(a) Registry Deposits. All funds to be deposited with the Court, with the
exception of criminal cash bail, cost bonds, and civil garnishments, shall be
deposited in accordance with the provisions of Rule 67, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2041-2042,
and any other applicable law.
(b) Order and Directions for Deposit. Any party depositing money into the
Court must serve the Clerk with a Court order and notice in accordance with
the provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 67. The order must specify the amount to be
deposited. If the Clerk is not served with an order in accordance with this Rule
upon tender of the monies to be deposited, the Clerk will deposit funds into the
Court’s non-interest-bearing registry account until further order of the Court
directing how to invest the funds.
(c) Non-Interest Bearing Deposits. Cost bonds, and other bonds in the form
of cash, such as admiralty cost bonds, injunction cost bonds, and supersedeas
bonds, are not subject to Fed. R. Civ. P. 67, nor are civil garnishment payments.
Funds not subject to Rule 67 will not be deposited in interest bearing accounts,
except on the special order of the Court. These funds, when received, will be
deposited into the registry of the Court. Payments received on garnishments
will be deposited into the Court’s general deposit fund.
(d) Investment of Registry Funds.
(1) Court Registry Investment System (CRIS). Where, by order of the
Court, funds on deposit with the Court are to be placed in some form of
interest-bearing account, the Court Registry Investment System administered
through the Administrative Office of the United States Courts will be the only
investment mechanism authorized.
(2) Custodian for CRIS. The Director of the Administrative Office of the
United States Courts is designated as custodian for the CRIS. The Director or
the Director’s designee will perform the duties of custodian. Funds held in
the CRIS remain subject to the control and jurisdiction of the Court.
(3) Pooling and Investing of Funds. Money from each case deposited in
the CRIS will be “pooled” together with those on deposit with the Treasury to
the credit of other Courts in the CRIS and used to purchase Government
Account Series securities through the Bureau of Public Debt, which will be
held at the Treasury, in an account in the name and to the credit of the
Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. The pooled
funds will be invested in accordance with the principles of the CRIS
Investment Policy approved by the Registry Monitoring Group.
(4) Minor’s Fund. A Minors’ Fund is established within CRIS to invest
post-adjudication deposits held on behalf of minors until their age of majority,
which is often longer than one hundred (100) days. The fund improves the
match between investment holdings and the length of time each minor’s case
remains invested, thereby capitalizing on higher-yielding securities. Minor’s
funds deposited with the Court shall be identified in a movant’s motion to
deposit sum of money and must include the estimate of the future withdrawal
date and the date the minor reaches the age of majority.
(5) Individual Accounts. An account for each case will be established in
the CRIS titled in the name of the case giving rise to the investment in the
fund. Income generated from fund investments will be distributed to each
case based on the ratio each account’s principal and earnings have to the
aggregate principal and the income total in the fund. Reports showing the
interest earned and the principal amounts contributed in each case will be
prepared and distributed to each Court participating in the CRIS and made
available to litigants and their counsel.
(e) Disbursement of Funds. Funds deposited by the Clerk in accordance
with this Rule will be disbursed only with prior order signed by a Judge of this
Court. Funds will not be disbursed until counsel has furnished to the Clerk, in
writing, the social security number or tax identification number of any and all
recipients of more than ten dollars ($10.00) of the interest accrued. In any case
proceeding before a Magistrate Judge by consent of all parties under 28 U.S.C. §
636(c), the Magistrate Judge may order disbursement of funds from the registry
of this Court in accordance with applicable law.
(f) Designated Fiduciary Officers. The Clerk and Chief Deputy Clerk are
the fiduciary officers of this Court and have the authority to sign account checks
and/or withdrawal slips from CRIS accounts.
(g) Fees Assessed on Accounts. Under the authority of 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914
and 1930, the Clerk, whose fee schedules are set by the Judicial Conference of
the United States, will assess a fee for the handling of all funds deposited with
the Court in non-criminal proceedings and held in CRIS accounts pursuant to
28 U.S.C. § 2041 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 67.
