eFiling Handbook
US District Court, Florida, Middle District
INTRODUCTION
The Court may modify these Administrative Procedures at any time without prior notice. The Clerk or any judge of this Court may depart from these procedures without prior notice.
A | DEFINITIONS
2. “Electronic Filing” means a paper uploaded to the court’s CM/ECF system, to file that paper in the court’s case file. Emailing a paper to the Middle District does not constitute an “electronic filing.”
3. “Notice of Electronic Filing” (NEF) means the e-mail confirmation of the electronic filing automatically generated from CM/ECF at the time of the entry. The NEF lists the time and date of filing, the name of the party and attorney filing the document, the type of document, the text of the docket entry, the name of the party and/or attorney receiving the notice, and a hyperlink(s) to any filed document.
4. “Public Access to Court Electronic Records” (PACER) means the online service that provides electronic public access to federal court records. PACER allows an individual to view, print, and download court docket information and remotely access case records.
5. “Portable Document Format” (PDF) means a document format which allows a document to be transmitted electronically without changing the document’s appearance or layout.
6. “Technical Failure” means a malfunction of the Court’s hardware, software, and/or telecommunications facility which results in the inability of a filer to submit a document electronically. Technical failure does not include the malfunctioning of a filer’s equipment or internet connection.
B | CM/ECF ELIGIBILITY AND REGISTRATION
2. To register for a CM/ECF account a lawyer must submit an E-filer Registration Form on the court’s website at www.flmd.uscourts.gov.
3. Approval of the E-filer Registration Form will be emailed to the lawyer at the primary email address registered in CM/ECF.
4. Pro Se E-Filing Registration. If authorized by the presiding judge, a pro se litigant must register in the same manner as provided in these procedures for a lawyer. Pro se litigant access in CM/ECF is restricted to the case in which the pro se litigant has approval of the presiding judge.
5. A lawyer failing to maintain membership in the Middle District bar in accordance with Local Rule 2.01(b)(2) is subject to removal as an E-filer.
6. The Middle District does not monitor undeliverable email (i.e., bounce-backs) or delayed mail from a registered user’s primary or secondary email accounts. Each E-filer is required to update an email address, monitor email spam filters, and maintain sufficient email storage to prevent undeliverable or untimely delivery of email notifications from the CM/ECF system.
C | ELECTRONIC FILING OF PAPER
b. The use of a hyperlink in a paper is permitted. A hyperlink can link to other portions of the same document or to a website that contains a source document for a citation. Hyperlinks to a cited authority may not replace standard citation form. Neither a hyperlink nor a website to which it refers will be considered part of the record.
b. A document filed electronically can be viewed for the first time for free from the document link within the NEF. The hyperlink expires after the earlier of two events:
fifteen (15) days after the NEF is emailed.
D | SERVICE OF ELECTRONICALLY FILED DOCUMENTS
2. A party who is not a registered user in CM/ECF is entitled to a paper copy of any electronically filed pleading, document, or order. The filing party must, therefore, provide the non-registered party with the pleading, document, or order according to the Federal Rules of Criminal or Civil Procedure.
E | SPECIAL FILING REQUIREMENTS AND EXCEPTIONS
b. Sealed cases and all pleadings filed while the case remains under seal;
c. The charging document(s) in a criminal case, such as the complaint, indictment, information, criminal data sheet, Summons, or Warrant;
d. Initiating documents in a Miscellaneous case;
e. Affidavits for search and arrest warrants and related papers;
f. Documents in criminal cases which require the signature of a non-attorney, such as a grand jury foreperson, or a third-party custodian;
3. Allowable non electronic filing methods. United States mail, similar means, or delivered in person to the clerk’s office.
4. Litigants without CM/ECF filing access. Documents may be submitted for electronic filing through the court’s website by completing the national emergency webform.
5. Summons.
b. The clerk’s office will issue proposed summons received electronically through CM/ECF by affixing an electronic seal and filing the issued summons to CM/ECF. No paper summons will be mailed.
c. The clerk’s office will manually issue proposed summons received in paper, file to CM/ECF, and return the original paper summons with raised court seal affixed to the requesting party.
b. The clerk’s office will scan these original documents and file to the appropriate case in CM/ECF.
F | ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES
b. An electronic image of the E-filer’s signature; or
c. An original signature (when document is scanned).
2. Signatures of non-filing lawyers. The filing lawyer is permitted to file a document that requires the signature of another lawyer (e.g., stipulation), if the filing lawyer obtains approval to electronically sign the document from the non-filing lawyer. The filing lawyer may indicate such approval by one of the following:
ii. (Signed by filing lawyer with permission of non-filing lawyer)
iii. Electronic signature or /s/ [filling lawyer’s first and last name]
b. Approval by signature.
ii. (*I certify that I maintain a signed copy of the document bearing the signature of [non-filing lawyer first and last name] in my office.)
iii. Electronic or /s/ [filling lawyer’s first and last name]
c. Scanned signature. The filing lawyer may obtain an original signature, scan the signature page, and file it as an attachment to the document. The filing lawyer must maintain the signed original until all appeals have been exhausted or the time for seeing appellate review has expired.
ii. (*I certify that I have the signed original of this document that is available for inspection during normal business hours by the court or a party to this action.)
iii. Electronic Signature or /s/ [filing lawyer first and last name]
c. If a document containing original signatures is not digitally available, it may be scanned and filed electronically.
(ii) filed using the judge’s or court official’s login constitutes an original signature for all purposes.
G | REDACTION
2. Redaction rules. To comply with the policy of the Judicial Conference of the United States and the E-Government Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-347, along with Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2 and Fed. R. Crim. P. 49.1, filing parties must omit or, where inclusion is necessary, partially redact the following personal data identifiers from all pleadings, documents, and exhibits, filed with the court, whether electronically or in paper form.
b. Financial account numbers: Identify the name or type of account and the financial institution where maintained, but use only the last four numbers of the account number;
c. Social Security numbers: Use only the last four digits;
d. Taxpayer Identification numbers: Use only the last four digits;
e. Dates of birth: Use only the year;
f. Home address: Use only city and state (criminal cases only).
b. A record of an administrative or agency proceeding;
c. An official record of a state court proceeding;
d. The record of a court or tribunal, if that record was not subject to redaction when originally filed;
e. A filing exempted under Federal Rules of Procedure;
f. A pro se litigant filing an action brought under 28 U.S.C. §§2241, 2254, or 2255;
g. An arrest or search warrant; and
h. A charging document and an affidavit filed in support of any charging documents.
H | DOCUMENTS TO BE FILED UNDER SEAL
I | PUBLIC ACCESS
2. Remote access to CM/ECF for viewing purposes is limited to subscribers of PACER.
3. Paper copies and certified copies of an electronically filed document may be purchased at the clerk’s office. The fee for copying and certifying will be in accordance with 28 U.S.C. §1914.
J | RETENTION
K | FEES PAYABLE TO THE CLERK
L | CORRECTING ERRORS
b. If the clerk discovers an error with a document filed, the clerk may
(ii) note the error and any instructions provided to the E-filer in the docket entry.
M | TECHNICAL FAILURE
2. If a technical failure with CM/ECF results in an untimely filing, the E-filer may move for appropriate relief. CM/ECF is available twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week, except during scheduled maintenance or power outages. Schedule maintenance and power outages will be posted on the court’s website. The clerk will maintain a log of all periods of technical failure.
As always, please get the justice you deserve.
Sincerely,
www.TextBookDiscrimination.com
