New rules on Social Security appeals, sealed cases to take effect in Southern District next week

New rules regarding Social Security appeals and sealed cases will take effect next week in the Indiana Southern District Court.

A notice was issued last month that sought public comment on proposed rule amendments. After taking comments into consideration, the changes have been adopted and will take effect July 1, the district court announced Wednesday.

Specifically, a new subparagraph was drafted into Local Rule 5-12, concerning Social Security appeals.

The new language states that a plaintiff will have 56 days from the date of the court’s scheduling order to file a brief in support of a complaint. It also states that a defendant will have 56 days after service of the plaintiff’s brief to file a response, and the plaintiff will have 28 days after service of the response brief to file a reply. Lastly, it notes that absent compelling circumstances, motions for extension will be disfavored.

Next, an amendment was made to subparagraph (a) of Local Rule 6-1, regarding extensions of time. The change strikes “the deadline for filing a brief in a bankruptcy appeal” from the list of deadlines that must be accomplished by a notice of extension of time, rather than by motion.

In subparagraph (c) of Local Criminal Rule 49.1-2, concerning filings under seal, several changes were made that struck and inserted new language. One such change was in Rule 49.1-2 (c)(6), where “plea agreements” was replaced by “documents” that reference “or relate to” a defendant’s cooperation.

The amendments also struck Section 7 in its entirety, which dealt with motions for sentence variance filed pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 35(b), 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e) or U.S. Sentencing Guidelines § 5K1.1, and supporting or related documents, including motions for temporary custody and sentencing memoranda.

Lastly, it inserted a new section that allows “victim impact statements and related documents, including documents containing the names, addresses, and/or payment information of restitution payees” to be filed under seal without motion or further order of the court.

The local rules amendments can be viewed in full here.