Local Rule RULE 49.6: ELECTRONIC FILING PROCEDURES

RULE 49.6 ELECTRONIC FILING PROCEDURES

(A) Charging Documents.

All charging documents (including the complaint, information, indictment, and superseding indictment) must be filed conventionally and then uploaded by the Clerk. All such documents must comply with the privacy policy set forth by these Rules.

(B) Pleadings and Documents Other Than Charging Documents.

(1) All subsequent pleadings, including motions, applications, briefs, memoranda of law, exhibits, or other documents in a criminal case must be electronically filed on the System except as otherwise provided by these Rules.

(2) A document submitted electronically will not be considered filed for purposes of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure until the System-generated Notice of Electronic Filing has been sent electronically to the filing party.

(3) E-mailing a document to the Clerk's Office or to the assigned judge will not constitute "filing" of the document.

(4) A document filed electronically by 11:59 p.m. central standard time will be deemed filed on that date.

(5) If filing a document requires leave of the court, such as filing a reply brief, the filing party must attach the proposed document as an exhibit to a motion to file. If the court then grants the motion to file, the Clerk will file the attached document electronically; the filing party should not do so.

(C) Titling Docket Entries.

The party electronically filing a pleading or other document will be responsible for designating a docket entry title for the document by using one of the docket event categories prescribed by the court.

(D) Filing Problems.

(1) Corrections.

Once a document is submitted and becomes part of the case docket, corrections to the docket are made only by the Clerk's Office. The System will not permit the filing party to make changes to the document or docket entry filed in error once the transaction has been accepted. The filing party should not attempt to refile a document. As soon as possible after an error is discovered, the filing party should contact the Clerk's Office with the case number and document number for which the correction is being requested. If appropriate, the Court will make an entry indicating that the document was filed in error. The filing party will be advised if the document needs to be refiled.

(2) Technical Problems.

(a) Technical Failures.

The Clerk's Office will deem the Central District of Illinois CM/ECF site to be subject to a technical failure on a given day if the site is unable to accept filings continuously or intermittently over the course of any period of time greater than one hour after 10:00 a.m. that day. In the event a technical failure occurs, and despite the best efforts of the filing party a document cannot be filed electronically, the party should print (if possible) a copy of the error message received. As soon as possible, the party should file this message with a Declaration That Party Was Unable to File in a Timely Manner Due to Technical Difficulties.

(b) Filer's Problems.

Problems on the filer's end, such as phone line problems, problems with the filer's Internet Service Provider (ISP) or hardware or software problems, will neither constitute a technical failure nor excuse an untimely filing. If a party misses a filing deadline due to such problems, the document may be conventionally submitted, accompanied by a Declaration stating the reason for missing the deadline and a motion for leave to file instanter. The motion, document and declaration must be filed no later than 12:00 noon of the first day on which the Court is open for business following the original filing deadline. The Court will consider the matters stated in the declaration and order appropriate relief.