAL ........................................................14 PRO SE LITIGANTS ................................................................................................14 B. C. SERVICE OF CONVENTIONAL FILINGS ............................................................14 D. RETENTION OF ORIGINALS OF DOCUMENTS REQUIRING SCANNING ....15 E. COPY REQUIREMENT FOR OVERSIZE DOCUMENTS ....................................15 F. WAIVERS OF ARRAIGNMENT .............................................................................15 IV. EXHIBITS ...............................................................................................................................15 A. ATTACHMENTS/EVIDENCE NOT IN SUPPORT OF A MOTION .....................15 EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF OR IN OPPOSITION TO A MOTION ..................16 B. TRIAL AND HEARING EXHIBITS ........................................................................17 C. V. PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE SYSTEM DOCKET...............................................................19 PUBLIC ACCESS AT THE COURT........................................................................19 A. B. INTERNET ACCESS ................................................................................................19 C. CONVENTIONAL COPIES AND CERTIFIED COPIES .......................................19 FORM ATTACHMENT .................................................................................................................20 FORM A - CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE ........................................................................21 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES FOR FILING, SIGNING, AND VERIFYING PLEADINGS AND DOCUMENTS IN THE DISTRICT COURT UNDER THE CASE MANAGEMENT/ELECTRONIC CASE FILES SYSTEM IN CRIMINAL CASES I. THE CASE MANAGEMENT/ELECTRONIC CASE FILES SYSTEM A. AUTHORIZATION General Order No. 04-0001 adopts the Case Management/Electronic Case Files (“CM/ECF”) System and authorizes electronic filing in conjunction with Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 57. Pursuant to this order, the following procedures govern electronic filing in this district unless, due to extraordinary circumstances in a particular case, a judicial officer determines that the requirements of these policies and procedures should be modified in the interest of justice. The General Order and these Procedures are effective November 1, 2004. B. DEFINITIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS The following definitions and instructions shall apply to these Procedures for the CM/ECF System:       The term “document” shall include pleadings, motions, exhibits, declarations, affidavits, memoranda, papers, orders, notices, and any other filing by or to the court. The term “party” shall include counsel of record, pro se litigants, and other persons or entities eligible to receive notice. The terms “CM/ECF” and “the System” refer to the court’s Case Management/Electronic Case Files System. The term “CM/ECF website” refers to the official Internet site of the Northern District of Alabama at http://www.alnd.uscourts.gov. Click on the CM/ECF link. A “CM/ECF user” is a person who is registered to use the CM/ECF system. A “CM/ECF noticed user” is a person who is initially signed up only for electronic noticing and is able to browse the System. A “CM/ECF filer” is a person who is also registered to file electronically. “Electronic filing” means uploading a document directly from the registered user’s computer, using the court’s Internet-based System, to file that document in the court’s case file. Sending a document to the court via email does not constitute “electronic filing.” 1 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021        The “Email Address of Record” refers to the Internet email address(s) of each party to the case as maintained by the Clerk. A “Notice of Electronic Filing” (“NEF”) is generated automatically by the ECF System upon completion of an electronic filing. The NEF emailed to the email addresses of record in the case acts as the proof of service, except as noted in these procedures. The term “PDF” refers to Portable Document Format. A PDF document allows anyone to open the converted document across a broad range of hardware and software, with layout, format, links, and images intact. For information on PDF, users may visit the websites of PDF vendors, such as http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat or http://www.fineprint.com. Users are encouraged to use Adobe to save PDF documents. The term “conventional filing” refers to documents filed in paper. The term “charging document” refers to any document that results in the opening of a criminal case in this court. Procedures and instructions for using the court’s CM/ECF System consistent with these policies may be found on the court’s CM/ECF website. All hours stated shall be Central time. C. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 1. While the System requirements may be set forth more completely in a User’s Manual or other court publication, it is expected that the following hardware and software will be needed to electronically file, view and retrieve documents in the electronic file System. Other specifications are also indicated for optimum performance. a. b. c. d. e. A computer running a Windows or a Macintosh operating system. Software able to convert documents from a word processor such as WordPerfect or Word to PDF. Adobe is preferred as the software for conversion to PDF. Netscape browser version 4.7x or higher or Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher, each with 128 bit encryption is strongly recommended. High speed internet access. A scanner, if non-computerized documents need to be imaged. 2 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 2. 3. When scanning documents to be subsequently filed electronically, filing parties should make certain their scanners are configured for 200 dpi and black and white rather than color scanning. The filing party is responsible for the legibility of the scanned document. If for any reason a document cannot be easily read after scanning, the filing party should not electronically file the document. Instead, the filing party must conventionally file it with the Clerk’s office. Because large documents may not upload properly to the System or download within a reasonable amount of time for users with a 56K modem, documents more than 10 megabytes will be rejected by the System and may be filed conventionally if the filer cannot break the document into segments of not more than 10 megabytes. As an estimate, PDF documents produced by converting a normal text file using conversion software can yield between 300 and 500 pages per 1 megabyte depending on the software used; scanned documents will yield considerably fewer pages (approximately one-tenth the number of pages depending on the scanner settings). Documents with color and graphics may yield even fewer pages. D. SYSTEM AVAILABILITY The court’s System is designed to provide service 24 hours a day. The parties, however, are encouraged to file documents in advance of filing deadlines and during normal business hours. Several judges restrict filing times to normal business hours of the Clerk of Court, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Restrictions are listed on the webpages of the individual judges which can be accessed on the court’s Internet site at www.alnd.uscourts.gov. Clerk’s office staff is available to respond to questions regarding the electronic files system and the registration process and to receive voice mail messages. The criminal docket clerks are available from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and will accept voice mail messages at any time. Calls received after 4:30 p.m. will be returned the morning of the next business day. If a party misses a filing deadline due to an inability to file electronically, the party may seek relief by filing an appropriate motion. E. SELECTION OF CASES Unless otherwise permitted by these administrative procedures or unless otherwise authorized by the assigned judge, all documents1 submitted for filing in this district after the official implementation date, currently January 1, 2005 in criminal cases, no matter when a case was originally filed, shall be filed electronically, with the following exceptions: 1The requirement that “all documents” be filed electronically includes briefs, transcripts of proceedings, and deposition transcripts used in support of motions. 3 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 1. 2. 3. 4. 3. 4. Parties proceeding pro se shall not file electronically. Attorneys appearing in cases with pro se parties may electronically file documents and serve pro se parties conventionally. A criminal case previously filed under seal will be maintained in paper form and will not be placed on the System unless the assigned judge orders the case unsealed. Juvenile criminal matters shall not be filed electronically unless, after hearing, the court rules that the juvenile shall be tried as an adult. While registered attorneys of record will have remote access to documents in criminal cases, no public remote access will be available until further order of the court.2 Public access to docket sheets in criminal cases, however, will be available. Also, members of the public may view electronic criminal files at the public terminals in the Clerk’s office. initially grants an attorney permission A registered CM/ECF filer may apply in a particular case to the assigned judge for permission to file documents conventionally. Even if the assigned judge file documents conventionally, the assigned judge may withdraw that permission at any time during the pendency of a case and require that subsequent documents be filed electronically using the System. to The Clerk’s office or any judge of this court may deviate from the requirements of these procedures in specific cases, without prior notice, if deemed appropriate in the exercise of discretion, considering the need for the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of matters pending before the court. The court may also amend these procedures at any time without prior notice. The most current version of Criminal Administrative Procedures can always be found on the court’s website at www.alnd.uscourts.gov. F. REGISTRATION 1. Each attorney who wishes to practice in this court will register for CM/ECF Electronic Noticing. The Attorney Update and Registration for E-Noticing form is available on the court’s website at http://www.alnd.uscourts.gov; click on the CM/ECF link. 2 On March 13, 2002, the Judicial Conference of the United States approved an exception to the prohibition on public access to criminal case records. In a high-profile criminal case where the demand for documents will “impose extraordinary demands on a court’s resources,” that court is authorized to provide Internet access to criminal case files “if all parties consent and the trial judge or presiding judge of an appellate panel finds that such access would be warranted.” On September 19, 2001, the Judicial Conference determined that the policy restricting remote public access to criminal records would be “re-examined within the next two year.” 4 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. The court will issue logins and passwords to attorneys in good standing in the Northern District of Alabama. To be in good standing, an attorney must meet the requirements in N.D. ALA. LR 83.1. The login assigned will correspond to the attorney’s Alabama State Bar identification number. The initial password will be assigned by the court. Attorneys should change their password as soon as possible after registering. The court will issue logins and passwords to attorneys practicing pro hac vice in the Northern District of Alabama. The login assigned will correspond to the Bar identification number assigned in his/her state of residence. Attorneys should contact the Clerk’s office to resolve any question regarding assignment of the login. To ensure that the Clerk’s office has correctly entered a registering attorney’s email address in the System, the Clerk’s office will send the attorney an email message after the registration is processed. The user must reply to the email for confirmation to activate the account. Each attorney filing electronically must complete and submit an Attorney Electronic Filing Registration Form. The form is available on the court’s website at http://www.alnd.uscourts.gov; click on the CM/ECF link. Once registered, attorneys may withdraw from participating in CM/ECF only with permission from the court for good cause shown. Upon entry of an order withdrawing an attorney, the Clerk’s office will immediately cancel the attorney’s password and delete the attorney’s name from applicable electronic service lists. After registering, attorneys should change their passwords. If an attorney has information that the security of an existing password may have been compromised, the attorney should immediately change his or her password and notify the Clerk’s office about the potential breach of security. An attorney whose email address, mailing address, telephone or fax number has changed shall timely file a Notice of Change of Address with the Clerk of Court who will effectuate the change in every active case in which that attorney is attorney of record. The Clerk’s office will update the account of counsel in the System. This update will be effected with the electronic filing of a Notice of Change of Address. Training materials and instruction are provided as part of the CM/ECF Electronic Filing Registration. A PACER login is required in addition to the CM/ECF login and password issued by the court in order to file electronically and to access the System. To register for PACER, a user must complete the online form or submit a the PACER website at http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov. form, available on registration 5 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 G. LOGIN AND PASSWORD Each attorney admitted to practice in the Northern District of Alabama shall be entitled to one login and password from the District Court. The login and password permit the attorney to participate in the electronic retrieval and filing of pleadings and other papers. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. No attorney shall knowingly permit or cause to permit his or her password to be utilized by anyone other than an authorized employee of his or her office. Once registered, the attorney shall be responsible for all documents filed with his or her password. Registration for a login and password is governed by Section I(F). An attorney admitted pro hac vice must register for a login and password in accordance with these Administrative Procedures. The $50 fee may be paid online via Pay.gov during the filing of the event or mailed to the Clerk at the time the motion for pro hac vice admission is electronically filed. To comply with CM/ECF requirements, the password must consist of (a) at least eight characters, (b) contain both uppercase and lowercase characters, and (c) contain at least one numeral or special character (such as $, %, #, *, &, ?). II. ELECTRONIC FILING AND SERVICE OF DOCUMENTS A. FILING 1. 2. Electronically filed documents must meet the requirements of Rule 47 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. All charging documents (complaint, information, indictment, Rule 20 order) must be filed in conventional paper format. The Clerk will maintain the paper documents as required by records management rules. The Clerk will scan the initiating charging document, save it to PDF format and electronically file it in the System. All subsequent pleadings, motions, applications, briefs, memoranda of law, deposition transcripts, transcripts of proceedings, or other miscellaneous documents in a case shall be electronically filed in the System except as otherwise provided by these administrative procedures. Emailing a document to the Clerk’s office or to the assigned judge shall not constitute “filing” of the document. A document shall not be considered filed for purposes of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure until the filing party receives a System-generated “Notice of Electronic Filing” described in Section II(B)1 of these procedures. 6 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 3. 4. 5. 6. Pleadings or documents will be deemed timely filed on any particular date if filed prior to midnight on that date unless otherwise limited by order of this court. The time of filing is governed by the Notice of Electronic Filing which is generated after the document is uploaded to the court’s CM/ECF server. Counsel should be aware that, in the case of large electronic filings initiated close to midnight, the filing may not be completed by midnight. Extensions of time and allowances for late filings are permitted only by the judicial officer. Documents which require leave of court shall be attached as an exhibit to the motion for leave to file as set out in Section IV(B). If the court grants the motion, the attorney must electronically file an exact duplicate of the attachment. Attachments and exhibits larger than 10 megabytes may be filed electronically in separate 10 megabyte segments. Documents and exhibits which cannot be produced in digital format may be filed in paper format with conventional service on opposing counsel. Lengthy documents submitted to the Clerk’s office in paper form shall not be bound or stapled or paper clipped, but rather, shall be held together by removable spring binding clips. The filing party must additionally file an electronic notice of filing of paper documents in the CM/ECF system. The Clerk’s office shall not maintain a paper court file in any case begun after the effective date of these procedures except as otherwise provided in these procedures. The official court record shall be the electronic file maintained on the court’s servers. The official record shall include, however, any conventional documents or exhibits filed in accordance with these procedures. 7. For all filings electronic or conventional, the style of the criminal case number on the face of the document shall read as follows: [Division#]:[2-digit year]-cr-[case #][Initials of presiding judge][Initials of referral judge] Division numbers: 1-Eastern, 2-Southern, 3-Northwestern, 4-Middle, 5-Northeastern, 6-Jasper, 7-Western For example, 2:04-cr-500-LSC-SGC is the court’s 500th criminal case filed in 2004. The case was filed in the Southern Division and is assigned to Judge Coogler and referred to Magistrate Judge Cornelius. The system will read case number with or without dashes and will find the case with only the year and number. 7 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 8. Pursuant to the policy set forth in Rule 13 of the Model Local Rules for Electronic Case Filing, endorsed by the Judicial Conference in October 2005, a hyperlink contained in a filing is no more than a convenient mechanism for accessing material cited in a document. A hyperlink reference is extraneous to a filed document and is not a part of the court’s record. In order to preserve the integrity of the court record, users wishing to insert hyperlinks in court filings shall continue to use the conventional citation method for the cited authority, in addition to the hyperlink. Hyperlinks are only permissible for legal references and citations and are not to include advertisements. The court may direct the Clerk to strike any pleading which contains an inappropriate hyperlink. 9. Filing a Document Containing Redactions Unless redacted properly, redactions in pdf documents can be revealed using Adobe Acrobat Pro, even after the document has been filed electronically in the CM/ECF system. Adobe provides an overview of how to redact link: documents and remove sensitive https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/removing-sensitive-content-pdfs.html information at the following Here is an additional link for assistance with handling redactions in a pdf document: https://lawyerist.com/how-to-redact-a-pdf/ To properly make redactions that cannot be revealed, use the following steps: First, open the document you wish to redact in Acrobat Pro, go to the Tools menu, then select Redact. Doing so will bring up the redaction tools when you return to your document. Select Mark for Redaction and Adobe will remind you that redacting is a two-step process. In the document, highlight the text you want to redact and Acrobat will outline it in red. Then click Apply to redact the highlighted text. Acrobat will ask if you are sure you want the material redacted. If so, click OK. The second step of the two-step process is to remove metadata regarding the redacted text. After you click OK, Acrobat will then ask you if you want to find and remove any other hidden information. You should always say Yes to this. Acrobat is asking if you want to remove the metadata, and you always want to remove the metadata. Alternatively, to assure that redactions cannot be revealed once a document is filed in CM/ECF, the document should be printed and the redactions made with a black marker. The marked document can then be scanned and the resulting pdf can be filed in CM/ECF. 8 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 B. SERVICE 1. 2. 3. 4. Whenever a pleading or other paper is filed electronically in accordance with these procedures, the System shall generate a NEF to the filing party and to any other party who is a registered user and has requested electronic notice in that case.3 (a) If the recipient is a registered participant in the System, the System’s emailing of the NEF shall be the equivalent of service of the pleading or other paper by hand delivery. (b) Service of the NEF on a party who is not a registered participant in the System may be accomplished by email, subject to the additional service requirements of paragraph B(3) below. A certificate of service on all parties entitled to service or notice is still required when a party files a document electronically. The certificate must state the manner in which service or notice was accomplished on each party so entitled. Sample language for a certificate of service is attached to these procedures as Form A. A party who is not a registered participant of the System is entitled to a paper copy of any electronically filed pleading, document, or order. The filing party must therefore provide the non-registered party with the pleading, document, or order according to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. When mailing paper copies of documents that have been electronically filed, the filing party must include the NEF to provide the recipient with proof of the filing. A filer who elects to bring a document to the Clerk’s office for scanning and uploading to the System due to technical difficulties, must serve conventional copies on all non-registered parties to the case. Some delay in the uploading and subsequent electronic noticing of the document may be expected. If time of receipt by opposing counsel is an issue, filers should consider paper service or notice by an alternate means on registered parties, such as email or fax. C. SIGNATURES AND AFFIDAVITS 1. A pleading or other document requiring an attorney’s signature shall be signed personally if submitted in paper format or signed in electronic format 3To determine whether another party is a registered user, the filer can select the System’s “Utilities” category, and then click on “Mailing Information for a Case” on the pull-down menu. The filer then enters the case number and the System information will appear, stating whether or not the filer must mail a copy or if the System will electronically generate one. 9 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 with digital signature or “s/(attorney name).” The correct format for an attorney signature is as follows: [or electronic signature] s/E. Cape Able Able Attorney Bar Number: 12345 Attorney for (Government/Defendant) ABC Law Firm 123 Biscuit Street Birmingham, Alabama 35203 Telephone: (205) 123-4567 Fax: (205) 123-7654 Email: [email protected] 2. Documents that must contain original signatures, such as affidavits, contracts, bonds, etc., or which require either verification or an unsworn declaration under any rule or statute, shall be filed electronically with originally executed copies maintained by the filer. The electronic filing must include a certificate that the filer currently holds the original signature document complete with all the legal formalities. The pleading or other document electronically filed shall indicate a signature, e.g., “s/Jane Doe,” or the original may be scanned and electronically filed in the ECF System. The filing party or attorney shall retain the hard copy of the document containing the original signatures for at least one (1) year after expiration of all time periods for appeals, or resolution of appeals, whichever is later. 3. In the case of a stipulation or other document to be signed by two or more persons, the following procedure should be used: Documents requiring signatures of more than one party shall be filed by submitting a scanned document containing all necessary signatures. D. FEES PAYABLE TO THE CLERK Any fee required for filing a pleading or paper in District Court is payable to the Clerk of the Court by check, money order, or cash. The Clerk’s office will document receipt of fees on the docket with a text-only entry. The court will not maintain electronic billing or debit accounts for lawyers or law firms. E. ORDERS 1. The assigned judge or the Clerk’s office shall electronically file all signed orders. Any order signed electronically has the same force and effect as if the judge’s signature was affixed to a paper copy of the order and it had been entered on the docket conventionally. 10 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 2. 3. The court will fax or mail copies of orders entered electronically to pro se parties who are not registered participants of the CM/ECF System. Submitting Proposed Orders Proposed orders may be electronically submitted directly to chambers as an attachment to an email and not submitted electronically through the court’s CM/ECF System. The email should include the case number and style in the subject line. Attorneys are encouraged to send proposed orders directly to chambers in Word or WordPerfect format. Special email addresses for each judge are listed on the court’s website. If the judge approves the proposed order, it will be electronically signed and filed in CM/ECF by court staff. (a) A filing party moving for issuance of a writ, warrant, or summons should advise the judge if a prompt ruling is required. Any proposed writ or summons should be emailed directly to chambers in WordPerfect or Word format. (b) A motion to file documents under seal shall be made in the manner specified in paragraph III(A) of these procedures. 4. Filing Proposed Documents If leave of court is required before a party may file a document, the proposed document shall be attached as an exhibit to the motion requesting leave of court. If the court grants the motion, the attorney must file electronically an exact duplicate of the proposed document into the System. F. TITLE OF DOCKET ENTRIES The party electronically filing a pleading or other document shall be responsible for designating a docket entry title for the document by using one of the docket event categories prescribed by the court.4 G. CORRECTING DOCKET ENTRIES 1. Once a document is filed electronically and becomes part of the case docket, corrections to the docket are made only by the Clerk’s office. The System will not permit the filing party to make changes to the document(s) or docket entry filed in error once the transaction has been accepted and the Notice of Electronic Filing has been displayed. 4Readers may view the ACM/ECF Criminal Menu for Attorneys@ on the CM/ECF link on the court’s website: www.alnd.uscourts.gov. 11 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 2. 3. 4. A document incorrectly filed in a case may be the result of posting the wrong PDF file to a docket entry, selecting the wrong document type from the menu, or entering the wrong case number and not catching the error before the transaction is completed. The filing party should not attempt to re-file the document. As soon as possible after an error is discovered, the filing party should contact the Clerk’s office with the case number and document number for which the correction is being requested. If appropriate, the court will make an entry indicating that the document was filed in error. The filing party will be advised if the document needs to be re-filed. The Clerk will correct filing-process errors, such as errors related to case numbers, document-type selection, filing in the wrong case, and obviously erroneous filings, but will not remove or correct documents correctly filed in a case simply because counsel requests removal or correction for reasons unrelated to errors in the process of electronic filing. H. TECHNICAL FAILURES 1. 2. 3. The Clerk’s office shall deem the Northern District of Alabama CM/ECF site to be subject to a technical failure on a given day if the site is unable to accept filings continuously or intermittently over the course of any period of time greater than one hour after 10:00 a.m. that day. Scheduled maintenance outages of the system will be posted on the website prior to the outage. Technical problems encountered by the filer, such as phone line problems, problems with the filer’s Internet Service Provider (“ISP”), or hardware or software problems, will not constitute a technical failure under these procedures nor excuse an untimely filing. A filer who cannot file a document electronically because of his own technical problems may bring a disk to the Clerk’s office for filing. A filing party whose filing is made untimely as the result of a technical failure of the court’s CM/ECF site may seek relief from the court by filing an appropriate motion. 12 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 I. PRIVACY To address the privacy concerns created by Internet access, you should not include certain types of sensitive information in any document filed with the court unless such inclusion is necessary and relevant to the case. You must remember that any personal information not otherwise protected will be made available over the Internet via CM/ECF. If sensitive information must be included, the following five (5) personal data identifiers must be redacted from electronically filed documents, unless otherwise ordered by the court: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Social Security numbers. If an individual’s social security number must be included in a document, only the last four digits of that number should be used. Names of minor children. If the involvement of a minor child must be mentioned, only the initials of that child should be used. Dates of birth. If an individual’s date of birth must be included in a document, only the year should be used. Financial account numbers. If financial account numbers are relevant, only the last four digits of these numbers should be used. Addresses of Individuals. If the address of an individual is relevant, only the city and state should be used. In compliance with the E-Government Act of 2002, a party wishing to file a document containing the personal data identifiers specified above may file, with leave of court, an un-redacted document under seal. This document shall be retained by the court as part of the record. The court, however, will require a redacted version of the pleading to be filed electronically for the public file. Caution is recommended with regard to other personal identifiers, such as driver’s license, medical records, treatment and diagnosis, employment history, individual financial information, and proprietary or trade secret information. Counsel is strongly urged to share this information with all clients so that an informed decision about inclusion of materials may be made. It is the sole responsibility of counsel and the parties to ensure that redaction of personal identifiers is done. The Clerk will not review each pleading for compliance with the rule. 13 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 III. CONVENTIONAL FILING OF DOCUMENTS The following procedures govern documents filed conventionally. The court, upon application, may also authorize conventional filing of other documents otherwise subject to these procedures. A. DOCUMENTS TO BE FILED UNDER SEAL Before a document is filed under seal, the filing party first must obtain permission from a judicial officer by filing a motion or application seeking leave to file a sealed document. At the same time, the document(s) proposed to be sealed is to be submitted to the Clerk in conventional paper format with a PDF copy of the document(s) on a disk. A party must electronically file the motion or application for leave to file documents under seal, but the filer should not electronically attach the document(s) proposed to be sealed. A motion or application for leave to file documents under seal which is not filed electronically shall be presented in conventional paper format to the Clerk’s office, together with a PDF version of the motion and sealed document(s) on a disk, along with a proposed order in paper format. If the motion or application is granted, the assigned judge, or designee, will enter an order authorizing the filing of the document(s) under seal, and the Clerk will file electronically the PDF version of the sealed document(s). The filer should not undertake to electronically file the sealed document(s). Documents so filed will be available for viewing only by counsel in the case and court staff assigned to the presiding judicial officer(s). Counsel must serve copies of seal documents on opposing counsel by mail. B. PRO SE LITIGANTS Pro se litigants shall conventionally file paper originals of all pleadings, motions, affidavits, briefs, and other documents which must be signed or which require either verification or an unsworn declaration under any rule or statute. The Clerk’s office will scan and file the document electronically and retain the paper original. The official court record will be the electronic file maintained on the court’s servers. C. SERVICE OF CONVENTIONAL FILINGS A filer who files documents conventionally, pursuant to these Administrative Procedures, by bringing a document to the Clerk’s office for scanning and uploading to the System must serve conventional copies on all non-registered parties to the case in accordance with the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Some delay in the uploading and subsequent electronic noticing of the document may be expected. If time of receipt by opposing counsel is an issue, filers should serve paper copies on registered parties conventionally or by alternate means, such as email or fax. 14 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 D. RETENTION OF ORIGINALS OF DOCUMENTS REQUIRING SCANNING Originals of documents which have been scanned by counsel and filed electronically must be retained by the filing party and made available upon request to the court and other parties for a period of at least one (1) year following the expiration of all time periods for appeals, or resolution of appeals, whichever is later. E. COPY REQUIREMENT FOR OVERSIZE DOCUMENTS For all electronic filings of twenty-five (25) pages or more, counsel is required to supply one conventional (paper) copy of the filing to the Clerk of Court. Such paper copies of the documents are to be submitted to the Clerk’s office, not to chambers, within twenty-four hours after the electronic filing. The electronically filed document shall remain the official filing, and any discrepancy between it and the paper copy is resolved in favor of the electronically filed version. Some judges have waived this requirement with selected filings which can be determined by reviewing the judge’s personal webpage linked to the court’s webpage. F. WAIVERS OF ARRAIGNMENT A Waiver of Arraignment and Plea of Not Guilty as authorized by Rule 10(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, is not effective if filed electronically and will not excuse a defendant or counsel from appearing if notified to appear for arraignment. A waiver under Rule 10(b)(2) is not effective until accepted and approved by the court (Rule 10(b)(3 . A document styled as a Waiver is a legal nullity unless and until accepted by the court. The only circumstance under which a written Waiver of Arraignment and Plea of Not Guilty has been accepted by the court has involved a superseding indictment in which there has been no substantive change to the charge made against a waiving defendant. The Waiver of Arraignment and Plea of Not Guilty must be on a paper form provided directly to counsel by a judge of this court, and signed by both counsel and the defendant. The Waiver of Arraignment and Plea of Not Guilty is to be returned directly to the chambers of the judge providing the form, not filed with the Clerk of the Court. The waiver is valid only upon its acceptance by the court as certified by the judge=s signature on the same form which contains the original signatures of both the defendant and defendant=s counsel. No other method of waiver of arraignment and plea of not guilty pursuant to Rule 10 has been or will be accepted by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama without special order. IV. EXHIBITS A. ATTACHMENTS/EVIDENCE NOT IN SUPPORT OF A MOTION This section applies to exhibits other than those submitted in support of a motion. Exhibits submitted in support of a motion are governed by Section IV(B) of these procedures. 15 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Attachments and exhibits to documents which are too large to convert to a usable electronic format, such as books, large color pictures or old documents of poor quality, may be conventionally filed with the Clerk and served on opposing counsel. The conventional charging document or electronically filed document with exhibits must include a statement that the attachments and/or exhibits are being conventionally filed. Documents so filed shall be retained by the Clerk in accordance with the records management guide. If possible, a filing party should electronically image, i.e., “scan,” a paper exhibit that is fewer than 10 megabytes and submit the exhibit as a PDF file. Because PDF files containing scanned documents take up considerably more space on the System than PDF files containing electronically generated documents, filing parties may submit PDF files containing scanned documents of more than 10 megabytes only if they are filed in separate 10-megabyte segments. Electronically filed documents with large attachments and/or exhibits must attach an appendix clearly identifying the exhibits and attachments. Additionally, each PDF attachment of exhibits or evidence should clearly identify the content in the description field on the electronic filing. If the scanner is set to scan in color, documents will take much longer to upload; filing parties should configure their scanners to scan documents at 200 dpi and in black and white, not in color. Documents appearing in color in their original form, such as color photographs, may be scanned in color and then uploaded to the System. The filing party must verify the readability of scanned documents before filing them electronically with the court. Exhibits submitted conventionally shall be served on other parties conventionally. B. EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF OR IN OPPOSITION TO A MOTION 1. 2. A party electronically submitting evidentiary materials to the Clerk’s office in support of, or in opposition to, a motion shall reference the base motion being supported or opposed in the caption of the pleading and include as the first attachment an index listing each item of evidence being filed. Attachments and exhibits which are too large to file electronically shall be filed in accordance with Sections IV(A)(1)&(2). If possible, filing parties should electronically image, i.e., “scan,” a paper exhibit and attach the resulting PDF file(s) to the electronically filed motion if the attached files are no more than 10 megabytes each. Note that multiple files can be attached to a filing, so long as each does not exceed the 10 megabyte limitation. 16 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 Each separate file attachment must be clearly identified in the index of the attachment for easy recognition. If the scanner is set to scan in color, documents will take much longer to upload; filing parties should configure their scanners to scan documents at 200 dpi and in black and white, not in color. Documents appearing in color in their original form, such as color photographs, may be scanned in color and then uploaded to the System. The filing party is required to verify the readability of scanned documents before filing them electronically with the court. A party submitting evidentiary materials in conventional format shall also file in conventional format an index of evidence listing each item of evidence being filed and identifying the motion to which it relates. Lengthy documents submitted to the Clerk=s office in paper form shall not be bound or stapled or paper clipped, but rather, shall be held together by removable spring binding clips. Copies of conventionally filed supporting materials shall be served on other parties conventionally. 3. 4. 5. 6. C. TRIAL AND HEARING EXHIBITS Effective December 1, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit adopted changes to its Local Rules and Internal Operating Procedures that impact the manner in which trial or hearing exhibits are transmitted to the court of appeals in connection with appeals. For purposes of CM/ECF, there are three (3) important requirements: • • • “The district court clerk must include in the electronic record on appeal electronic versions of all documentary exhibits admitted into evidence at trial or any evidentiary hearing”; “If documentary exhibits have been sealed or marked confidential by the district court or the district court clerk, the district court clerk must transmit any such sealed or confidential documentary exhibits to this court either in their original form or in electronic form provided the electronic access is appropriately restricted,…”; and “As to non-documentary physical exhibits, the parties are required to include photographs or other reproductions of such exhibits in the electronic record on appeal.” 1. In order to comply with the Eleventh Circuit’s requirements, beginning December 1, 2016, counsel offering any documentary exhibit at a trial or 17 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 hearing must supply the courtroom deputy assigned to the trial or hearing a full, complete, and unaltered electronic version of each offered documentary exhibit, scanned or created in PDF format. (Counsel should refer to paragraph I(C)(2) of this Administrative Procedures Manual for specifications related to scanning and creating PDF-formatted files). To enable the courtroom deputy to electronically docket each separate exhibit, each exhibit shall be a separate PDF-formatted electronic file (i.e., trial or hearing exhibits should NOT be combined in one large PDF file). At the beginning of the trial or hearing, counsel must supply the courtroom deputy with a disk or other electronic medium on which such separate exhibit files have been stored so that the courtroom deputy may upload each such exhibit file to CM/ECF at the conclusion of the trial or hearing. The labeling of each electronic exhibit file must correspond to the exhibit number or other identification on the documentary exhibit. If counsel offers an exhibit for which he or she has not supplied an electronic version at the beginning of the trial or hearing, counsel shall provide such an electronic version before the end of the proceeding. In the event counsel desires to keep an exhibit confidential or sealed, counsel should bring that to the attention of the court and the courtroom deputy so that appropriate docketing can occur. For every non-documentary physical exhibit, counsel must supply the courtroom deputy with one or more unaltered and unannotated photographs, drawings, diagrams, or other depictions of the exhibit, scanned or created in PDF format for electronic filing. Multiple photographs, drawings, diagrams, or depictions of the same physical exhibit may be combined into one PDF-formatted file, but separate electronic files will be provided for each separate exhibit. At the beginning of a trial or hearing, counsel shall provide the courtroom deputy with a disk or other electronic medium on which such PDF-formatted electronic files depicting physical exhibits have been stored. The courtroom deputy will upload and docket into CM/ECF the electronic files related to admitted exhibits at the conclusion of the trial or hearing. The labeling of each electronic exhibit file must correspond to the exhibit number or other identification on the physical exhibit. If counsel offers an exhibit for which he or she has not supplied an electronic depiction at the beginning of the trial or hearing, counsel shall provide such an electronic depiction before the end of the proceeding. Counsel may request that the court instruct the courtroom deputy to upload and docket a documentary exhibit or depictions of a physical exhibit not admitted into evidence by the court for purposes of preserving for appeal an 18 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 offer of proof as to such an exhibit, but such exhibit shall not be displayed to or revealed to the jury. V. PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE SYSTEM DOCKET A. PUBLIC ACCESS AT THE COURT Electronic access to the electronic docket and documents filed in the System is available at no charge at the Clerk’s office during regular business hours. A copy fee for an electronic reproduction is required in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1930. B. INTERNET ACCESS 1. 2. 3. Remote electronic access to the System for viewing purposes is limited to subscribers to the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (“PACER”) system. The Judicial Conference of the United States has ruled that a user fee will be charged for remotely accessing certain detailed case information, such as filed documents and docket sheets in criminal cases, but excluding review of calendars and similar general information.5 Until further order of the court, no one but an attorney of record may remotely view records in criminal cases. Public remote access will be limited to viewing docket sheets only. An exception to the prohibition on public remote access to criminal case filings is possible in a high-profile criminal case where the demand for documents will impose extraordinary demands on the court’s resources. The district court is authorized to provide Internet access to the documents filed in that case if all parties consent and the trial judge finds that such access is warranted. C. CONVENTIONAL COPIES AND CERTIFIED COPIES Conventional copies and certified copies of electronically filed documents may be purchased at the Clerk’s office. The fee for copying and certifying will be in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1914. 5According to a memorandum from the Administrative Office of the United States Courts dated April 9, 2002, non-judiciary CM/ECF users will be charged a fee of seven cents per page starting on July 1, 2002, to access electronic data such as docket sheets and case documents obtained remotely through the PACER system. The maximum charge per document is $2.10. The access fee does not apply to official recipients of electronic documents, i.e., parties legally required to receive service or to whom service is directed by the filer in the context of service under Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Official recipients will receive the initial electronic copy of a document free to download as they see fit, but if they remotely access the document again, they will be charged seven cents a page. 19 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 FORM ATTACHMENT 20 CM/ECF Administrative Procedures – Criminal 05-18-2021 FORM A S A M P L E F O R M A T IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA SOUTHERN DIVISION UNITED STATES OF AMERICA vs. Defendant. Case No. 2:04-cr-500-LSC-SGC CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on (Date), I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to the following: ____________________________________________, and I hereby certify that I have mailed by United States Postal Service the document to the following non-CM/ECF participants:_________ ______________________________. Respectfully submitted, s/[Name of Password Registrant] Name of Password Registrant Address City, State, Zip Code Phone: (xxx) xxx-xxxx Fax: (xxx) xxx-xxxx Email: [email protected] [attorney bar number, if applicable] 21