IOP § I(C): Court Administration

The judges of the court of appeals implement internal policy and conduct the business of the court. The administrative head of the court is the chief judge, who assumes that position by seniority and in accordance with the requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 45.

1. Clerk’s Office

a. General Information.

The clerk’s office receives, processes, and disseminates to the judges and the parties case filings and official court actions. The office is divided into case processing units, including a docketing unit, a case management unit, and a calendar and records management unit.

The clerk’s central office is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The address is Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse, Room 24.329, 111 South Tenth Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63102. The telephone number is 314-244-2400. The clerk’s office welcomes questions concerning court policies and procedures, CM/ECF filings, case status, and the federal and local rules of appellate procedure, and will assist counsel or pro se litigants in resolving procedural problems that arise during the appellate process.

The clerk’s divisional office is located at 316 N. Robert Street, Room 500, St. Paul, Minnesota 55101. The telephone number is 612-848-1300. The St. Paul office provides the following services: docketing new appeals; answering procedural and policy questions on court operations; staffing St. Paul court sessions; coordinating emergency filings when necessary; receiving transcripts, exhibits, and district court materials from Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota; and providing Eighth Circuit materials, including Circuit Rules, Internal Operating Procedures, and forms.

b. CM/ECF Information and links.

The Eighth Circuit is a CM/ECF court, and electronic filing is mandatory for attorneys and voluntary for pro se filers. Attorneys who cannot participate may seek an exemption. The exemption form is available at the "Forms" link on the court's website. Extensive information about the court's CM/ECF procedures, including a copy of 8th Cir. R. 25A which governs electronic filing, is available on the website at <www.ca8.uscourts.gov>.

In order to make a filing, attorneys and pro se filers must register to become authorized CM/ECF filers. This registration is handled by the PACER Service Center. PACER registration forms and information about PACER can be accessed from the court's website.

Eighth Circuit Local Rule 25A contains a list of documents which must be filed electronically. A separate list of documents which cannot be filed electronically is also provided. In general, most case-related pleadings (Appearance Forms, Motions, Corporate Disclosure Statements, Notices Concerning the Record, Merit Briefs, Petitions for Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc, etc.) must be submitted electronically. Original proceedings, including petitions for writ of mandamus or prohibition, applications for successive habeas petitions/motions to vacate under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3), and petitions for review of final agency decisions may be submitted electronically through the Utilities tab in CM/ECF, and the filing fee paid through pay.gov. To utilize this feature, filers must have electronic access to CM/ECF. Briefs are filed in both electronic and paper format. See 8th Cir. R. 28A. Records on appeal in attorney-handled civil cases are filed in paper format. Please refer to the cited rules for additional filing information. The clerk’s office staff can also assist filers in using the filing system.

Paper filings should be made with the clerk’s central office in St. Louis. In emergencies, the divisional office in St. Paul will accept paper filings requiring immediate attention, including applications for stays or extraordinary writs.

Participation in the CM/ECF process is treated as consent to electronic noticing and electronic service of all documents and orders. Participants in the system receive an electronic Notice of Docket Activity when a document is filed by a party and when the court takes a public action in the case. The court also uses the system to serve pro se documents on counsel after a pleading is filed, scanned, and attached to the docket. See 8th Cir. R. 25B. The Notice of Docket Activity contains a link to the document, order or opinion. Participants may click on the link for their one "free look" at the document.

2. Chambers and Staff Attorneys

Each active judge is assisted by three or four attorneys who work in the judge’s resident chambers. Each senior judge generally employs two attorneys. Chambers attorneys usually attend court sessions with their judge.

The court also employs staff attorneys who work in St. Louis and assist the judges with motions, pro se cases, cases submitted without oral argument, and some argued cases. The staff attorneys undertake special assignments at the direction of the judges. The senior staff attorney supervises the staff attorneys’ office.

Chambers and staff attorneys are not permitted to discuss pending cases with anyone outside the court, including lawyers and litigants.

3. Court Libraries

The main library is located on the 22nd Floor of the Thomas F. Eagleton U. S. Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri. The telephone number is 314-244-2665. The library is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The collection contains many federal materials, all West’s regional reporters, basic state materials for states within the Eighth Circuit, and has access to the Internet. The library catalog is accessible at online terminals in each library. The library is also a selective depository for federal government documents. The main library’s treatise and law review collections are more extensive than the branch libraries’ collections. The St. Louis library receives slip opinions from all the federal circuits, and maintains all the published and unpublished slip opinions from the Eighth Circuit. Locations and telephone numbers of the branch libraries are as follows:

Des Moines, Iowa 515-284-6228

Kansas City, Missouri 816-512-5790

Cedar Rapis, Iowa 319-423-6100

Little Rock, Arkansas 501-604-5215

Minneapolis, Minnesota 612-664-5830

St. Paul, Minnesota 651-848-1320 (unstaffed)

Library staff at each location have training and extensive library experience. Each branch library contains the basic federal materials, West’s regional reporters and basic state materials for states within the Eighth Circuit, and a selection of treatises and law reviews. All court libraries are open to members of the Eighth Circuit bar and, with permission of the librarian, other public users. Counsel should inquire locally about the hours of branch libraries. Books may not be removed by counsel. See 8th Cir. R. 47F.