Temporary Restraining Orders and Preliminary Injunctions

(a) Procedure for Hearing. In most cases, the Court will not hear or rule on any motion for a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction until after the Court holds an informal preliminary conference with all parties to determine what additional proceedings are necessary. The movant shall obtain, from the office of the Judge to whom the action is assigned, a date and time for the informal conference and shall immediately notify counsel for the adverse party, if known, or if not known, the adverse party, that the application has been filed or is to be filed and the date, time, and location of the conference. The trial attorney shall also comply with the service requirements of subsection (b).

(b) Form of and Service of Motions. Motions for temporary restraining orders or preliminary injunctions shall be made in pleadings separate from the complaint and in accordance with this Rule. Motions shall be accompanied by a certificate of the trial attorney or other proof satisfactory to the Court that: (1) the motion and all other filings in the action have been served upon the adverse party’s attorney, if known, or if not known, then the adverse party; (2) reasonable efforts to accomplish the service of the motion and other filings have been made; or (3) the reasons, in affidavit form, why such service cannot or need not be made or be required. (c) Absence of Assigned Judge.

In the event that the Judge to whom the action is assigned is not reasonably available to act upon a motion that requires immediate attention, the movant shall request the Clerk to assign the matter, temporarily, to another Judge who is available and who consents to hear the matter. The assignment of any matter in this manner shall not constitute a permanent reassignment of the action from the originally assigned Judge. 66.1 : Election-Related Matters This Rule is to ensure, to the extent practicable, that parties do not use the CM/ECF case- assignment system to direct a particular matter to, or away from, a specific Judicial 28 Officer and to enhance transparency with regard to Election-Related Matter case assignments. (a) Scope of Rule.

An “Election-Related Matter” includes, without limitation, matters directed at polling place procedures, ballot tabulation procedures or methodologies, or voter registration or ballot access issues. For purposes of this Rule, a matter will be designated as an Election-Related Matter if it is (1) a matter filed in which the filing party has indicated the filing in CM/ECF is an election-related issue, or (2) a matter in which any form of preliminary injunctive relief is sought and which involves election-related issues, even if the filing is not identified as election-related in CM/ECF. (b) Assignment of Election-Related Matters. For an Election-Related Matter, normal CM/ECF and case management policies and procedures will be modified as follows: (1) Each Election-Related Matter designated as such at the time of filing will be assigned to a District Judge per the standard CM/ECF random-assignment process.

(2) Local Rule 3.1(b) will not apply to Election-Related Matters, and the presumption will be that an Election Related Matter will remain with the Judicial Officer to whom the case was originally assigned.