FAQs - (Frequently Asked Questions)

This section of our website was designed to provide to the Bar and the general public answers to commonly asked questions about our court and its procedures. Topics covered include:

ATTORNEY ADMISSIONS

How do I obtain a Certificate of Good Standing?
All requests for a Certificate of Good Standing should be in writing to include an attorney’s full name and bar number. A check for $15.00 payable to Clerk, U.S. Courts, should also be enclosed for each certificate to be issued; one check is acceptable for multiple requests. Certificates are generally mailed after they are processed, however, they can be picked up from the Clerk’s Office if requested.

How do I appear in a case Pro Hac Vice?
Our court’s Local Rule 83.1 addresses this issue under section 83.1.2c. Information and procedures regarding Pro Hac Vice admissions along with the admissions form is available on this website under the Attorney Admissions section.

How do I change my postal mailing address, e-mail address, or electronic noticing information?
All attorneys admitted to practice or admitted Pro Hac Vice should be registered to file electronically in our court. As such, it is the attorneys responsibility to access CM/ECF and select the Utilities option, then select Maintain Your Account, to update any of this information. You should not request the court to make these changes for you. Instructions for this process are included in the Administrative Procedures Manual , Appendix A (the procedure is the same in both the civil and criminal manuals).

CASE PROCESSING (General)

In which division of the Middle District do I file my complaint or other case initiating document?
A jurisdictional divisional/county map for the Middle District which is available on this website can be used to determine the appropriate division in which your complaint or other case initiating document should be filed. In addition, a jurisdictional county/divisional map of the three districts for the entire state of Georgia is available if you are unsure of the district in which you should file these documents.

How do I serve subpoenas for a deposition or documents in another state when the case is pending here?
Attorneys practicing before this court are empowered by Rule 45 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to issue subpoenas for depositions or documents in any other federal district court; the standard subpoena form should be used. The attorney will complete the heading, indicating the District Court and division in which the subpoena is to be served and also the case number assigned by the Middle District of Georgia court. The attorney will serve the necessary notice when issuing the subpoena. When the return of service is executed, it is the attorney’s responsibility to hold the return; it should not be filed in the Middle District of Georgia case.

How do I obtain a copy of a court reporter’s transcript or audio recording of a court proceeding?
Most, but not all, court hearings are recorded by a court reporter/stenographer or tape recorded by a courtroom deputy. You should review the docket sheet using PACER to determine if a particular proceeding was reported or recorded. For any hearing or proceeding conducted in our court, there will be an entry entitled Minute Entry on the docket; if the hearing/proceeding was reported, the name of the court reporter will appear at the end of this entry, or, if the hearing was tape recorded, a tape recording number will appear. If there is no reference to a court reporter or tape number, there would be no transcript for the hearing. If a court reporter’s name appears at the end of the entry, you should contact the court reporter for the appropriate judge; if a tape number appears, you should contact the courtroom deputy for the judge assigned to the case. The fee for reproduction of tape recordings is in accordance with the Fee Schedule as dictated in the Federal Civil Judicial Procedure and Rules; the fee for transcripts produced by court reporters are categorized by type of transcript to be delivered.

Is filing of discovery documents allowed?
As addressed in Local Rule 5, Section 5.1: “Disclosures under F.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(1) or (2) and the following discovery requests and responses must not be filed until they are used in the proceeding or the court orders filing: (a) depositions, (b) interrogatories, (c) requests for documents or to permit entry upon land, and (d) requests for admission. Disclosures under F.R. Civ.P. 26(a)(3), however, must be promptly filed as provided in Rule 26(a)(3). Any use of discovery materials in court in connection with a motion, a pretrial conference under Rule 16, or otherwise, will require the filing of the discovery materials. To file discovery, counsel must attach a signed statement certifying that the discovery documents have been either used in the proceedings or ordered filed by the court.”

Will the court accept facsimile filings?
Only under compelling circumstances and only with prior authorization will the court accept documents for filing by facsimile transmission. Authorization must be obtained from a district judge, magistrate judge, the Clerk, or the Chief Deputy Clerk.

What fees/costs are paid to individuals serving as witnesses for purposes of evidence in federal cases? (Refers to witnesses in attendance at any court of the United States, before a United States Magistrate Judge, or before any person authorized to take his/her deposition pursuant to any rule or order of a court of the United States)
Witness fees and costs will be paid as provided in 28 U.S.C. §1821.

ELECTRONIC FILING (CM/ECF)

Do I have to register in each federal district court to file pleadings electronically?
Yes. You will more than likely be assigned a different login and password for each individual court in which you are registered to e-file. In some courts, including ours, you have the ability to change your user id and password using the Utilities, Maintain Your Account option so that you have the same user id and password in every court in which you are registered. This would make it easier since you won’t have to remember multiple user ids and passwords when logging in to CM/ECF. You should note, however, that some courts do not allow users to change their login and password so if you find this to be true, you may want to contact the court to see if the login and password can be changed.

How do I file a sealed document?
To file a sealed document in a civil case, refer to Administrative Procedures (Civil Cases), Section IV.E. ; to file a sealed document in a criminal case, refer to Administrative Procedures (Criminal Cases), Section IV.A.

How do attorneys sign/file pleadings electronically when a document is signed by more than one attorney?
When a pleading is signed by more than one attorney, the document obviously can only be e-filed by one of the attorneys using his/her CM/ECF User Id and password. A certification must be included on the signature page of the document as described in the Administrative Procedures for
Electronic Filing (same language in both the Civil and Criminal manuals) under Section II.C.2 and 3.

Will official court transcripts be filed electronically and available to the public?
Official court transcripts are filed electronically, however, they are currently unavailable to the public as required by the E-Government Act because they often contain personal identifiers. An individual wanting to obtain a copy of a transcript should contact the appropriate court reporter as indicated in the Minute Entry event for the hearing that was transcribed.

How should proposed orders be submitted to the court?
With the exception of proposed orders addressed in the paragraph below, all other proposed orders should be filed electronically in PDF format and must be attached as an exhibit to a motion or stipulation. Once the judge reviews the proposed order, he/she may direct the attorney to e-mail the same document to the court in WordPerfect, Word, or other word processing format. All Proposed Scheduling Discovery Orders and Proposed Pretrial Orders must be e-mailed to the court in WordPerfect, Word, or other word processing format (not PDF). The subject line of the e-mail must include the case number and short title. To e-mail, go to the court website, select CM/ECF and click on the hyperlink to E-mail Proposed Scheduling and Discovery Order or Proposed Pretrial Order. Once received, approved, and signed by the judge, these documents will be electronically filed in CM/ECF by the court and notice of such will be provided to all counsel of record through the Notice of Electronic Filing.

If I receive a Notice of Error in Filing from the court about a pleading filed electronically, should I re-file the document?
The error notice contains specific information about the error and whether any further action on your part is required or not. If a document needs to be re-filed, the notice will indicate such; otherwise, the document should not be re-filed. Often, the notice may indicate corrective action taken by the court and may only be for future reference when e-filing.

How do I file a pleading for another attorney in my firm who is either on vacation or out of the office on other business?
If you are not an attorney of record in the case, the only way you should e-file a document for the attorney who is away is to login using that attorney’s user id and password; whether or not thi information is available to you is at the discretion of the attorney who is requesting you to e-file the document for him/her. It is recommended, however, that an attorney not share their user id or password with anyone since the user id and password, along with the proper format of electronic signature on the pleading, constitutes the attorney’s electronic signature.

Can anyone other than the attorney of record in a case receive the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) through e-mail?
Yes, the attorney needs to simply update his user profile to indicate the e-mail address of the additional individual(s) who should receive a copy of the notice. This can be done by selecting the Utilities option on the main CM/ECF menu, then selecting the Maintain Your Account option. Instructions for using this option are included in the Administrative Procedures manual as Appendix A.

If I receive a Notice of Electronic Filing and I cannot view the document, what is the problem?
This could happen for several different reasons: (1) PACER only allows one free look at the document when a Notice of Electronic notice is sent. If an attorney has an additional(s) person in the office set in his/her user account to receive notification of the filing and that particular individual has already opened the e-mail and viewed the document, PACER will not allow viewing again free of charge. Rather, an additional login screen would appear for the user to login to PACER so viewing charges can accounted for; (2) the document may be sealed or restricted (i/c/w the E-Government Act) and is therefore unavailable for viewing; (3) there is no document attached to the entry so there is no hyperlink to the document (the document number would not be highlighted and in blue text) - this is what the court refers to as a text-only entry and the docket text represents what would have been stated in a formal document; or, (4) you may have a problem with your access to your PACER account - in this case, you would need to contact the PACER Center directly at http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/ or at 1-800-676-6856.

COURT ANNEXED ARBITRATION PROGRAM

What is involved in the Court’s Arbitration program?
The Court’s Arbitration program is set up to give parties an opportunity to dispose of a case through alternative dispute resolution. With a few exceptions, all civil matters are referred to Arbitration once an Answer has been filed to the Complaint. The parties receive notice that a case has been referred to Arbitration by letter, which gives the parties twenty days within which to opt out if one of the parties does not want to proceed with the Arbitration process. If no one opts out, each side will then receive a letter containing three names to select an Arbitrator. Each side will strike one name, and the name that remains is the chosen Arbitrator. The Arbitration Clerk will then call the parties to advise them of the chosen Arbitrator and to schedule a date for the Arbitration hearing. After the Arbitration hearing, the Arbitrator will submit an Award to the Arbitration Clerk which will be filed under seal with the Court. The parties have thirty days after the filing of the Award within which to file a Request for Trial De Novo if they disagree with the Arbitrator’s Award. If no one files a Request for Trial De Novo, the Arbitration Clerk will enter a Judgment pursuant to the Award after that thirty-day period, which will complete the case.

How are the three names chosen for selecting the Arbitrator?
The Arbitration Clerk maintains a confidential list of attorneys who have applied to the Court to be on the list of Arbitrators and have been approved by the Judges of this District. The Arbitration Clerk considers the division in which the case is filed, the type of case and the location of the parties in choosing the three names for consideration.

Is the Court’s Arbitration program binding?
No, the Court’s Arbitration program is not binding. After the Arbitration hearing, the Arbitrator will submit an Award to the Arbitration Clerk which will be filed under seal with the Court. The parties have thirty days after the filing of the Award within which to file a Request for Trial De Novo if they disagree with the Arbitrator’s Award. This will remove the case from Arbitration and the Award remains under seal. If no one files a Request for Trial De Novo, the Arbitration Clerk will enter a Judgment pursuant to the Award after that thirty-day period, which will complete the case.

How does a party opt out of the Arbitration process?
If a party desires to opt out of Arbitration, they need to create a letter stating that party as Plaintiff or Defendant desires to opt out of or withdraw from Arbitration. The letter should be created in PDF format and filed using the Court’s Electronic Filing system. Go to CIVIL - ARBITRATION DOCUMENTS, and choose Arbitration Opt Out Letter. This will remove the case from Arbitration and will terminate the deadline for the opt-out period.

What if the parties desire to mediate a case, rather than arbitrate?
The Court does not have a mediation program in place. However, many times after the Arbitration process begins and an Arbitrator is chosen, the parties may desire to mediate the case. This is possible only if all the parties and the Arbitrator agree to mediate, and everyone understands and agrees that if no settlement is reached at the hearing, the Arbitrator will continue the Arbitration process by submitting an Award which will be filed under seal by the Arbitration Clerk. The parties maintain the thirty days within which to file a Request for Trial De Novo if they disagree with the Award. Otherwise, the parties may want to opt out of the Court’s Arbitration program and proceed with choosing a mediator and scheduling a mediation on their own.

Once a case has been removed from the Court’s Arbitration program, can the parties request the case be returned to Arbitration?
Yes, a case can be returned to Arbitration, as long as all the parties agree. The parties would submit a letter to the Arbitration Clerk advising that they agree to arbitrate the case through the Court’s program.

Can a party withdraw from Arbitration after the twenty-day opt-out period has expired?
Because the Court’s Arbitration program is voluntary and its success relies on the parties participating willingly, a party can withdraw from Arbitration even after the opt-out period has expired and the Arbitration process has begun. However, parties are requested to withdraw
during that initial period in compliance with the Court’s Local Rule 16.2.

Once a party has withdrawn from Arbitration, is it necessary for the other parties to respond to the Arbitration referral letter?
No, it only requires the withdrawal of one party to remove a case from Arbitration. If additional parties desire to withdraw, they may do so to show their decision on the record, but it is not necessary.

FEDERAL JURY SERVICE

If I submit a request to be excused from jury service, do I still need to complete the juror information questionnaire?
If you submit your request to be excused through the U.S. Postal mail, then your completed juror information questionnaire should be included with your request.. If you submit your request to be excused through the court's e-mail system (as indicated on the Summons Form), do not complete
and mail in the questionnaire unless you receive an e-mail from the court asking you to do so.

Is my employer required to excuse me from work for jury duty?
Your job is protected under Title 28 U.S.C. Section 1875. It is unlawful for any employer to discharge, threaten to discharge, intimidate or coerce any permanent employee for attendance or scheduled attendance in connection with jury service.

Is my employer obligated to pay regular salary even on jury duty days?
Under the law, the employer is not required to pay salary or wages while the employee is serving jury duty. The court will provide a certificate of attendance to those jurors whose employers require one.

Will the court pay for my parking?
Upon presentation of a parking garage receipt to the Jury Clerk, you will be reimbursed for this expense.

If I don’t live in the county where I am to report for jury service, why was I selected as a prospective juror?
The United States District Court, Middle District of Georgia, consists of six divisions which include Athens, Albany, Columbus, Macon, Thomasville and Valdosta. The district is comprised of a total of 70 counties and certain counties are designated by statute as belonging to a particular division. So, for example, if you are summoned for jury service and reside in Washington County, you are in the Macon Division and would report to Macon which is the headquarters office for that division.

Is my employer required to excuse me from work for jury duty?
Your job is protected under Title 28 U.S.C. Section 1875. It is unlawful for any employer to discharge, threaten to discharge, intimidate or coerce any permanent employee for attendance or scheduled attendance in connection with jury service.

What is the difference between a petit juror and a grand juror?
A petit juror is a juror who serves on a trial jury. A trial jury is a group of people who decide any question or issue of fact in a civil or criminal trial according to law and the evidence introduced at the trial. A grand juror serves on a grand jury to determine whether facts and accusations presented by the U. S. Attorney warrant an indictment in a criminal case.