Local Rules by Courts of Appeals

(a) Amendment-Notice and Opportunity for Comment. These rules may be amended by the court as provided herein. The court will give notice and opportunity for comment as provided in this rule with respect to any proposed changes in these rules except where emergency or other conditions render it impractical or unnecessary. (b) Proposal for Change.

Any person may propose a change in these rules by submitting a written suggestion to the court or to its Advisory Committee on Procedures. (c) Notice of Proposed Amendment by Court. Upon consideration of a proposal from any person or from the Advisory Committee on Procedures, or upon its own motion, the court will, whenever necessary or appropriate, give notice of a proposed change in these rules. Such notice will consist of the text of the proposed change, or a description of the subjects and issues involved, together with a brief explanation of the purpose of the proposal.

The notice will be made public as follows: (1) by posting a copy on the bulletin board next to the public counter in the clerk’s office and on the court’s web site; Rule 47 (2) by delivering a copy to The Daily Washington Law Reporter for publication; (3) by sending a copy to the chair of the Advisory Committee on Procedures; (4) by sending copies to: (A) the president of the District of Columbia Bar; (B) the president of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia; (C) the president of the Washington Bar Association; (D) the president of the Women's Bar Association; (E) the presidents of any nationwide bar associations, local chapters of nationwide bar associations, or other voluntary groups of lawyers or citizens that notify the clerk of this court in writing that they wish to receive copies of these notices. (d) Comments by Public and Advisory Committee on Procedures. The notice will specify a period of not less than 45 days from the date of its publication in The Daily Washington Law Reporter within which any person may submit written comments on the proposed changes to the Advisory Committee on Procedures. That committee must give consideration to all written comments timely received and within 45 days from the close of the comment period transmit to this court its recommendations with respect to the proposal and the written comments it has received.

(e) Final Action by Court. Following receipt of the committee's recommendation, this court may determine that the proposed change should be adopted, that it should be amended and adopted, or that it should be withdrawn. The court will publish notice of its final action respecting the proposal, including the effective date of any change in these rules, in the manner provided in paragraph (c). (f) Publication of Amendments Made Without Opportunity for Comment.

If an amendment to these rules is made without notice or opportunity for comment, it will be made public in the manner provided in paragraph (c). Such publication will state the effective date of the amendment, which may not be earlier than the date of publication. Rule 47 Circuit Rule 47.1 Matters Under Seal (a) Case with Record Under Seal. Any portion of the record that was placed under seal in the district court or before an agency remains under seal in this court unless otherwise ordered.

Parties and their counsel are responsible for assuring that materials under seal remain under seal and are not publicly disclosed. (b) Agreement to Unseal. In any case in which the record in the district court or before an agency is under seal in whole or in part and a notice of appeal or petition for review has been filed, each party must promptly review the record to determine whether any portions of the record under seal need to remain under seal on appeal. If a party determines that some portion should be unsealed, that party must seek an agreement on the unsealing.

Such agreement must be presented promptly to the district court or agency for its consideration and issuance of an appropriate order. (c) Motion to Unseal. A party or any other interested person may move at any time to unseal any portion of the record in this court, including confidential briefs or appendices filed under this rule. On appeals from the district court, the motion will ordinarily be referred to the district court, and, if necessary, the record remanded for that purpose, but the court may, when the interests of justice require, decide that motion, and, if unsealing is ordered, remand the record for unsealing.

Unless otherwise ordered, the pendency of a motion under this rule will not delay the filing of any brief under any scheduling order. (d) Briefs Containing Material Under Seal. (1) Two Sets of Briefs. If a party deems it necessary to refer in a brief to material under seal, 2 sets of briefs must be filed which are identical except for references to sealed materials.

One set of briefs must bear the legend "Under Seal" on the cover, and each page containing sealed material must bear the legend "Under Seal" at the top of the page. The second set of briefs must bear the legend "Public Copy-Sealed Material Deleted" on the cover, and each page from which material under seal has been deleted must bear a legend stating "Material Under Seal Deleted" at the top of the page. The party must file the original and 6 copies of the sealed brief and the original and 8 copies of the public brief. Both sets of briefs must comply with the remainder of these rules, including Circuit Rule 32(e) on length of briefs.

(2) Service. Each party must be served with 2 copies of the public brief and 2 copies of the brief under seal, if the party is entitled to receive the material under seal. See, e.g., Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e). (3) Non-availability to the Public.

Briefs filed with the court under seal are available only to authorized court personnel and will not be made available to the public. Rule 47.1 (e) Appendices Containing Matters Under Seal. (1) Sealed Supplement to the Appendix; Number of Copies. If a party deems it necessary to include material under seal in an appendix, the appendix must be filed in 2 segments.

One segment must contain all sealed material and bear the legend "Supplement-Under Seal" on the cover, and each page of that supplement containing sealed material must bear the legend "Under Seal" at the top of the page. The second appendix segment must bear the legend "Public Appendix-Sealed Material in Separate Supplement" on the cover; each page from which material under seal has been deleted must bear the legend "Material Under Seal Deleted" at the top of the page. The party must file 7 copies of the sealed supplement and 7 copies of the public appendix. (2) Service; Number of Copies.

Each party must be served with one copy of the public appendix and one copy of the sealed supplement, if the party is entitled to receive the material under seal. See, e.g., Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e). (3) Non-availability to the Public. Supplements to appendices filed with the court under seal are available only to authorized court personnel and will not be made available to the public.

(f) Disposal of Sealed Records. (1) In any case in which all or part of the record of this court (including briefs and appendices) has been maintained under seal, the clerk will, in conjunction with the issuance of the mandate (or the entry of the final order, in a case in which no mandate will issue), order the parties to show cause why the record (or sealed portions) should not be unsealed. If the parties agree to unsealing, the record will be unsealed by order of the court, issued by the clerk. No order to show cause will be issued in cases where the nature of the materials themselves (e.g., grand jury materials) makes it clear that unsealing would be impermissible.

If the parties do not agree to unsealing, the order to show cause, and any responses thereto, will be referred to the court for disposition. (2) Any record material not unsealed pursuant to this rule will be designated "Temporary Sealed Records," and transferred to the Federal Records Center under applicable regulations. The records will be returned to the court for reconsideration of unsealing after a period of 20 years. (3) The court may, on its own motion, issue an order to show cause and consider the unsealing of any records in the court's custody, at any time.

(4) Counsel to an appeal involving sealed records must promptly notify the court when it is no longer necessary to maintain the record or portions of the record under seal. Rule 47.1 Circuit Rule 47.2 Certain Expedited Proceedings (a) Appeal Expedited by Statute and Habeas Corpus Proceeding. Upon filing a notice of appeal in a case invoking 18 U.S.C. § 3145, 18 U.S.C. § 3731, 28 U.S.C. chapter 153, 28 U.S.C. § 1826, or 28 U.S.C. § 1657, the clerk of the district court must transmit a copy of the notice of appeal and a certified copy of the docket entries to the clerk of this court forthwith. The clerk of this court will promptly open the appeal and enter an appropriate schedule upon the docket.

If a hearing occurred, appellant must order the necessary portions of the transcript on an expedited basis and make arrangements with the clerk of the district court for prompt transmittal of the record to this court. A party desiring more expedited briefing than the schedule entered by the clerk, or expedited oral argument, should file a motion stating the basis for the requested relief. (b) Sentencing Appeal Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3742; Compassionate Release Appeal Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582. (1) In an appeal from a sentence or an appeal in a compassionate release case, the court may, where appropriate or upon motion, establish an expedited schedule for briefing or a schedule for memoranda of law and fact in lieu of briefs.

(2) The memoranda and the reply must comply with FRAP 27(d)(1)-(2). Except by permission or direction of this court, the memoranda of law and fact may not exceed the length limits set by FRAP 27(d)(2), exclusive of pages containing the certificate required by Circuit Rule 28(a)(1). For the government, any disclosure statement required by FRAP 26.1(b) must be filed with its memorandum of law and fact, unless the statement has been filed previously with the court. An original and 4 copies of the memoranda and the reply must be filed.

(3) The memoranda need not contain a table of authorities, a statement of jurisdiction, or a summary of argument. (4) The filings will be placed in the public record. Parties should avoid matters that could compromise the confidentiality of the presentence report. Where inclusion of confidential matters is unavoidable, the party should move to have the nonpublic portion of the submission placed under seal.

(5) Where the court is reviewing both sentence and conviction in the same proceeding, the rules set out above, except for Circuit Rule 47.2(b)(4), will not apply. Rule 47.2 Circuit Rule 47.3 Judicial Conference (a) Purpose. In accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 333, the Chief Circuit Judge may summon annually or biennially a conference of all circuit, district, bankruptcy, and magistrate judges of the circuit in active service for the purpose of considering the business of the courts and means to improve the administration of justice within the circuit. The conference will be called "the Judicial Conference of the District of Columbia Circuit." (b) Conference Arrangements and Procedures.

(1) The Chief Circuit Judge will appoint a committee to assist with the arrangements for the conference, including such matters as program topics, speakers, and related conference activities. The committee will include circuit judges, district judges, and members of the bar. (2) The Chief Circuit Judge presides at the conference. The Circuit Executive serves as conference secretary and will make and preserve a record of conference proceedings.

The Chief Circuit Judge may appoint other committees, if needed, to pursue or carry out conference actions. If necessary, the Chief Circuit Judge will appoint a judge to serve as conference parliamentarian. (c) Composition. In addition to the active circuit, district, bankruptcy, and magistrate judges of this circuit, others invited to participate in the conference must include: (1) the senior, inactive senior, recalled, and former circuit, district, bankruptcy, and magistrate judges; (2) the Circuit Executive; (3) the Clerks of Court for the circuit and district and bankruptcy courts; (4) the Circuit Librarian; (5) the Director of the Legal Division; (6) the Chief Circuit Mediator; (7) the Director of Workplace Relations; (8) the Chief Probation Officer; (9) the Chief Justice of the United States; (10) the chief judges of other courts in the District of Columbia, including both the federal courts and the courts of the District of Columbia; Rule 47.3 (11) the Attorney General of the United States; the Deputy Attorney General; the Associate Attorney General; the Solicitor General; and the Assistant Attorneys General in charge of the Antitrust, Civil, Civil Rights, Criminal, Environment and Natural Resources, National Security, and Tax Divisions; and the Assistant Attorneys General for the Office of Legal Policy, Office of Legal Counsel, and Office of Legislative Affairs; (12) the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the House Judiciary Committee; (13) the Federal Public Defender for the District of Columbia; (14) the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia; (15) the Director of the District of Columbia Public Defender Service; (16) the Attorney General of the District of Columbia; (17) the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts; (18) the Director of the Federal Judicial Center; (19) the deans of local law schools; (20) members of the bar in such numbers as will permit and promote participation by those engaged in the various fields of federal court practice; and (21) other individuals whose background, position, or achievement will contribute to the purpose and program of the conference.