L.A.R. 31.1: Number of Copies to be Filed and Served

(a) Unless otherwise required by this court, each party must file ten (10) paper copies (i.e. an original and nine copies) of each brief with the clerk for the convenience of the court and, unless counsel has consented to electronic service, serve one (1) paper copy on counsel for each party separately represented. If volume one of the appendix is attached to the electronic brief, one paper copy of volume one must be served on opposing counsel. In Virgin Islands cases only, one additional paper copy of the briefs must be filed with the clerk of the district court in the location from which the appeal is taken (St. Thomas or St. Croix). When hearing or rehearing by the court en banc is ordered, the parties will be directed to file additional paper copies for the court's use.

(b) In addition to the paper briefs, counsel for any party or amicus curiae must file with the court the same brief in electronic form.

(1) Filing must be done on the court’s electronic filing system as provided in L.A.R. Misc. 113 or such other method as the court specifies.

(2) The brief must be in PDF format. The Clerk may prescribe additional requirements to aid in transmission.

(3) The date of filing the brief is the date the electronic version of the brief is received by the Clerk, provided that ten paper copies are mailed as provided in Rule 25(a)(2)(B), FRAP on the same day as electronic transmission.

(4) The electronic version of the brief is the official record copy of the brief; if corrections are required to be made to the paper brief, a corrected copy of the electronic brief must be provided.

(5) Litigants proceeding pro se need not file an electronic brief.

(c) In addition to the certification of type-volume limitations required by Rule 32(a)(7)(C), and in the same document, counsel must certify that the text of the electronic brief is identical to the text in the paper copies. Counsel must also certify that a virus detection program has been run on the file and that no virus was detected. The certification must specify the version of the virus detection program used. Sanctions may be imposed if a filing contains a computer virus or worm.

(d) A party who is a Filing User as provided in L.A.R. Misc. 113.4 consents to electronic service of the brief through the court’s electronic docketing system (cm/ecf). Service by alternate means must be made on all parties who are not Filing Users. The certificate of service must note what method of service was used for each party served.

The rule was amended in 2002 to require electronic filing of briefs. Instructions on electronic filing can be found on the court’s web site at www.ca3.uscourts.gov. A party proceeding pro se need not file electronically, but if the party wishes to file electronically, this rule must be followed. PDF format makes a document more stable when electronically transmitted. This format also insures that pagination remains the same regardless of what printer is used to print the document. The PDF document should be created by converting a word processing document, not by scanning. Scanned documents that are converted to PDF are more difficult to transport and store and often are not searchable. Although the notice of docket activity issued by cm/ecf lists those parties who were served by the court’s electronic docketing system, this is not a substitute for a certificate of service.