LEGIBILITY
(A) Electronic.
(1) Documents in civil and criminal cases will be filed, signed, and verified
by electronic means to the extent and in the manner authorized by the Court’s
Standing Order, In Re: Electronic Case Filing and Procedures, as contained in
Appendix H of these Local Rules. Documents filed electronically shall substantially
conform to the requirements of these Local Rules.
(2) Consistent with Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(d)(3)(D), a paper filed electronically
is a written paper for purposes of these Local Rules and the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure.
(3) Filing in the Court’s electronic case files (“ECF”) system constitutes
service of the filed documents on registered users. Parties who are not registered users
must be served with a copy of any pleading or other document filed electronically in
accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Federal Rules of Criminal
Procedure, and these Local Rules.
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(B) Paper.
(1) General. All pleadings, motions, notices, orders, and other documents,
including attachments hereto, if presented in paper, shall be presented for filing on
white opaque paper of good quality, eight and one-half (8 ½) inches by eleven (11)
inches in size, with writing appearing only on one side of the page.
(2) Paper Deposition Transcripts and Attachments. Paper deposition
transcripts and attachments to pleadings or motions filed in this Court are subject to
the restrictions set forth in LR 5.1(B)(1) above. In addition, paper deposition
transcripts filed in support of pleadings or motions may not be compacted or reduced
beyond one page of deposition per each page of exhibit.
(C) Type; Format. Pleadings, motions, and other documents presented to the Court
for filing must:
(1) be computer processed, typed or handprinted on one side of the page
only;
(2) be double-spaced between lines; and
(3) not be materially defaced by erasures or interlineations.
Computer documents must be prepared in one of the following fonts: Times
New Roman (at least 14 point), Courier New (at least 12 point), Century Schoolbook
(at least 13 point), or Book Antigua (at least 13 point). Typewriter prepared
documents must be prepared with no more than 10 characters per inch. Footnotes,
headings, and indented citations may be single-spaced.
(D) Margins. The top, bottom, left, and right margins of all pleadings, motions,
and other documents must be at least one inch.
(E) Numbering. All pages shall be numbered consecutively at the bottom center of
the page. Attachments to pleadings shall be numbered consecutively within the
attachment.
(F) Citations. When Acts of Congress or sections thereof are cited, counsel shall
include the corresponding United States Code citation. When citing regulations,
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counsel shall give all Code of Federal Regulations references and the date of
promulgation. All citations shall include the specific page or pages upon which the
cited matters appear.
(G) Identification of Counsel. Every pleading, motion, and other document
presented for filing by counsel must include the attorney’s name, complete address
(including post office box or drawer number and street address), telephone number,
email address, and bar number.
(H) Civil Cover Sheet. The attorney filing the complaint shall prepare and submit
to the clerk of court the civil cover sheet which is available at the public filing counter.
(I) Flat Filing. All documents presented to the clerk or judge for filing shall be flat
and unfolded and firmly bound at the top.
(J) Captions on Pleadings. All pleadings presented to the clerk or judge for filing
must bear specific pleading designations, in accordance with the nomenclature set
forth in Fed. R. Civ. P. 7. When a document contains multiple pleadings, e.g., an
answer to a complaint and a counterclaim or crossclaim, all pleadings contained in the
document must be included in the caption on the first page of the document.
Generalized captions, such as "Responsive Pleadings," will not be accepted for filing.
(K) Civil Case Numbers. A civil case filed in this Court shall be assigned a case
number which will identify it as a civil case, designate the division, the year and the
numerical sequence in which the case was filed, and include a three-initial suffix
which will identify the district judge to whom the case is assigned. All documents
presented to the clerk or judge for filing and all case-related correspondence shall have
typed thereon the assigned civil case number which includes a three-initial suffix. Any
document presented for filing which does not reflect the complete civil case number
as described herein will not be accepted for filing.
(L) Pleadings Filed by Attorneys Appearing Pro Hac Vice.
Refer to LR 83.1(B)(4).
