COMMENCEMENT OF AN ACTION

(a) Payment of Fees. The filing fee shall be paid to the clerk upon filing the complaint. All complaints shall be accompanied by a properly completed Civil Cover Sheet (Form JS-44), and Category Sheet which are available from the clerk and from the court’s website at, www.prd.uscourts.gov. Except as otherwise required by law or ordered by the court, the clerk shall not docket any filing, issue any process, or render any other service for which a fee is prescribed by statute or by the Judicial Conference of the United States, unless the fee is prepaid or in forma pauperis status has been granted.

(b) In Forma Pauperis Applications. (1) All Applications. All applications to proceed in forma pauperis shall be accompanied by a financial affidavit which shall disclose the applicant’s income pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915, assets, expenses, and liabilities, and shall be submitted in the forms approved by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts or provided by the clerk, or in a format substantially conforming to those forms and these Rules. The court may require applicants who are not incarcerated to file an additional affidavit or produce additional information relevant to the applicant’s financial ability to pay the full filing fee.

(2) Applications by Incarcerated Persons. Incarcerated persons shall also submit, for the prior six-month period, certified by the institution or entity, a copy of the trust fund account statement (or institution equivalent) showing the average monthly deposits to, and the average monthly balance in, the applicant’s account. 28 U.S.C. § 1915 requires an inmate to pay the full filing fee when bringing a civil action. If insufficient funds exist in the inmate’s account, the Court may assess an initial partial filing fee.

(3) Litigation Expenses. The granting of an application to proceed in forma pauperis does not waive the applicant’s responsibility to pay the expenses of litigation which are not waived by 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915 and 1925. -4- (c) Forms of Complaint Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and Prisoner Petitions Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241, 2254 or 2255. in Social Security Actions, Civil Rights Cases (1) In any action based upon social security claims, employment discrimination, and non-prisoner or prisoner civil rights, or any other civil matter, in which a plaintiff files pro se (which means without assistance of an attorney), the complaint should be filed on the forms provided in the Clerk’s office or found on the court’s web site at www.prd.uscourts.gov. (2) Habeas corpus petitions filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241, 2254, and 2255, and cases filed pursuant to the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, shall be filed on forms available from the clerk, or found on the court’s website at www.prd.uscourts.gov. Section 2255 cases shall be filed without charge.

(3) A petition not filed on the appropriate form shall be subject to the issuance of a notice of defective filing by the clerk. Failure to correct the filing by using the appropriate form within thirty (30) days from the notice of defective filing will cause the case to be submitted for final disposition by the court. The statute of limitations shall be tolled during that period. in (4) An indigent pro se plaintiff or petitioner (28 U.S.C. §§ 2241 or 2254) may seek in forma pauperis status to file his or her action without payment of fees by filing the form affidavit available the court’s website at the clerk’s office or found on www.prd.uscourts.gov, along with the complaint or petition. The case will be given a civil docket number and the in forma pauperis application will be submitted to the judge to whom the case has been assigned.

If the judge denies in forma pauperis status, the plaintiff or petitioner will be given notice by written order that the case will be dismissed without prejudice if the fee is not paid by the date specified in the order. -5- RULE 3A ASSIGNMENT, REASSIGNMENT OF CASES AND CALENDAR CONFLICTS (a) Assignment and Reassignment in General; Case Assignment System. (1) The clerk shall assign cases to judges by lot, using the computerized case assignment system, in such manner that each judge shall be assigned an equal number of cases by category. (2) Transfer of Cases. In the interest of justice, consolidation of cases, recusals, or to further the efficient performance of the business of the court, a judge may return a case to the clerk for reassignment, whether or not the case is related to any other case, or may transfer the case to another judge if the receiving judge consents to the transfer.

The clerk shall reassign a returned case using the computerized case assignment system and shall add an additional card in the assignment deck to the judge who returned the case. (b) Related Cases. Upon filing, a party must indicate whether a case is related to a pending case by listing the title and number of the related action in the category sheet. An action is deemed related to another if: (1) both actions involve the same parties and are based on the same or a similar claim; (2) both actions involve the same property, transaction, or event; or, (3) both actions involve similar questions of fact and the same question of law and their assignment to the same district judge is likely to effectuate a substantial saving of judicial effort.

(c) Special Assignments. (1) Matters and Proceedings Requiring Immediate Action. If the judge to whom a case has been assigned is unavailable or otherwise unable to hear a matter which requires immediate action, the clerk shall inform the chief judge or his or her designee, who shall make a special assignment to hear the matter. The specially assigned judge will dispose of the matter only to the extent necessary to meet the immediate need.

Proceedings in the case will thereafter be in the care of the judge to whom the case was originally assigned. -6- (2) Cases Remanded from the First Circuit Court of Appeals. A case remanded for further proceedings following a vacation or remand of any pretrial order or judgment shall be assigned to the judge who acted in the matter, unless otherwise ordered by the court of appeals. (3) Unanticipated Crowding of the Docket; Emergencies. In the event of an unanticipated crowding of the docket that unexpectedly strains the institutional resources of the court, or in the event of an emergency, and in order to manage the court’s calendar fairly and efficiently, the chief judge, upon consultation with the district judges, may order the reassignment or transfer of cases in the court’s docket, superseding the computerized case assignment system and the method of assignment, reassignment, and transfer of cases set forth in these Rules.

(4) Calendar Conflicts Amongst Judges. a. Order of Precedence. All actions and proceedings before the court are subject to the following order of precedence: i. trials shall take precedence over all other hearings; ii. jury trials shall take precedence over non-jury trials; iii. criminal cases shall take precedence over civil cases; iv. criminal cases involving defendants in custody shall take precedence over other criminal cases; v. among criminal cases not involving defendants who are in custody, the case having the earliest docket number shall take precedence over the others; vi. among civil cases, the case having the earliest docket number shall take precedence over the others. b. Notice by Counsel. When there is a conflict between court appearances, counsel shall notify each judge involved in writing not later than seven (7) days after receipt of the notice giving rise to the conflict. The motion shall indicate the names and docket numbers of each case, and the date and time of the hearings.

The case(s) not having precedence will be rescheduled. -7-