UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
FOR FILING
ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS
FOR CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CASES
REVISIONS TO ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES AS OF APRIL 2025
III(A) IN GENERAL – REVISED SECTION AND UPDATED UPLOAD
FILE SIZE LIMIT Pg. 11
III(B) VOLUMINOUS EXHIBITS – REMOVED SECTION Pg. 11
III(C) JUDICIAL EVIDENCE RECORDING SYSTEM (JERS) -
RENUMBEREDD TO III(B) AND UPDATED UPLOAD FILE SIZE LIMIT Pgs. 11-12
Revised April 2025
Table of Contents
I. THE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM - GENERAL REQUIREMENTS ............... 1
A. FILING REQUIREMENTS................................................................................................ 1
B. GENERAL FILING INFORMATION ............................................................................... 2
C. PASSWORDS..................................................................................................................... 4
D. REGISTRATION ............................................................................................................... 4
E. SERVICE ............................................................................................................................ 4
F. SIGNATURES .................................................................................................................... 5
G. ORDERS ............................................................................................................................. 7
H. FEES ................................................................................................................................... 8
I. CORRECTING DOCKET ENTRIES ................................................................................ 8
J. TECHNICAL FAILURES .................................................................................................. 9
K. PRIVACY ........................................................................................................................... 9
II. DOCUMENTS UNDER SEAL ....................................................................................... 10
III. EXHIBITS AND ATTACHMENTS .............................................................................. 11
A. IN GENERAL ................................................................................................................... 11
B. JUDICIAL EVIDENCE RECORDING SYSTEM (JERS) .............................................. 12
Revised April 2025
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES FOR FILING, SIGNING, AND VERIFYING PLEADINGS
AND PAPERS BY ELECTRONIC MEANS
IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CASES
I. THE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM - GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
A. FILING REQUIREMENTS
The Court began accepting filings electronically through the Case
Management/Electronic Case Filing system (CM/ECF) on August 1, 2005. Effective
March 1, 2007, all documents 1 submitted for filing in this Court in all civil and criminal
cases, except those documents specifically exempted in Section I(A)(3) herein, must be
filed electronically (“e-filed”) using CM/ECF. Unless otherwise authorized by a judge of
this Court or by these procedures, documents to be filed in CM/ECF may be submitted in
the following ways:
1. IN ELECTRONIC FORM. A PDF 2 (“Portable Document Format”) document
may be uploaded to CM/ECF 3 by a registered attorney.
2. PRO SE FILERS. Pro se filers shall file paper originals of all complaints,
pleadings, motions, affidavits, briefs, and other documents that must be signed or
that require either verification or an unsworn declaration under any rule or statute,
unless otherwise authorized by the Court. The Clerk’s Office will scan original
documents to PDF for upload in CM/ECF.
3. DOCUMENTS REQUIRED TO BE FILED IN PAPER. The following
documents shall be filed in paper, i.e., filed conventionally, and not filed in
CM/ECF unless specifically authorized by the Court:
a. Documents filed by pro se litigants shall be filed conventionally, unless
otherwise authorized by the Court.
1
Documents include complaints, petitions, pleadings, motions, memoranda, briefs, exhibits, etc.
2
A document created with almost any word-processing program can be converted to PDF. The PDF program, in effect, takes a
picture of the original document and allows anyone to open the converted document across a broad range of hardware and software with
the layout, format, links, and images intact. For more information on PDF, visit the websites of pdf vendors such as
www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/ or www.fineprint.com/, or www.dopdf.com/.
3
Electronic filing or e-filing means uploading a document directly from the registered user’s computer and filing that document
with the Court by using the Court’s Internet-based CM/ECF System.
1
Revised April 2025
b. All charging documents in criminal cases such as indictments, superseding
indictments, criminal complaints, and bills of information shall be filed
conventionally.
c. Original Bench Books shall be filed conventionally, unless otherwise
ordered by the Court. Parties who are ordered to file Bench Books are to
only file the list of exhibits electronically. The original Bench Book shall
be promptly delivered to the Clerk’s Office.
d. Sealed documents in sealed cases must be filed in paper since electronic
access to sealed cases is unavailable.
B. GENERAL FILING INFORMATION
1. Filing. E-filings must be filed by a party’s attorney or an authorized employee of
the attorney’s office. Documents e-filed by anyone else on behalf of a party may
be stricken from the record.
2. Format. Any judge of this Court may order that any document presented to this
Court be maintained in either paper or electronic form, regardless of any other
provision of these Administrative Procedures.
3. File Date. E-filed documents will be deemed to be filed as of the date and time
stated on the Notice of Electronic Filing (“NEF”) issued by CM/ECF. Filing must
be completed prior to midnight, central time, to be considered timely filed. If the
time of day is of the essence, the assigned judge will order that document filed by
a time certain. Although parties may file documents electronically 24 hours a day,
filers are strongly encouraged to file all documents during the regular business
hours of the Clerk’s Office. Clerk’s Office Help Desk services are only available
during business hours.
4. Civil Complaints and Removals. Civil Complaints, Notices of Removal, and
Civil Case Cover Sheets shall be filed through CM/ECF and must be accompanied
by the applicable fee, payable by credit card online. The Civil Case Cover Sheet
shall be submitted in PDF format as an attachment to the Complaint or Notice of
Removal. When filing a Notice of Removal, copies of state court documents are e-
filed as attachments to the Notice of Removal. Each pleading should be submitted
as a separate attachment. Instructions for paying by credit card are provided in
Section I(H). A Notice of Removal may not be served utilizing CM/ECF due to a
CM/ECF functionality limitation which prevents the filer from associating email
addresses to parties for service at the time of filing. Instead, the filer must
conventionally serve copies on all parties to the case. NOTE: The filing date of a
new civil action occurs when the Complaint or Notice of Removal is filed in
CM/ECF using the proper filing event.
2
Revised April 2025
5. Summonses. When initiating a new civil proceeding or upon filing an amended
complaint, the filer shall electronically prepare the standard summons for a civil
proceeding and e-file it as an attachment to the e-filed Complaint or Amended
Complaint. Thereafter, the Clerk will electronically issue the summons and return
it to the party who submitted it.
General Order 2005-03 states that the Court may sign, seal, and issue a summons
electronically, although a summons may not be served electronically. Service of the
summons and complaint shall be in accordance with Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure.
6. Certificate of Interested Persons. In addition to the requirements of Rule 7.1 of
the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure applicable to non-governmental corporate
parties, Local Civil Rule 7.1 requires most parties to civil proceedings to file a
Certificate of Interested Persons using the approved text fillable form located at
https://www.lamd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/forms/LAMDCOIP.pdf. Only
parties in the custody of civil, state or federal institutions or parties filing cases pro
se are exempt from this requirement. The text fillable form must be flattened or
converted to a non-editable PDF before e-filing in CM/ECF.
7. Leave of Court. If leave of Court is required prior to e-filing, the attorney shall e-
file a copy of the proposed document as an attachment to the motion for leave of
court to file the document. If the Court grants the motion for leave of court, the
Clerk shall file the proposed document as ordered. No further action is required by
the attorney.
8. Consents to Proceed Before the Magistrate Judge. Consents to Proceed Before
the Magistrate Judge shall be e-filed, unless proceeding pro se or specifically
exempted by order of the Court, and provided consent of all parties has been
obtained and is so indicated by utilizing the procedures set forth in Section I(F)
relating to multiple signatures. E-filed partial consents will be stricken from the
record and partial consents received conventionally will not be filed in the record.
9. Official Court Record. The official Court record shall be the electronic file
maintained in the Court’s CM/ECF system.
10. System Generated Briefing Deadlines. CM/ECF generated briefing deadlines
(e.g., those that appear when a motion is e-filed or when querying deadlines) are
for Court use only and should not be relied upon as accurate briefing deadlines.
11. Hyperlinks. E-filed documents may contain hyperlinks to other portions of the
same document or hyperlinks to a location on the Internet that contains a source
document for a citation. Hyperlinks to a cited authority may not replace standard
citation form. Complete citations must be included in the text of the filed document.
Neither a hyperlink, nor any site to which it refers, shall be considered part of the
3
Revised April 2025
record. Hyperlinks are simply convenient mechanisms for accessing material cited
in a filed document. The Court accepts no responsibility and does not endorse, any
product, organization, or content at any hyperlinked site, or at any site to which the
site may be linked. The Court accepts no responsibility for the availability or
functionality of any hyperlink.
12. Amendment of Procedures. The Court may amend these procedures at any time
without prior notice.
C. PASSWORDS
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana upgraded to NextGen
CM/ECF effective Monday, July 30, 2018. Attorneys must link their CM/ECF account to
their Individual PACER account in order to e-file in CM/ECF.
1. An attorney shall be responsible for all documents e-filed with his or her password
and may file such documents only on behalf of the party he or she represents.
2. No attorney shall knowingly permit or cause his or her password to be utilized by
anyone other than an authorized employee of his or her office, and only on behalf
of his or her client.
3. If an attorney feels that the security of his or her password has been compromised
and the security of CM/ECF has been put at risk, the attorney must contact PACER
and change the password through PACER immediately.
4. Registration for a password is governed by Section I(D) below.
D. REGISTRATION
1. Attorneys admitted to the Middle District of Louisiana will receive instructions on
how to register to e-file with the Middle District through PACER.
2. An attorney may, for good cause shown, request by written motion a temporary
exemption from mandatory e-filing. If the exemption pertains to a specific case,
the motion should be filed in that case. If the exemption pertains to all cases before
the Court, current and future, the motion should be filed conventionally and will be
submitted to the Chief Judge.
E. SERVICE
1. When a document e-filed after the initial complaint is served electronically via
CM/ECF, no certificate of service is required when all parties are electronic filers.
4
Revised April 2025
2. When a document that is required to be served is served by means other than
CM/ECF, the document must include a certificate of service indicating the
document has been served on all parties contemporaneously with its filing with
the Court. The certificate of service must list each party on which the document
has been served and must identify the method of service upon each party.
3. As provided by Rule 5(b)(2)(E) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, if a
recipient is a registered user of the Court’s CM/ECF System 4, service is complete
when the document is e-filed. If the recipient is not a registered filer in the Court's
CM/ECF System, the filer must effect service on all parties in accordance with the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
4. Whenever a pleading or other document is filed conventionally, the filer must
serve conventional copies on all parties to the case.
5. Most sealed filings do not produce a Notice of Electronic Filing (“NEF”), and
therefore service by the filer of any sealed document must be in a conventional
manner and in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure
and the Local Rules.
6. Service of e-filed sealed documents must be made by means other than CM/ECF
because sealed documents cannot be accessed electronically.
F. SIGNATURES
1. Attorney Signatures
a. The user log-in and password required to submit documents in CM/ECF
serve as the e-filer’s signature on all electronic documents e-filed with the
Court. They also serve as a signature for purposes of Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 11, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of
Criminal Procedure, the local rules of this Court, and any other purpose for
which a signature is required in connection with proceedings before this
Court.
b. The e-filed pleading shall also include the filing attorney’s electronic
signature and contact information in the following format. Alternatively, in
place of “s/Attorney Name,” the attorney may submit a graphical
representation of the attorney’s signature in the space where the signature
would otherwise appear.
4 To determine whether another party is a registered Middle District CM/ECF user, the filer can select CM/ECF’s “Utilities”
category, click on “Mailing Information for a Case” on the pull-down menu, and enter the case number. CM/ECF will then list the
registered CM/ECF users in the case.
5
Revised April 2025
The correct format for an attorney signature is as follows:
s/ Attorney Name
Attorney Name
Attorney Bar Number
Law Firm Name
Address (street or box number, city, state & zip code)
Telephone Number
FAX number
Attorney Email Address
c. Any party challenging the authenticity of an e-filed document or the
attorney’s signature on that document must file an objection to the filing of
the document within 14 days from service of the document.
2. Non-Attorney Signatures, Generally. If the original document requires the
signature of a non-attorney, the filing party may scan the original document, and
then e-file using CM/ECF.
a. This rule includes all notarized documents.
b. Documents which require original signatures other than that of the e-filer
must be maintained in paper form by the e-filer for 1 year from the
expiration of all time periods for appeals.
c. A non-filing signatory or party who disputes the authenticity of an e-filed
document with a non-attorney signature or the authenticity of the signature
on that document must file an objection to the filing of the document within
14 days from service of the document.
d. A document containing the signature of a defendant in a criminal case
may, at the Court’s option, be filed either: 1) conventionally with an
original written signature or 2) e-filed as long as a document includes a
scanned image of the defendant’s original signature.
3. Multiple Signatures. The following procedure applies when a stipulation or other
document requires two or more attorney signatures (e.g., a joint motion):
a. The filing attorney of any document requiring more than one signature shall
file the document electronically indicating the signatories, (e.g., “s/Jane
Doe,” “s/John Smith,”) for each attorney’s signature or by scanning the
document containing the original signatures and uploading the scanned PDF
document.
6
Revised April 2025
b. By submitting such a document, the filing attorney certifies that each of the
other signatories has expressly agreed to the form and substance of the
document and that the filing attorney has their actual authority to submit the
document electronically. The filing attorney shall retain any records
evidencing this concurrence for future production, if necessary, until 1 year
from the expiration of all time periods for appeals.
c. A non-filing signatory or party who disputes the authenticity of an e-filed
document containing multiple signatures or the authenticity of the
signatures themselves must file an objection to the filing of the document
within 14 days from service of the document.
G. ORDERS
1. Signature by the Judge
a. Any order signed electronically by a judge shall have the same force and
effect as an order signed physically by the Judge. (See General Order 2005-
03).
b. When mailing paper copies of an e-filed order to a party who is not a
registered CM/ECF filer, the Clerk’s Office shall include the Notice of
Electronic Filing to provide the non-participant with proof of filing.
2. Text-Only Orders. The assigned judge or the Clerk’s Office, if appropriate, may
grant routine orders by a text-only entry upon the docket. In such instances, no
PDF document will issue, and a text-only docket entry shall constitute the Court’s
Order. A NEF will be provided to all parties in these instances.
3. Proposed Orders
a. A proposed order must bear a heading in compliance with Rule 10 of the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Local Civil Rule 10(a)(2) and must be
submitted as the last page of the e-filed motion or as an attachment to the e-
filed motion.
b. Proposed orders must also be emailed, in an editable word processing
format (e.g., Microsoft Word), and sent to the appropriate District Judge or
Magistrate Judge assigned to the case. The email subject line should contain
the case number of the motion filed electronically, which is the subject of
the proposed order. For example, “06-451.”
c. If a judge orders parties to submit a proposed judgment, it must be emailed,
in an editable word processing format, and sent to the appropriate District
Judge or Magistrate Judge assigned to the case. It is not to be filed in
7
Revised April 2025
CM/ECF. The email subject line should be entitled Proposed Judgment and
contain the case number and Judge’s initials. For example, “Proposed
Judgment - 06-451 SDD.”
d. The “Proposed Orders” email addresses for District Judges and Magistrate
Judges are as follows:
Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick:
[email protected]
Judge Brian A. Jackson:
[email protected]
Judge John W. deGravelles:
[email protected]
Mag. Judge Richard L Bourgeois:
[email protected]
Mag. Judge Erin Wilder-Doomes:
[email protected]
Mag. Judge Scott D. Johnson:
[email protected]
Clerk’s Office:
[email protected]
e. Routine communications or other inquiries may not be submitted to the
“Proposed Orders” email addresses for the District Judges, Magistrate
Judges, or Clerk’s Office. Any correspondence other than proposed orders
submitted to these email addresses shall be deleted.
H. FEES
1. All CM/ECF transactions that require payment shall be paid online on the same day
that the transaction is docketed.
2. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover credit cards will be accepted.
Automated Clearing House (ACH), i.e., Direct Debit, is also available.
3. Users will be automatically directed through the Department of the Treasury's
Internet payment process when filing any pleading which requires a fee. Once the
payment has been successfully completed, users will automatically return to the
filing process.
I. CORRECTING DOCKET ENTRIES
1. Once a document is e-filed, it becomes part of the case docket and corrections can
only be made by the Clerk’s Office. CM/ECF will not permit the filing party to
make changes to the document(s) or docket entry filed in error once the transaction
has been accepted and the Notice of Electronic Filing (“NEF”) has been sent. The
Clerk’s Office may correct a docketing error, but may not alter an e-filed document.
2. As soon as the e-filer discovers that an error has been made, the e-filer should
promptly contact the Clerk’s Office Help Desk at 1-866-558-6631 or 225-389-
3552. It is imperative that the e-filer have the case number and docket number
8
Revised April 2025
readily available and be prepared to provide a description of the error. Help Desk
hours are 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., excluding weekends and Federal Holidays.
3. An e-filer should not attempt to refile the document absent specific instruction to
do so from the Clerk’s Office or the Court.
J. TECHNICAL FAILURES
An e-filer whose filing is untimely due to a technical failure may seek formal relief from
the Court, as may be appropriate under the circumstances.
K. PRIVACY
1. To comply with the policy of the Judicial Conference of the United States and E-
Government Act of 2002 as amended on August 2, 2004, parties shall refrain from
including, or shall partially redact where inclusion is necessary, the following
personal data identifiers from all pleadings filed with the Court, including exhibits
thereto, whether filed electronically or conventionally, unless otherwise ordered
by the Court. (See General Order 2004-07).
a. Social Security Numbers: Use only the last four digits of the number.
b. Names of Minor Children: Use only the initials of the child.
c. Dates of Birth: Use only the year.
d. Financial Account Numbers: Use only the last four digits of the numbers.
e. Home Addresses: Use only the city and state.
2. In compliance with the E-Government Act of 2002, a party wishing to file a
document containing the personal identifiers specified above may do either of the
following:
a. File an unredacted version of the document under seal. This document
shall be retained by the Court as part of the record.
b. File a reference list under seal. The reference list shall contain the
complete personal data identifier(s) and the redacted identifier(s) used in its
(their) place in the filing. All references in the case to the redacted
identifiers included in the reference list will be construed to refer to the
corresponding complete personal data identifier. The reference list must be
filed under seal and may be amended. It shall be retained by the Court as
part of the record.
9
Revised April 2025
3. In addition, the filing party may omit or, where inclusion is necessary, partially
redact the following confidential information from all pleadings, documents, and
exhibits, whether filed electronically or on paper, unless the assigned judge orders
otherwise.
a. Personal identifying numbers, such as driver’s license number;
b. Medical records, treatment and diagnosis;
c. Employment history;
d. Individual financial information; and,
e. Proprietary or trade secret information.
4. The responsibility for redacting personal data identifiers rests solely with
counsel and the parties. The Clerk’s Office will not review documents for
compliance with this rule, nor take independent action to seal documents
containing personal identifier or to redact documents, whether filed electronically
or conventionally.
II. DOCUMENTS UNDER SEAL
Effective December 10, 2007, sealed documents shall be e-filed only in public cases. Sealed
documents in cases that are sealed must be filed conventionally. The following procedures govern
the filing of sealed documents.
A. Sealed documents require leave of Court before being filed. Therefore, a Motion For Leave
to File a Document Under Seal is e-filed and the proposed sealed document is submitted
as an attachment to the Motion for Leave to File a Document Under Seal. If the Court
grants the motion, the Clerk shall file the submitted document as ordered using the sealed
documents event (e.g., Sealed Motion, Sealed Brief, Sealed Document). No further action
is required by the attorney. NOTE: In civil cases, the Motion For Leave to File a
Document Under Seal docket entry and the other docket entries listed in Section II(B)
below are viewable on the docket sheet; however, the document itself is not viewable by
attorneys, case participants, or the public. In criminal cases, the Motion For Leave to File
a Document Under Seal docket entry and the other docket entries listed in Section II(B)
below are not viewable on the docket sheet and the document is not viewable by the
attorneys, case participants or the public.
B. If leave of Court to file under seal has been previously obtained, parties are to e-file
documents under seal using a “Sealed Document Event” (e.g., Sealed Motion, Sealed Brief,
Sealed Document).
10
Revised April 2025
C. Sealed documents cannot be electronically accessed by attorneys or the public. Electronic
access is limited to the Judge and Court staff. In civil cases, a Notice of Electronic Filing
(“NEF”) will be generated for the sealed document; however, the document cannot be
accessed. In criminal cases, a NEF will not be generated for the sealed document.
Accordingly, parties may not use CM/ECF to serve sealed documents to opposing parties;
service of sealed documents must be effected by conventional means and a certificate of
service is required.
D. Detailed filing instructions for sealed documents may be obtained on the Court’s website.
III. EXHIBITS AND ATTACHMENTS
A. IN GENERAL
This Section III(A) applies only to exhibits and attachments to documents e-filed in
CM/ECF. Trial and hearing exhibits will be submitted through the Judicial Evidence
Recording System (JERs) See Section III(B) below.
1. All documents referenced as exhibits or attachments in filings must be e-filed in
CM/ECF in PDF form. Exhibits should only include documents directly relevant
to the matter under consideration by the Court. Do not submit in globo exhibits.
Each exhibit should be uploaded individually in CM/ECF with an exhibit number
and short description (e.g., Ex.1 Plaintiff Depo).
2. CM/ECF will only accept PDF files for upload. CM/ECF will reject any single
PDF file larger than two hundred megabytes (200 MB). If a single PDF exhibit is
over 200 MB, the filer must split the PDF into smaller files before attempting to
upload to CM/ECF (e.g., Ex. 1 Plaintiff Depo Part 1, Ex. 2 Plaintiff Depo Part 2).
3. Before uploading exhibits to CM/ECF, the filer must preview the PDF file to verify
the document looks correct and can be read.
4. Filers should scan documents at a resolution of three hundred pixels per inch (300
ppi) or higher, which will support archival preservation. Avoid scanning in color
unless absolutely necessary.
5. The cumulative file size of all exhibits to a filing should not exceed five hundred
megabytes (500 MB) per filing transaction to avoid a server timeout. If a filing is
accompanied by a large number of exhibits, resulting in a cumulative transaction
upload of more than 500 MB, you must file the exhibits that exceed the 500 MB
per transaction limit in a separate filing using the “Additional Attachments to Main
Document” event in CM/ECF. E.g., a Motion (100 MB) has 3 exhibits, each of
which is 200 MB. Filer should file the Motion (100MB), plus Exhibit 1 (200 MB)
and Exhibit 2 (200 MB) in the first filing transaction (500 MB cumulative file size)
11
Revised April 2025
and Exhibit 3 (200 MB) should be filed separately using the Additional
Attachments to Main Document CM/ECF event.
B. JUDICIAL EVIDENCE RECORDING SYSTEM (JERS)
1. IN GENERAL
This Section III(B) applies only to trial and hearing exhibits (e.g., Electronic Bench
Book). Exhibits and attachments to e-filed documents will be e-filed in CM/ECF.
See Section III(A) above.
a. In accordance with the Local Civil and Criminal Rules for the Middle
District of Louisiana, evidence offered during trial or proceedings other
than trial shall be provided by each party in electronic format.
b. Electronic evidence files (e.g., Electronic Bench Book) shall be provided
by each party, using the Court's Electronic Evidence Online submission tool
through CM/ECF (Utilities / Evidence Upload), to the Courtroom Deputy
for court proceedings where evidence presentation is required, or prior to
the beginning of trial or proceeding (specified time will be referenced in the
ORDER). These files will be utilized BY THE COURT ONLY and will
not be provided to an opposing party.
c. JERS is NOT used by counsel during trial to present evidence. Exhibits
shall be presented to the jury or the Court by a laptop connection or by
conventionally presenting exhibits using the electronic document camera. It
is the responsibility of counsel to ensure that exhibits used during trial and
all other proceedings, coincide in exhibit number and image to the exhibits
electronically submitted to the Court, and to substitute any documents that
have been altered.
d. At the conclusion of a trial or proceeding, exhibits received into evidence
shall remain in the custody of the offering party until appeal time has
expired or appeal is resolved. Parties retaining custody shall make such
exhibits available to opposing counsel for appeal preparation and are
responsible for transmission of exhibits to the appellate court, if required.
2. EXHIBIT FILE TYPES
a. Documents and Photographs: .pdf, .jpg, .bmp, .tif, .gif, .doc, .docx, .xls,
.xlsx, .ppt, .pptx
b. Video and Audio Recordings: .avi, .wmv, .mpg, .mp3, .mp4, .wma, .wav,
.3gpp
12
Revised April 2025
c. Individual evidence files should not exceed five hundred megabytes (500
MB). Exhibits exceeding the 500 MB file size limit should be split into
smaller files. PDF documents can often be reduced significantly in size by
using tools such as Adobe's "Reduce File Size" feature. The file size of an
image can be significantly reduced by lowering the image’s resolution or
dimensions, usually with minimal affect to viewing quality. Videos should
be separated into 10-minute clips to comply with the 500 MB file size limit.
3. EXHIBIT FORMATTING FOR BATCH IMPORTING
Exhibit files can be formatted in a manner that permits them to be batch-imported
into the JERS system.
4. FILE NAMING METHOD
a. Using any software or method, exhibit files are renamed using a naming
convention similar to:
• (exhibit number)-(exhibit part)_(exhibit description).(file
extension)
b. The use of the “underscore” character is required when a description of the
exhibit is included and cannot be used elsewhere in the exhibit name.
c. Example listing of valid exhibit file names:
• “1-a_photograph.jpg”
• “12_2009 Tax Statement.pdf”
• “12(a)_camera footage.wmv”
• “13-a7_camera footage.wmv”
d. Sealed Exhibits: Exhibits submitted to the Court as sealed should include
“SEALED” in the exhibit description,
• Example: “1-c_SEALED 2019 Tax Statement.pdf”.
e. Personal Identifiers: Exhibits with personal identifiers should be redacted
and noted as such in the exhibit description using “REDACTED” or
“UNREDACTED” in the exhibit description. Please see Section I(K)(1)
supra for more information on personal identifiers.
• Example: “3_REDACTED Bank Statement.pdf” whereas
“3-a_UNREDACTED Bank Statement.pdf”, the “Unredacted”
version would include personal identifiers.
13
Revised April 2025
