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The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana is seeking public comment on proposed changes to eight local rules.
Comments will be accepted through June 13 on the proposed amendments to Local Rules 5-11, 6-1, 37-1, 81-1 and 83-5, as well as Local Criminal Rules 12-2, 49-1 and 49.1-2.
The amended version of Local Rule 5-11, Filing Under Seal, would create a new subsection (d)(2), which would state, “The title of the document must clearly indicate that it is filed under seal. If the title cannot be publicly disclosed, an appropriate way to identify the document on the public docket must be identified directly below the title.”
The amendment would also take away the requirement in the existing subsection (d)(1) for a cover sheet, and would eliminate the existing subsections (d)(1)(A)-(C). A new subsection (d)(3) would read, “If a statute, rule, or court order authorizes the document to be sealed, the first paragraph of the document must identify with specificity the statute, rule or court order.”
Next, the amended version of Local Rule 6-1, Extensions of Time, would amend section (a) to state, “The court requires all initial extensions of the following deadlines to be accomplished by a Notice of Parties’ First Extension of Time (without a proposed order), rather than by motion, unless another party affirmatively objects to extending the deadline or subsection (b) of this rule applies.”
Subsection (b) would be amended to reference “Notice of Parties’ First Extension of Time,” rather than “Notice of Extension of Time.”
Changes to Local Rule 37-1, Discovery Disputes, would delete section (c). That subsection currently says, “Discovery disputes involving pro se parties are not subject to S.D. Ind. L.R. 37-1.”
Local Rule 81-1, regarding Notice of Removal and Response in Diversity Cases, would be amended to create a new section (c) stating, “Including this information in the notice of removal or the response does not satisfy the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 7.1(a)(2). Any disclosure statement required by Rule 7.1(a)(2) must be filed as a separate document.”
For Local Rule 83-5, regarding Bar Admission, the amendment would create a new section (d), providing that “(a)ttorneys representing the United States, Federal Defenders, Federal Community Defenders, and law clerks of this court and the Northern District of Indiana are exempt from any fees for admission to practice in this court.”
Turning to the criminal rules, Local Criminal Rule 12-2, Assignment of Related Cases, would be amended in subsection (a)(1), which would allow for the reassignment of a criminal case as long as three criteria are met, including, “(T)he cases share one or more common defendant(s) or the cases are based upon the same set of facts, events or offenses.”
Amendments to Local Criminal Rule 49-1, Filing of Documents, would include stylistic changes to “reflect the proper title for magistrate judges.”
Finally, the proposed amendments to Local Criminal Rule 49.1-2, Filing Under Seal, would create three new sections, add language to an existing section and delete the existing version of subsections (d)(1)(A)-(C).
The new section (c) would state, “To file a document under seal, a party must file it electronically as required under section 18 of the ECF Policies and Procedures Manual unless exempt from electronic filing under S.D. Ind. L.R. 5-2(a) or 5-3(e).”
The new section (d) would state, “The title of the document must clearly indicate that it is filed under seal. If the title cannot be publicly disclosed, an appropriate way to identify the document on the public docket must be identified directly below the title.”
The new section (e) would state, “If a statute, rule, or court order authorizes the document to be sealed, the first paragraph of the document must identify with specificity the statute, rule, or court order. A protective order does not authorize a party to file a document under seal.”
Finally, the existing section (c) would become section (f) and would be amended to provide, “No motion to seal is necessary for documents authorized under section (e).”
Comments on the proposed amendments must be submitted on or before June 13 in writing or via email.
Electronic comments should be sent to [email protected].
Written comments should be sent to Roger A.G. Sharpe, Clerk of Court, United States District Court, Birch Bayh Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 46 E. Ohio St., Room 105, Indianapolis, 46204.
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