Local Rule LR 7.03: GENERAL FORM OF PAPERS

LR 7.03 – GENERAL FORM OF PAPERS

(a) Form. All pleadings, motions, briefs, and all other papers filed in CM/ECF or presented for filing must be formatted to 8-1/2" x 11" paper, with one-inch margins and at least 12-point font. If the filing is made in paper format, the filing must also be one sided. All material, except headings, footnotes, and quoted material, must be double spaced. Footnotes must also be at least 12-point font but must be single-spaced. Documents presented to the Clerk for filing must be typed, printed, or prepared by a clearly legible duplicating process and all pages must be numbered at the bottom. The name of the District Judge and the Magistrate Judge must be placed below the case number on all filings subsequent to the initial filing. All pleadings must be signed as required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 11, and names must be typed or printed beneath all signature lines. Page limitations are exclusive of case caption, signature line(s), and certificate of service.

(b) Citations of Legal Authorities. Citations of legal authorities in any filing must conform to the following:

(1) United States Supreme Court Decisions. Citations of United States Supreme Court decisions shall be U.S. only, if therein, otherwise S.Ct. or L.Ed., in that order of preference. For recent or unreported decisions, Westlaw or Lexis citations are acceptable.

(2) State Cases. Citations of reported state cases must include at least the official state reporter citation and the regional reporter citation where available. For recent or unreported decisions, Westlaw and Lexis citations are acceptable.

(3) Federal and State Statutes. Citations of federal statutes must include at least the title and section designation as the statute appears in the United States Code. Citations of state statutes must include at least the title and section designation as the statute appears in the state's official code.

(4) Unreported Decisions or Administrative Opinions. Citations of any unreported federal or state court decisions or administrative opinions must include Westlaw or Lexis citations.

(5) Availability of Cited Authority. If a cited authority is not available in any reporter or legal research database, a copy of the decision, order, statute, regulation, or other cited authority must be appended as an exhibit to the memorandum of law.

(c) Jury Demand. If demand for jury trial is made in the complaint or answer, the phrase "JURY DEMAND" must appear immediately opposite the style of the case on the first page of the pleading and all subsequent filings.

(d) Exhibits and Attachments. All exhibits or attachments to filed documents must be filed electronically, unless the Court permits filing in paper form. When uploading exhibits and attachments in CM/ECF, filers are required to select the appropriate document category and enter a brief description of each document. Failure to include the document description may result in the issuance of a deficiency notice

(e) Signatures.

(1) Electronically filed documents shall set forth the filer's name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and, in the case of licensed attorneys, their Board of Professional Responsibility registration number.

(2) Only licensed attorneys may sign documents electronically.

(3) Pro se parties may not sign documents electronically. Documents submitted by pro se parties must contain an original signature.

(4) Documents requiring an original signature (e.g., affidavits, declarations, filings by pro se parties, etc.) shall be filed electronically by transmitting a scanned image of the document in PDF format. The filing party shall maintain the originally signed document for one year after all time periods for all appeals expire. On request of the Court, a filing party must provide the original document for review.