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1. January 2006 27 CM ECF PACER User Manual Status The Status menu option provides the Pending Terminated Statuses for this case U S District Court CM ECF PACER Report Options Report Search The first screen that appears after clicking Reports from the blue bar may vary slightly in each court Itis typically a list of menu options for various reports a customers may access Docket Sheet This menu option allows the customer to enter a specific case number specify a date range 1f desired and specify a document range 1f desired to obtain a Docket Report Customers can choose to include all terminated parties active parties and counsel or member cases There is an option to sort the report by oldest date first or most recent date first Page 25 contains additional information regarding the Docket Report Civil Cases This menu option allows the customer to retrieve a listing of civil cases filed using a specific date range The Civil Cases Report has general default settings however the report may be customized to be more specific The following selections may be changed to customize the report Office Indicates the divisional office in which the case was filed Case type These may vary in each court Typical case types are Civil Miscellaneous and Multi District Litigation Nature of Suit NOS List of all recognized nature of suit codes Case flags List of case flags used by the court These may vary in each c
2. in the event field to obtain docket text for a particular entry Doc No Provides the document number This document number may have a hyperlink to the actual document filed at the court If the document number is blue and underlined the document may be viewed by clicking on the hyperlink If the number is black it is not available online Dates The date this document was filed entered terminated Description A brief description of the document filed unless Display Docket Text was chosen as a display option on the previous screen Next to the description is a silver bullet The silver bullet does not link to the actual document but to the docket text for that entry Note The date the event was electronically entered on the docket appears within the docket text This date may differ from the file date if the document was filed manually and not docketed the same day it was received Notice of Bankruptcy Case Filing The filing of a bankruptcy case automatically stays certain actions against the debtor and the debtor s property If anyone attempts to collect a debt or take other action in violation of the Bankruptcy Code they may be penalized This is the official notice of this filing Included in this notice are the date and time the bankruptcy was filed the debtor s name address and last four digits of their social security number attorney representing the debtor s trustee assigned to the case if applicable
3. This is not a required field Customers may enter an initial or full middle name to narrow the results when searching by party name Note The name search is not case sensitive Customers may enter a name in any combination of uppercase and lowercase letters and the search will extract all names that have any combination of matching uppercase or lowercase letters in the name fields Type The role for the party name may be selected The sort options are Party Attorney or Special Mailing Group Individual This list may vary in each site because the field is court definable In order to search for a specific Type at least three letters of the last name or company name must be entered in the last name field Only one search criterion may be used If there are entries for two or more of the search options the latter is used For example if a case number and last name are entered the case number will be erased as soon as the Search button is clicked Query Options Menu Clicking on Run Query produces the search results The results may produce a listing of persons or cases Customers may select from this list click the back button to enter more data or run another search If more choices exist than appear in the display area scroll bars will be present to the right of the selection box Either the mouse or arrow keys may be utilized to scroll up or down through the choices The number of the matching parties or cases is provi
4. Western Bankruptcy Court or TXWDC for the Texas Western District Court The first two letters are the postal abbreviation of the state where the case is filed with the next letter indicating the district within that state C for central district E for eastern district M for middle district N for northern district S for southern district or W for western district Following the district abbreviation is either BK for a Bankruptcy Court DC for a District Court or CA for a Court of Appeals The Court Code List is available under the Reports option on the main menu Appellate This option will search the Courts of Appeals by either case number party name and or a nature of suit code The search can be limited by region and or date range 1 If necessary select a particular region of the country to limit the search The default setting is to search all circuits Searches can be limited to a particular date range To search one day enter the same beginning and end dates To search forward enter a beginning date only To search backward enter an end date only The default setting will search for cases without a date range More specific searches can be performed by selecting both a region and a date range This may help reduce the number of search results Either a party name case number or Nature of Suit NOS code must be entered to perform a search A combination of party name and nature of suit is allowed Other combinations of
5. and the judge assigned to the case Party This is a list of all parties associated with a specific case the type of party e g defendant and the date the party was added to or terminated if applicable from the case The names and addresses of the attorneys that represent the parties are also listed January 2006 40 CM ECF PACER User Manual Related Transactions Each selected transaction in this case is shown in a box with any other transactions that it is linked or related Status The Status menu option provides the current status for a specific case e g Awaiting Closing Order Included in the information is the status the date the status was established and the event that established the status U S Bankruptcy Court CM ECF Report Options Cases Report This menu option allows the customer to retrieve a list of bankruptcy cases and adversary proceedings filed by date range The Cases report has general default settings however the report may be customized to be more specific The following selections may be changed to customize the report Office Indicates the divisional office in which the case was filed Case type ap for Adversary Proceeding bk for Bankruptcy or mp for Miscellaneous Proceeding Chapter Customers may choose any or all chapters to be included in the report Note Use the control button on the keyboard when clicking on a non consecutive items in the list to highligh
6. The information displayed for each claim includes the case number and debtor s name this 1s a hyperlink to the docket report for the case Claims Bar Date and Government Bar Date Creditor Name and address Claim Number may be hyperlinked to the actual claim filed Date Claim Filed Filing Status Filed Late Y N Deficiency Unliquidated Amount Claimed Class Administrative Priority Secured Unsecured Total Amount Allowed Duplicates Claim Number Duplicated by Claim Number Amends Claim Number Amended by Claim Number Remarks and Description Note The information above may vary in each court Docket Sheet This menu option allows the customer to enter a specific case number specify a date range if desired and specify a document range if desired to obtain the Docket Report Customers can choose to include all terminated parties active parties and counsel and member cases The report may be sorted by oldest date first or most recent date first Calendar Events The Calendar Events menu option provides a listing of past and or future calendar events for one case or multiple cases This listing contains the date time case number and brief explanation of the specific events Written Opinions The Written Opinions menu option provides a listing of written opinions made by the court for the date range entered Written opinions have been defined by the Judicial Conference as any document issued by a judge or judges of t
7. User Manual Assigned to Name of the judge presiding over the case Lead Case Case number of the lead case if consolidated jointly administered or multi district litigation Case in other court Court where case was originally filed as well as original case number in that court if applicable Case Flags Listed in the upper right corner of the docket these flags indicate certain actions in the case Case flags are used internally by the court Cause The U S Civil Statute in Title Section format under which the plaintiff filed the complaint as well as a brief description of the statute Date Filed The date the complaint was filed in this court Jury Demand Indicates whether or not a trial by jury was requested May reflect None Plaintiff Defendant or Both Nature of Suit For civil cases provides the code for the type of civil case filed To view a list of all recognized Nature of Suit codes visit PACER Documents at http pacer psc uscourts gov Jurisdiction The basis of jurisdiction under which this complaint was filed in the U S District Court They are as follows U S Government Plaintiff U S Government Defendant Federal Question U S Government Not a Party Diversity Docket entries Provides a listing of events concerning a particular case The docket sheet contains three items Date Filed The date the particular document was filed The docket entr
8. ao paR aa thse ey eae end harass 45 Change Your PACER Account estos aria 46 Review Billing History 22 204 idccnhhees ge dene dd a ed a ed 46 View PACER Account Information 00 020 e eee eee eee 47 AA A A ee aos Soe eed ee eee aa 47 TOS OWL a ida Tae 47 Chapter 8 U S Courts of Appeals oooooooocooocoooooocoococcopcopoosooooso 48 Scarch OPUOAS ada e head eee 48 Docket Sheet by Case Number 2 c4 cc22445 41 dae semen hed heb dd db 48 January 2006 111 CM ECF PACER User Manual Docket Sheet by Parte it Di ee de a 8 SONS ta SI ES 48 Other PACER OpUons e e ita Any do det see e A fhe Cee ened 49 PACER Service Center er esea e a ok he to dane da es eA AN IN 49 NEW LOA reeda oe cat etre eta eo e 0 49 Change Cent rar dit ewes 50 Billing History 2i 22240dh atddee inh etee aaa 50 Comment sartus nase eske pza 51 January 2006 iv CM ECF PACER User Manual Chapter 1 Overview The PACER manual provides customers with a better understanding of what PACER is and how 1t works In addition the manual will explain the Case Management Electronic Case Filing CM ECF system and how to utilize it effectively CM ECF is a new case management system recently implemented in the Federal Judiciary for all bankruptcy and district courts CM ECF allows courts to accept filings and provide access to filed documents over the Internet The CM ECF PACER manual will concentrate on accessing existing documents online not the filing o
9. billings Review Detailed Transaction History View details on searches conducted These details consist of date time and type of search client code if used number of pages and PACER charges Documents Provides important documents related to PACER access such as the PACER Service Center User Manual and PACER amp CM ECF Brochure FAQs Answers to frequently asked questions regarding CM ECF and PACER Announcements This section contains current announcements as they become available PACER customers may want to bookmark this page and review this section periodically for current information Register for PACER This is the registration page for processing an application for a PACER login and password Instant registration is also available For same day instant registration PACER will validate the credit card information provided on the registration form Once the card has been approved a message will be sent to the email address entered on the registration form that contains the new PACER login ID and instructions for retrieving the password Customers must acknowledge and comply with PACER s Policies and Procedures stated on the registration form PACER customers are registered for access to all PACER Internet sites Links Contains links to PACER ECF Sites a map of the United States that identifies districts within a court Sample PACER Sites and Phone Access to Automated Case Information U S Party Case Index S
10. mor siiret nan A De aS aS E a wah So Rien ER Sa 33 LOZO La eds He dase eee hc Hae oe ee A eae ee 33 Chapter 7 U S Bankruptcy Courts for CM ECE cc ccc cece rece ee eens 34 Understanding Case Numbers 0 0 cece eee eee eens 34 Understanding the Query Screen vs94 40 4995 sae vee G it 34 Query Options Men siii a er Ree Ed Rubin ded Rad a de a e 35 Alias Tec ona das 36 Associated Cases nea sti da o e a dhe DD a IA is a E E Gn ee 36 AOE aa aae le og e Rak Sang x es os ae esata On Re oes Sa 37 Case Summary era e dd he ta e a 37 Creditor se cate hes rita Gates aa e eed ae Oia ale ates Ae Re etl a yt ta he at 38 Deadlinie Schedule cotos pod ele dei 39 Docket Report sigais pride e tada rd did 39 UCTS 2 tue A E SS NO Ata Se 3 40 History Documents 25 4020 03 pulp nd Gaya ke A Capes 41 Notice of Bankruptcy Case Filing evo a eee bbw as 41 PAT ad a a TA ae os de o E a o a et lo Z 41 Related Transactions ci di oY eG Roan 42 SAUS ADA SR IA AD AA DL A EO es cea EAS GAS 42 U S Bankruptcy Court CM ECF Report Options o ooooooocococcooo o 42 Cases Report 3 EA AA owe es 42 Claims Register cuca Ad A rs 43 Pd O be tye E 44 Calendar Events A A Ne aie SN ok ENA a S 44 Written ODINIONS aeie teak eevee eee ieee ee eee 44 Creditor Mailing Matrix ois oases A pos eee ed Res da 45 Witlities Menu morari nd Oh hk aed E Re Saeed ek eS ate 45 ENTECE Loca abad pad tected Nit 8 pent A Patera eR a 45 Change Client Code 2 2i034 yi
11. these fields are not allowed Select Yes or No to display results with or without case title Click Search The search produces a list of cases if any that match the search criteria entered The party name case title if chosen court where the case is located case number filing date nature of suit code for civil cases and closing date if applicable for each match are displayed The court in which the case is located is abbreviated For example 01CA is the abbreviation for the Court of Appeals First Circuit The first two characters are a numeric or alpha representation for the circuit followed by the letters CA for Court of Appeals The Court Code List is available under the Reports option on the main menu Bankruptcy January 2006 14 CM ECF PACER User Manual This option will search the bankruptcy courts by a party name full Social Security Number SSN or last four digits of the SSN with a party name Tax Identification Number TIN or a case number The search can be limited by state or region and by a date range 1 Civil If necessary select a particular region of the country to limit the search The default is to search all courts Searches can be limited to a particular date range To search one day enter the same beginning and end dates To search forward enter a beginning date only To search backward enter an end date only The default will search for cases without a date range More spe
12. Codes Report National Summary CJRA Status Codes Summary Report CJRA Judges Magistrates Report30 or More 3 Year Old Cases The reports provide summary and detailed information on pending motions bench trials three year old cases bankruptcy appeals and Social Security appeal cases The summary reports display totals of pending civil matters by individual district judges and magistrate judges district circuit and nationwide The detailed reports also display totals in addition to information regarding the type of proceeding divisional office docket number nature of case case title CJRA filing reopened and deadline dates and case status There are separate data files for courts that have used the CJRA Integrated Case Management ICMS and Case Management Electronic Case Files CM ECF automated systems since March 1998 and the courts specifically designated as Non ICMS that reported their CJRA pending matters manually Reports may not exactly match numbers previously published in the CJRA national summary report since CJRA automated system modifications new reporting policy and court requests for data corrections have January 2006 18 CM ECF PACER User Manual occurred since the inception of electronic reports in March 1998 The changes have resulted in minimal differences in the numbers of CJRA pending matters compared to the previously published national summaries User Options Change Client Code The Change Client Co
13. Digit s Will display cases where the last case number digit is equal to this value Defendants The type of defendant s for cases extracted in the specific search Sort By Three sort options are provided within this report Customers may sort by Case Number Terminal Digit or divisional Office Output Format Type of format in which the report will be displayed Formatted Display Provides selections in HTML or web page format Data Only Provides a file containing raw data in pipe delimited format The selections above will yield a report as requested The report provides the Case Number Title Case Dates filed closed reopened Days Pending and Notes Calendar Events The Calendar Events option provides a listing of past and or future calendar events for one or multiple cases This listing contains the date time case number and brief explanation of specific events based upon the search results Docket Activity The Docket Activity option provides a list of the docket activity for one or more cases within the date range entered The report will provide the Case Number Title Dates Entered Filed Entered date January 2006 30 CM ECF PACER User Manual includes time of entry on a docket Category Event Docketed by and Notes may include Cause Office Presider Case Flags The case number is a hyperlink to the docket the document number may be a hyperlink to the document of the pleading in PDF format N
14. PUBLIC ACCESS TO COURT ELECTRONIC RECORDS of THE J OT 41 A e k A ZA V2 a h PACER USER MANUAL FOR ECF COURTS UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2006 http pacer psc uscourts gov Quick Start 1 Establish a PACER account at http pacer psc uscourts gov Click on Register for PACER 2 Search for a case PACER login and password required a If the location of the case is known click on Links to PACER Websites at http pacer psc uscourts gov to select the link for that court After logging in at a CM ECF site select Query from blue tool bar to search by party name case number or another available search option For a business enter the company name or part of it in the last name field b The second approach is searching a broad range of courts when the specific location of a case is not known Use the U S Party Case Index at http pacer uspci uscourts gov to search a state all courts in a circuit or the majority of courts at once Make sure to check the Courts Not Included listing to determine which courts data is and is NOT being searched and the Date Range report to determine the currency of the data 3 For documents available online there is a link for the docket entry number or an icon next to the docket entry If you access the Docket Report and do not see either the documents are not accessible online and should be ordered from the Clerk s office CM ECF PACER User Manual Table of Conte
15. Party All parties added to the case and their party role Debtor A person who has filed a petition for relief under the bankruptcy laws Defendant An individual or business against whom a lawsuit is filed Plaintiff A person or business that files a formal complaint with the court Atty The name of the attorney s in the case followed by the party s they represent It also includes the attorney s phone number fax number and email address Location of Case File s Used by courts to locate the case file folder Filed The date the first document was filed with the court This is usually the voluntary petition Terminated If closed the date of the docket entry closing the case was filed Discharged The date the discharge was ordered by the presiding judge Reopened The date if any the case was reopened Converted If applicable the date the case was converted from one chapter to another Dismissed The date the case was dismissed January 2006 37 CM ECF PACER User Manual Confirmation Hearing The date the Chapter 13 Plan or Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization will be confirmed Creditor The Creditor menu option provides a listing of the names and addresses of the creditors Deadline Schedule This will display the pending hearings deadlines for a specific case Included in the information is a brief description of the deadline schedule with a silver bullet if applicable that will link the cu
16. Party Case Index Not all federal courts participate in the U S Party Case Index The nonparticipating courts are listed under Courts not on Index on the Index s main menu These courts do not have data available in the U S Party Case Index For a complete nationwide search those courts must be searched individually The list of nonparticipating courts found on the Index site is updated regularly Court Database Updates Each night subsets of data are collected from the courts and transferred to the U S Party Case Index However information is not retrieved from all courts It is important to review the Date Ranges option from the Index s main menu or visit http pacer uspci uscourts gov cgi bin range pl Search Capability The U S Party Case Index allows customers to search nationwide by case number party name complete social security number or last four digits of the social security number in the bankruptcy index case number party name and or nature of suit in the civil index case number or defendant s name in the criminal index and case number party name and or nature of suit in the appellate index Each match produced from a search provides the party name the court where the case is filed the case number and the filing date In addition a date range and or region may be selected in order to narrow the search results Getting Additional Information on Cases To access information such as the docket for a pa
17. a search It can be changed and updated several times during a session 1 Click on Change Client 2 Enter up to thirty two characters in the client code field 3 Click on Update If the update is not invoked the client code entered will not be accepted Billing History The Billing History menu option provides billing history for the jurisdiction being accessed Included in the Billing History is the date and time of the transaction the number of billable pages the client code if applicable the description of the type of information provided i e a docket report case search etc and the search criteria entered to run the search The history may be ran for a single or multiple days 1 2 January 2006 Click on Billing History Choose the order of output by either Date or Client code Date If Date is chosen the transactions will be listed chronologically by date If the Client code Date is chosen the transactions will be grouped by client code in order by date with a subtotal for each Enter a start and end date for the billing transactions in the specified location If dates are not entered the report will run from the first of the current month to the current date Click on Run Report Note The billing history provided under this option only reflects the total for the particular court s site that is being accessed The billing history for all sites accessed can be obtained
18. a specific date range Customers may perform a more limited search by entering a case number or party name The selections made will yield a report as requested The report provides the Case Number Title Judgment Description for example In favor of Against Amount Date Document Interest Court cost and Status The case number is a hyperlink to the docket for the case while the document number may be a hyperlink to a document of the judgment in PDF format Criminal Cases The Criminal Cases menu option provides the customer the ability to retrieve a listing of criminal cases filed using a specific date range The Criminal Cases Report has general default settings however the report may be customized to be more specific The settings below may be changed to customize the report January 2006 29 CM ECF PACER User Manual Office Indicates the divisional office in which the case was filed Case types This may vary in each court Typical case types are Criminal Magistrate Judge or Petty Offense Filed to By choosing a beginning and ending date the report will display all cases either filed closed or both between the dates entered Dates should be entered in MM DD Y Y Y Y format Note Do not enter a date range that is too broad Doing so can result in difficulty receiving the data in addition to accruing charges for a large report Case flags List of case flags used by the court This may vary in each court Terminal
19. age only It does not include the cost for any previously viewed pages When searches are concluded select the Logout option to view the transactions for the entire day All Court Types This option will search a party name in all Appellate Bankruptcy Civil and Criminal courts The search can be limited by region and or date range 1 If necessary select a particular region of the country to limit the search The default is to search all courts 2 Searches can be limited to a particular date range To search one day enter the same beginning and end dates To search forward enter a beginning date only To search backward enter an end date only The default will search for cases without a date range 3 More specific searches can be performed by selecting both a region and a date range This may help reduce the number of search results 4 A party name must be entered to perform a search 5 Select Yes or No to display results with or without case title 6 Click Search 7 The search produces a list of cases if any that match the search criteria entered The party name case title if chosen the court where the case is located filing date case number and the chapter for bankruptcy cases the nature of suit for January 2006 13 CM ECF PACER User Manual civil cases and the closing date for civil and criminal cases are displayed The court in which the case is located is abbreviated like TXWBK for the Texas
20. ay be disregarded Information Updates January 2006 9 CM ECF PACER User Manual All CM ECF systems are updated instantly from the main court computer once the update is completed This provides real time access to information entered into the court s database If there are questions about the information the court is providing i e How far back does the data go Why are docket entries missing Or other questions about docket entries contact the court directly Saving a file To save a file select Save As under the browser tool bar option File or save the file to your computer Customers may also use the browser s Clipboard Copy and Paste functions to save transfer information to a desired location The Clipboard is a temporary storage area in your browsers memory used to transfer information The file can be saved in HTML format plain text or ascii DOS text Copy and paste can be used for any of the case information and report components of PACER This function is located under the browser s Edit drop down window To copy use the mouse to highlight the text on the screen To highlight click and hold down the left mouse button at the beginning of the text drag across to the end of the text and release the mouse button The desired text will be highlighted Then select Edit Copy Ctrl c on the keyboard to copy the highlighted text to the Clipboard To paste open a blank page in the desired word pro
21. back to the original case click on the Back button of the browser The lead docket number is the docket number of the lead case for associated or joined cases such as multi district litigation MDL and consolidated cases Attorney This provides the attorney name and address as well as the party s they represent Case File Location Used by the courts to locate a file folder Case Summary The Case Summary menu option provides a case header that includes case number and title presiding judge filed date terminated date if applicable and date of last filing of the specified case In addition the Case Summary provides the following January 2006 23 CM ECF PACER User Manual Office The divisional office where the case is located Jury Demand Indicates whether or not a trial by jury was requested May reflect None Plaintiff Defendant or Both Nature of Suit For civil cases provides the code for the type of civil case filed To view a list of all recognized Nature of Suit codes visit PACER Documents at http pacer psc uscourts gov Jurisdiction The basis of jurisdiction under which this complaint has been filed at the U S District Court 1 U S Government Plaintiff 2 U S Government Defendant 3 Federal Question U S Government Not a Party 4 Diversity County Provides the name of the county of residence for the plaintiff s Origin Pertains to origination
22. bankruptcy case it will reflect the Adversary Proceedings ap case number associated with this case For an Adversary Proceeding case it will reflect the lead bankruptcy case associated with this case January 2006 38 CM ECF PACER User Manual Related BK Title The name of debtor s on the bankruptcy case Chapter The chapter under which the bankruptcy is currently administered Voluntary Involuntary Specifies that the debtor s filed the bankruptcy voluntarily or was filed against Asset No asset This flag provides creditors a status of any property involved in this particular case Asset indicates there is property owned by a person that can be used to settle debts No asset indicates there is no property that can be used to settle debts Date Filed The date the bankruptcy complaint was filed Date Terminated If closed the filed date of the closing docket entry Date Discharged or Dismissed The date the discharge or dismissal was ordered by the presiding judge Docket entries Provides a listing of events concerning this particular case The docket text area contains three items Filing Date The date the particular document was filed The docket entry number Items on the docket report that are blue or purple and underlined indicate a hyperlink If a document number is hyperlinked clicking on it will direct customers to a PACER Transaction Receipt indicating the number of pages for that document T
23. case numbers for district court cases consists of four part numbers A typical case number is 1 05 cv 06794 or 1 05 cv 06794 where 1 is the office 05 is the year cv is the case type and 06794 is the case number Office Year Case Type Case Number 1 05 cv 06794 All four parts are needed to uniquely identify a case in the court If a court has more than one divisional office there is an office code 1 e 1 2 3 4 etc for each division All cases opened in a given year have the last two digits of the year as the second part of the case number Next the case type is either cv for a civil case or cr for a criminal case Finally there is an ascending sequence number i e 06794 that is the actual case number If the case type and office number are omitted on the PACER system 1 e 05 06794 all cases that match the year and case number entered are displayed The correct one can then be selected from the list provided Understanding the Query Screen Under the Query selection screen the customer can enter different search criteria Search results are based on the information entered within the screen Some search tips are listed below Note Searches performed under the Query screen may result in multiple pages A well defined search will yield a more specific result and reduce the fees incurred for the results of the search Case number Customers may search by a case number as previously described in de
24. cases reports or other non case specific reports or searches In CM ECF except for the Docket Report reports obtained using the Reports menu options are not case specific and are not capped at 30 pages If information retrieved from a PACER web site is printed the print job will not always match the number of pages billed The number of pages printed is dependent on the individual printer used and browser settings All customers are billed the same amount for the same information regardless of the browser settings or printer configurations A transaction receipt and the Review Billing History option are provided in each court s site for reviewing charges Note Review Billing History only provides the amount due from a specific court and may not reflect capped amounts To determine the total PACER charges customers may retrieve information from each court accessed and calculate a total A cumulative total may be obtained from the Account Information section at http pacer psc uscourts gov Dockets Docket reports are generated with the number of pages for a particular docket sheet before the document is reformatted for display as an HTML web page Billable pages are calculated using a formula to determine the number of pages for an HTML formatted report Any information extracted from the CM ECF database such as data used to create a docket sheet is billed using a formula based on the number of bytes extracted 4 320 bytes equal one billabl
25. cessing application then select Edit Paste Ctrl v on the keyboard Printing To print a screen click on the browser s Print button If there is a frame at the top of the screen in Query case information is separated from the rest of the screen by a line called a frame click on the lower half of the screen before clicking the print button If there is not a frame click in the body of the document before clicking on the print button Logging in 1 Enter the appropriate URL in the address bar of the browser Most courts can be located at http ecf court uscourts gov Links are also available at the PACER Service Center website at http pacer psc uscourts gov Select Links to PACER Web Sites Note The initials for court are the state abbreviation of the district if applicable and the first letter of the type of court b for bankruptcy and d for district For example the URL for the Texas Northern Bankruptcy Court is http ecf txnb uscourts gov 2 Click the link on the court s ECF website that reads Document Filing System 3 Enter your assigned PACER login and password at the ID and password prompt All PACER assigned logins and passwords must be entered in lowercase letters An optional thirty two character text may be entered in the Client Code field for tracking charges January 2006 10 CM ECF PACER User Manual 4 Click on Verify Login See respective chapter 5 6 or 7 for additional infor
26. cific searches can be performed by selecting a region and a date range This may help reduce the number of search results Either a party name full social security number or last four digits only with a party name TIN or a case number must be entered to perform a search The search will not combine these fields so only one of these fields can be entered Select Yes or No to display results with or without case title Click Search The search produces a list of cases if any that match the search criteria entered The party name court in which the case is located case number filing date and chapter for each match are displayed The court in which the case is located is abbreviated For example TXWBK is an abbreviation for the Texas Western Bankruptcy Court The first two letters are the postal abbreviation of the state in which the case is filed with the next letter indicating the district within the state C for central district E for eastern district M for middle district N for northern district S for southern district and W for western district The Court Code List is available under the Reports option on the main menu This option will search a district court for civil cases by case number party name and or Nature of Suit NOS code The search can be limited by region and or date range 1 January 2006 If necessary select a particular state or region of the country to limit the search The default is to searc
27. de option provides a means to change a client code to track charges for future billings In order for a client code to appear on a statement it must be entered and updated prior to a search It can be changed and updated several times during a session 1 Enter up to thirty two characters in the Client Code field 2 Click on Update If the update is not invoked the client code entered will not be accepted New Login The New Login feature provides an option to login as a new or different user For example a CJA attorney logged in with his her PACER ID used for court appointed cases will use this feature to login with his her PACER ID used for retained cases Billing History This option provides billing history for the U S Party Case Index Included in the Billing History is the date the transaction occurred the time the search began the number of pages for the transaction the client code if applicable the description of the type of information provided and the search criteria entered to run the search 1 Click on Billing History Ze Choose the order of output by either Date or Client code Date If Date is chosen the transactions are listed chronologically by date If the Client code Date is chosen the transactions are grouped by client code in order by date with a sub total for each 3 Enter a start and end date for the billing transactions in the specified location If dates are not entered the defaul
28. ded at the end of the listing Once a specific case is selected a new screen selection menu will appear This menu is the Query option menu and provides a variety of information pertaining to the person or case A brief explanation of each is described below Case Header Appears at the top of the screen and consists of the following Case Number The case number for the target case January 2006 22 CM ECF PACER User Manual Note The letters at the end of the case number are the initials of the judge assigned to the case Case Title The case title for the case i e Plaintiff vs Defendant Judge The judge assigned to the case Filed Date The date the complaint in a civil or criminal case was filed Date terminated The date the case was terminated if applicable Date of Last filing This reflects the date of the last document hearing or changes to the case information Alias Any additional names used by the individual or company are provided They include AKA Also Known As DBA Doing Business As or FKA Formally Known As Associated Cases The Associated Cases option provides cases related to the case or lead case Information included is the member case number type of case and the case title By clicking on any of the associated cases PACER customers are directed to the Docket Sheet screen where the customer can enter certain search criteria to view all or part of that case docket To get
29. docket number lower court judge and the latest docket entries on the case There is a one page charge for the case summary The summary page will also display the page count and cost for viewing the full docket To view the full docket and the opinions if available click on either Full Docket or Opinions Court opinions are offered at no charge When viewing the full docket the entire text of the docket sheet is displayed and blank lines are removed While this makes it easier to view the docket sheet printing will produce fewer physical pages than the original version of the docket sheet Billing is based on the number of pages in the docket sheet before the removal of the blank lines Other PACER Options PACER Service Center This option links to the PACER Service Center website at http pacer psc uscourts gov New Login This option allows the PACER login and password to be reentered or changed from one PACER account to another 1 Click on New Login 2 Enter assigned PACER login and password at the ID and password prompt An optional thirty two character client code may be entered at the client code field for tracking charges 3 Click on Submit Change Client January 2006 48 CM ECF PACER User Manual The Change Client menu option provides a means to change a client code to track charges on future billings In order for a client code to appear on a statement it must be entered and updated prior to
30. e charged a fee currently 08 per page subject to change for any search results PACER charges are not based on the pages viewed printed or downloaded but on the results of the search including a search that yields no matches one page for no matches Note CM ECF billable pages are calculated using a formula to determine the number of pages for an HTML formatted report Any information extracted from the CM ECF database such as data used to create a docket sheet is billed using a formula based on the number of bytes extracted 4 320 bytes equal one billable page When charges are accrued a transaction receipt will appear at the bottom of each HTML web page This will indicate the number of pages billed for that particular transaction Customers are billed on a quarterly basis for their transactions A client code of their choosing may be entered each time customers login to PACER to help manage internal billing Note The client code feature is optional Usage must be mandated and enforced by the customer To assess these charges cookies are used to uniquely identify users while running a Web PACER application For more information about cookies refer to http www cookiecentral com January 2006 2 CM ECF PACER User Manual There is a 30 page cap that applies to all case specific information including case documents docket sheets and case specific reports The cap does not apply to transcripts of federal court proceedings new
31. e client code entered will not be accepted January 2006 31 CM ECF PACER User Manual Change Your PACER Login This option allows the PACER customer to switch from one PACER account to another For example a CJA attorney logged in with his her PACER ID used for court appointed cases will use this feature to login with his her PACER ID used for retained cases Review Billing History An option to Review Billing History is available at each CM ECF site Included in the report is the date and time of the transaction the number of billable pages the client code if applicable the description of the type of information provided i e docket report case search etc and the search criteria entered to run the search The history can be run for single or multiple days 1 Click on Review Billing History 2 Choose the order of output by either Date or Client code Date If Date is chosen the transactions will be listed chronologically by date If the Client code Date is chosen the transactions will be grouped by client code in order by date with a subtotal for each 3 Enter a start and end date for the billing transactions in the specified location If dates are not entered the report will run with default options They are the first day of the current month through the current date 4 Click on Run Report Note The billing history provided under this option reflects the total for the particular cou
32. e ees E Seine bebe A ae ees oe 10 Universal Login 2232425 2sitledivits dee ib bt eee bb ta kad 11 ARMS E AS AS an enon abate A N S 11 Chapter 5 U S Party Case Index oi AE 12 Not All Courts Are Available on the U S Party Case Index ooooooooomo o o 12 Court Database Updates cuac o ds ada e dada 12 Search Capablanca dida 12 January 2006 1 CM ECF PACER User Manual Getting Additional Information on Cases 0 0 cece eee eee 12 Search Options 2 2 re Aa PR RAE Oa ae Doe ee ea is 13 PC Gr Dyes arc eed 2 A ir Ae ars gt Ok ddan eased oA tars 13 Appellate ck 2 ee A Ke ae Gael ee eet See ee 14 Bankr pte yi da di tada 15 Civil gray Ceiba nem hehe he RG BUREN OLR A tin DERE awd 15 AA ale a Ate a gia te hw a aes eo E Sahn Sand fie A clan hts Si 16 Report Options 2 5524 ri eect aa hae wee eae on ee ee ees 17 Come Code Lada bee are dl ee Baa ee 17 Date Ranges ia Banat bata NI ceda Ube ote o dl La meo a e a 17 Courts Not n Index ir eiei etina ra E A in 17 Statistical Reports a ADS A A A A A A A A aa 18 User Options menes e is ia ro it la di ia o qua hee 19 Change Client Code sosie oy ay dee eee arte eo ee en ewes nes 19 New Login 000 A A A aaa ns 19 Biling History 22 4 eucedhe ri bed peed Hoek rada 19 PSC HOmMesP A EN Ss 20 Esmalte 20 LOPOU a lt Balls RS A AA 20 Chapter 6 U S District Courts Civil or Criminal for CM ECF oo oooooo ooo o 21 Understanding Case Numbers ooiucioia podas aaa dr pls a iba 21 U
33. e generated at the next billing cycle Payment can be made by check money order or credit card Payments may be made online from the PACER website under Account Information or by calling the PACER Service Center at 800 676 6856 to pay a balance using VISA MasterCard Discover or American Express If payment is made by check please include the login on the check to ensure that payment is posted to the correct account The payment mailing address is PACER Service Center P O Box 70951 Charlotte NC 28272 0951 Currently PACER does not accept check by phone payments If a client code is entered for a transaction the client code will appear on the statement The Client Code feature is a thirty two character text field for tracking charges A client code will not appear on the bill unless it is entered at the time of transaction Because the client code feature is optional usage must be managed and enforced by the customer Billing Statement There are two ways to review usage available to PACER customers The Usage History options are available from the PACER website http pacer psc uscourts gov under the Account Information screen Review Quarterly Statements provides customers with the option to view current or previous billings Also Review Detailed Transaction History provides details on January 2006 4 CM ECF PACER User Manual searches conducted by the customer These details consist of date time client code if used type o
34. e name search is not case sensitive Customers may enter a name in any combination of uppercase and lowercase letters and the search will extract all names that have any combination of matching uppercase or lowercase letters in the name fields SSN Customers may search by the full Social Security Number SSN Use of a wildcard is not permitted Social Security numbers must be entered using dashes between each set of numbers 1 e 123 45 6789 Tax ID Customers may search by a company s tax ID number Type Customers may choose from a list of available party types 1 e Attorney Party Trustee This list may vary in each site In order to search for a specific Type at least three letters of the last name or company name must be entered in the last name field Only one search criterion may be used If there are entries for two or more of the search options the latter is used For example if a case number and SSN are entered the case number will be erased as soon as the Search button is clicked Query Options Menu Clicking on Run Query produces the search results The results may produce a listing of persons or cases Customers may select from the list click the back button to enter more data or run another search The number of party matches is displayed If more choices exist than appear in the display area a scroll bar will be present to the right of the selection box Either the mouse or arrow keys may be uti
35. e page Note Docket Reports are capped at 30 pages Case Reports Billable pages for case reports such as the New Case Listing or Mailing Matrix are calculated using a formula to determine the number of pages for an HTML formatted report Any information extracted from the CM ECF database such as data used to create a docket sheet is billed using a formula based on the number of bytes extracted 4 320 bytes equal one billable page Note Use caution when running New Cases Reports as these reports are not capped at 30 pages Search Results Search results are calculated using a formula to determine the number of pages for an HTML formatted report Any information extracted from the CM ECF January 2006 3 CM ECF PACER User Manual database such as data used to create a docket sheet is billed using a formula based on the number of bytes extracted 4 320 bytes equal one billable page Note Use caution when running name searches as the results are not capped at 30 pages Images Most PACER web sites offer images of documents filed Images are billed according to the number of pages scanned in PDF format Each scanned page equals one billable page Note Case related documents are capped at 30 pages PACER Billing The PACER Service Center bills quarterly and sends statements to customers by mail or email Payment is deferred for any balance that is less than 10 Once the account balance exceeds 10 a billing statement will b
36. easier to view the docket sheet printing will produce fewer physical pages than the original version of the docket sheet Billing is based on the number of pages in the docket sheet before the removal of the blank lines Docket Sheet by Party Name To display a list of cases for a party and or attorney enter all or part of the persons last name and first name separated by a comma The search is not case sensitive and spaces are not necessary For example Jones Jim and jones jim are the same search Do not use wildcards in either the first or last names Entering Smi will find Smiley Smith and Smithers Entering Smi Jo will find Joe Smiley John Smiley Jonathan Smith January 2006 47 CM ECF PACER User Manual and JoAnn Smithers Check or uncheck the Party and Attorney check boxes to select the search criteria to be used Click on Search to display a listing of cases that match the criteria searched This list will provide the case number Party Attorney Name and Short Title The list of matched cases is displayed one page at a time If more than one page exists for the list the option Next is provided at the top and bottom of the list in order to retrieve the next page To view more information for a case from the list click on the case number to display the case summary The case summary consists of a one page summary that includes the short title 1 e Smith v Jones nature of suit code district of origin lower court
37. er that created the deadline a hyperlink to view this document may be available description of the deadline event the filed date the due date and time if applicable the date the deadline event was satisfied and the date the deadline event was actually terminated Clicking on the silver bullet does not link to the actual document but to the docket text of this particular entry Docket Report Docket Sheet This menu option allows customers to enter a specific case number specify a date range if desired and specify a document range if desired to obtain the docket report Customers can choose to include all terminated parties active parties and counsel and member cases There is an option to sort the report by oldest date first or most recent date first Docket reports were designed to be the official record of a case The typical docket report contains information obtained from the Civil or Criminal Cover Sheet submitted by the plaintiff for each complaint filed The parties appear on the first page of the docket report along with the counsel for each party with counsel s address and telephone number This is followed by a list of events in the case Additional features that may be included in the docket report are Header Name of the U S Court with jurisdiction over the case divisional office where it is being administered and the case number Case Title Plaintiff v Defendant January 2006 25 CM ECF PACER
38. erves as a national locator of cases filed in federal courts and provides access to federal case statistical reports Search results include case number case title and the federal court where the case was filed January 2006 7 CM ECF PACER User Manual CM ECF General information and several useful CM ECF Frequently Asked Questions FAQs Miscellaneous Phone number s to Voice Case Information Systems VCIS and information pertaining to Federal Case Statistical Reports Statistics Contains information on Federal Case Statistical Reports These reports can be purchased through the U S Party Case Index Search County and District Locator allows customers to identify the district or county where a case is filed It is possible to search for a district by county name search all counties in a district or search for a county name by county code Help Forgotten password retrieval instructions and FAQs are provided If password security information is on file customers can receive a link to retrieve their password online The login ID email address and phone number on file must be entered Otherwise the account information will be sent via U S Mail to the address on record for the specified account January 2006 8 CM ECF PACER User Manual Chapter 4 CM ECF PACER General Information This section contains information about accessing CM ECF PACER over the Internet What Is Needed The following is needed to access the sy
39. es and technologies designed to provide people outside the court the public with easy access to court information The United States Courts designed an electronic public access system called PACER Public Access to Court Electronic Records for online access to U S District Court U S Bankruptcy Court and U S Courts of Appeals case information PACER systems are beneficial for quickly tracking or retrieving accurate information about current and recently closed federal cases These systems provide listings of cases searched by name Social Security Number SSN case number or filing dates as well as comprehensive electronic case summaries dockets and documents The availability of imaged documents is decided by each court Therefore access to images in a case may include all documents certain documents or no documents The information obtained can be viewed printed or downloaded If a document is not available through PACER customers may need to contact the court to request a copy Note Each court maintains its own computer system and case information database therefore there will be some variations among jurisdictions as to the format and content of information offered PACER Fees The United States Congress has given the Judicial Conference of the United States the judicial governing body of the U S Federal Courts authority to impose fees for electronic access to case information All registered agencies or individuals will b
40. f new documents Some of the CM ECF features and benefits are listed below PACER Features 24 hour access to case file documents over the Internet Ability to download and print documents directly from the court system Simultaneous access to case files by multiple parties Savings in time and expenditures for attorneys Expanded search and reporting capabilities Ease of use utilizes standard Internet browsers 1 e Internet Explorer and Netscape No waiting in line or unavailable files at the courthouse CM ECF Features Ability to file documents pleadings electronically with the court Automatic email notices of case activity Note Case filing logins passwords are issued by the respective court They are only valid for filing documents in the court that issued them and are NOT interchangeable with PACER logins passwords CM ECF Benefits January 2006 Replaces aging electronic docketing and case management systems in all federal courts No delays or added expenses associated with mail or courier services Instant access and allows easier tracking of case activity Reduces physical storage space needs and document processing times Low start up costs uses standard Internet browsers and established Portable Document Format PDF for files Secure and reliable Court dockets are immediately updated and available CM ECF PACER User Manual Chapter 2 Introduction to Electronic Public Access The Federal Court system has servic
41. f search number of pages and PACER charges Billing Errors If an error is suspected on a statement or if there are questions concerning a transaction write to PACER Service Center P O Box 780549 San Antonio TX 78278 All credit requests must be submitted in writing Requests may be faxed to the Pacer Service Center at 210 301 6441 The correspondence should contain account name login ID along with a copy of the transactions in question Indicate the reason for each credit being requested then sign the request prior to submitting it A PACER Service Center representative will contact the customer during the review process January 2006 5 CM ECF PACER User Manual Chapter 3 PACER Service Center Website http pacer psc uscourts gov General Information The PACER Service Center PSC website at http pacer psc uscourts gov contains helpful information for PACER customers as well as for those interested in obtaining PACER access Visitors can access sample data register for PACER link to PACER websites review FAQs and retrieve PACER user manuals PACER Website The PACER website has general information about PACER registration and account information as well as many other features PACER customers may find useful Overview Includes general information on PACER Account Information Provides options for updating PACER account information and monitoring usage January 2006 Change Account Information Change a
42. firm or company name contact person mailing address email address and phone number Change Account Password The system can generate a new password or customers have the option of creating one New passwords must be exactly eight characters long and contain at least two numbers and two letters Password changes do not take effect until the next business day Set Account Security Information For security reasons PACER passwords are not faxed emailed or provided over the phone This function provides an option to retrieve the PACER password By providing an email address security question and answer and date of birth the PACER Service Center is able to send an email that will contain the login ID and a link to obtain the password It is important that customers set up the security information under this feature prior to needing the password Quarterly Statement Email Services Sign up to have billing statements sent by email Check Account Balance Make Online Credit Card Payment Check account balance due date and make on line payments CM ECF PACER User Manual Update Credit Card Sign Up for Automatic Payment Set up automatic credit payments and make appropriate changes to credit card information Approximately seven days prior to the due date the amount of the bill will be charged to the credit card on file This only applies to balances of more than 10 Review Quarterly Statements View a summary of current or previous
43. h all courts Searches can be limited to a particular date range To search one day enter the same beginning and end dates To search forward enter a beginning date only 15 CM ECF PACER User Manual To search backward enter an end date only The default setting will search for cases without a date range 3 More specific searches can be performed by selecting a region and a date range This may help reduce the number of search results 4 Either a party name case number or a Nature of Suit NOS code must be entered to perform a search A combination of party name and nature of suit is allowed Other combinations of these fields are not allowed 5 Select Yes or No to display results with or without case title 6 Click Search 7 The search produces a list of cases if any that match the search criteria entered The party name case title if chosen court in which the case is located a case number filing date Nature of Suit NOS and closing date for each match are displayed The court in which the case is located is abbreviated For example TXWDC is an abbreviation for the Texas Western District Court The first two letters are the postal abbreviation of the state in which the case is filed with the next letter indicating the district within the state C for central district E for eastern district M for middle district N for northern district S for southern district and W for western district The Court C
44. he court sitting in that capacity that sets forth a reasoned explanation for a court s decision The responsibility for determining which documents meet this definition rests with the authoring judge Note This functionality will only be available in courts that have installed Bankruptcy Court CM ECF version 3 0 or higher and will only provide free access to opinions filed after the court is actively using version 3 0 Creditor Mailing Matrix The Creditor Mailing Matrix provides creditor names and addresses in either a one column label format a three column label format or raw data unprocessed format These options may vary by court January 2006 43 CM ECF PACER User Manual When selecting the raw data format option data is displayed as Case NumberlName of CreditorlAddress 1lAddress 2lAddress 3lAddress 4 An example of an entry with blank fields is as follows Case Number 96 12345 Name of Creditor Bugs Bunny Address 1 blank Address 2 12345 Bunny Road Address 3 blank Address 4 Washington DC 12345 The raw data would appear as 96 12345 Bugs Bunnyll12345 Bunny RoadllWashington DC 12345 Utilities Menu Some of the menu options under this category may vary in each court CM ECF Login The CM ECF Login feature provides the ability to enter an Electronic Case Filing ECF login and password This login password is issued by the court and allows customers to file documents electronically The court
45. icts that are organized into 12 regional circuits To see a list of the circuits and the states which make up those circuits visit PACER Documents at http pacer psc uscourts gov Note The instructions provided in this section pertain to traditional PACER as the Courts of Appeals have not yet implemented CM ECF This will occur by the end of 2006 Search Options The screen that appears after successfully logging in is the PACER search screen In order to retrieve a docket report either a case number or party attorney name must be entered Docket Sheet by Case Number Enter the appellate case number and click on the OK button to the right The case number must be entered as where the first two digits are the year and the last four or five digits are the number 1 e 96 1211or 96 11211 The case selection will return a one page summary that includes the short title 1 e Smith V Jones nature of suit code districts of origin lower court docket number lower court judge and the latest docket entries for the case There is a one page charge for the case summary The summary page will also display the page count and cost for viewing the full docket To view the full docket and the opinions if available click on either Full Docket or Opinions Court opinions are offered at no charge When viewing the full docket the entire text of the docket sheet is displayed and blank lines are removed While this makes it
46. lized to scroll up or down through the choices The number of pages resulting from the search is provided at the end of the listing Clicking on a party name provides January 2006 34 CM ECF PACER User Manual either a list of cases in which the party is involved click on the desired case number or a new screen selection menu This menu is the Query options menu and provides a variety of information pertaining to the person company or case A brief explanation of each is described below Case Header The case header appears at the top of the screen It consists of the following Case Number The case number for the target case Case Title The case title debtor and or co debtor if any for bankruptcy cases Plaintiff vs Defendant for adversary proceedings Case Type The case type of the case bk for bankruptcy case ap for adversary proceeding mp for miscellaneous proceeding Chapter The chapter of the case The following is a list of all available chapters in bankruptcy Chapter 7 Typically filed as a no asset case Chapter 9 Municipalities Chapter 11 Reorganization Chapter 12 Family Farmer Fisherman Chapter 13 Wage Earner Chapter 15 formerly listed as Chapter 304 Foreign proceeding Assets The asset flag for the case Yes signifies asset case No signifies no asset case Vol V Indicates whether the case is voluntary V or Involuntary I Judge Judge assigned to the case Da
47. mation when performing your searches Universal Login PACER customers have the added convenience of a Universal Login feature This feature allows a customer to login at one PACER site on the Internet and move to other PACER sites without having to login again as long as the browser remains open If the browser is closed it will be necessary to login again The Universal Login is available from the PACER Service Center website at http pacer psc uscourts gov by clicking on the picture of the court house in the top left corner of the screen A cookie enabled browser is required for the Universal Login to work Exiting PACER can be exited at any time by closing the browser to exit the Internet or by moving to another web site January 2006 11 CM ECF PACER User Manual Chapter 5 U S Party Case Index http pacer uspci uscourts gov The U S Party Case Index is a national index for the U S District Courts U S Bankruptcy Courts and U S Courts of Appeals Subsets of data are collected from the courts and transferred to the U S Party Case Index The index serves as a locator index for the customers of the federal judiciary s Electronic Public Access services A nationwide search will determine the location of a case for a party that is involved in federal litigation Detailed information on cases found while searching the U S Party Case Index may be accessed through a link if provided Not All Courts Are Available on the U S
48. nderstanding the Query Screen siciliana 21 Query Options Meno e tate hk a cel A Deco OAO aS 22 Alai pe dd di ae 23 ASSOCIALEO CASES DLL a a A AD a ADA peed te 23 A eeii pan ceed EA vob ER he Ob need Pebed Ge neat tows 23 Case Pile Location ads os fee eee dete heats ex cds 23 Case Summary AA A AA EE 4 24 Deadlines Meaning epa ir nat eel wed 25 Decket Report a CM ne UA E ada eN Ad O 25 O Ret tet ata e ict eal ahd ished he Mees a a ects tat 27 HIstory DOCUMIEMS is A AE web ee os eee ed eee dG 27 Partyn A IS O 28 Related Transactions 2 22 8 res dd te did rad e A Patera eR a a de 28 LAUSANA O A e Id 1 ene bee ra 28 U S District Court CM ECF PACER Report Options 0 00 00 e eee 28 Report Search os 2222245 dio di ld eden a Lge eee an Sees 28 Docket Sheet eran ewer dy oho Mat coe do y 28 Cvik Cases oe opi a ee NaNO EEO AA A iS a ee Sate 29 JudementindeX deja cit ode n cd Ged oe ae Sand ere eden and 30 Criminal Cases ca Rule id eA ire ie are ok Suk do da ia Sard eh Ad oh oes 30 Calendar Events teoria li Ke aa ae ad led Se tas 31 DOCKED ACU VINY erena wate iecie o we ete da 31 Written OPINIONS i2c4 h25 labio testaae dla ips ara oblea 31 January 2006 ii CM ECF PACER User Manual A Ba ge Sue Pe a8 SRO e Dee gee ee 32 GORI yeas pasha aida ad ai 32 Change Cent ir de ea CORA ore 32 Change Your PACER Login a tt ES AA Sees 32 Review Billing History atrio a 32 Show PACER Account ooococccccconcorno renra 33 Legal Researcha s
49. nkruptcy case ap for an adversary proceeding or mp for a miscellaneous proceeding Finally there is an ascending sequence number i e 06794 that is the actual case number If the case type and office number are omitted on the PACER system 1 e 05 06794 all cases that match the year and case number entered are displayed The correct one can then be selected from the list provided Understanding the Query Screen Under the Query selection screen the customer can enter different search criteria Search results are based on the information entered within the screen Some search tips are listed below January 2006 33 CM ECF PACER User Manual Note Searches performed under the Query screen may result in multiple pages A well defined search will yield a more specific result and reduce the fees incurred for the results of the search Case Number Customers may search by a case number as previously described in detail Last Name To search by party name at least three letters of an individual s last name or a company name are required First Name This is not a required field However to limit the search customers may enter the first name of an individual requires at least three letters in the last name field Middle Name This is not a required field However to limit the search customers may enter the initial or full middle name of an individual requires at least three letters in the last name field Note Th
50. nts Chapter 1 OvervieW ii EA AA AAA a 1 PACER Ecatepec Oe Aba gee ed 1 CM ECE Features picasa a one ey teense SS eae eras 1 CM ECF Benefits ii chia tia wine eek caieka Gl aaa aa eas Wien hee ak 1 Chapter 2 Introduction to Electronic Public Access oooooooooooooooooPo 2 PACER TES Segre rere tis euler eeu A ee Sea 2 DOCKS suis fag uri E eae bods bet daa 3 Case REPOms Vigna cis ane tada dt Abd 3 Search Results issaraen aa a a As Se ane 4 Mages AN aie oa A A en E ene A ER 4 PACER Bilin soc wena di are ene Me Be ees Be ee E Oe eee ee 4 Billing Statem nt ddr a detract hd a e O Mt NEES es Ls 5 Billing Errors ari A E AE a ae 5 Chapter 3 PACER Service Center Website ooooooooooooomorror rror rorroooo 6 General NOTAMOS A AS sd 6 PACER Website ost id ri ao id AS Go nome ne eee ale TES am Az TAS 6 Resister tor PACER nia LA A A epee Aes E 7 INKS E e A ie e dd es N 7 AA A eR OP one OR aaaa J CMEGP 0d dia dond aro E a ol 8 Miscellaneous usas cad a heb adeeis 8 SAUS A A as le ae 8 Search A RO 8 Help aso O E OR AN 8 Chapter 4 CMECEPACER 05500 A AR AAA 9 General Informator se taa Ea ica 9 What Ts Needed encara dd ad dps 9 DAYA aDeSe 9 SECUTI ra ca oy ea he nig des ake Aen harder ds alas EEE ab OE ge go Be datada AAEREN 9 Information Updates 2 i204 ri Se aa a ee Re AA ee 10 Savine aA ME ae hte IN E g hee ioe a 10 A ie tana cg Sac Shits isha he ek at a Sct aha as A tte gras ths ashe 10 LOS PNPM vain a ee ea ge ly
51. nts Included in the information is the document number if applicable file date and a description of the event Doc No Provides the document number The document number may have a hyperlink to the actual document filed at the court If the document number is blue or purple and underlined the document may be viewed by clicking on the hyperlink If the number is black the document is not available online Dates The date this document was filed entered terminated Description A brief description of activity in the case or the document filed unless Display Docket Text was chosen as a display option on the previous screen Next to the description is a silver bullet Select the silver bullet to obtain the full docket text for a particular docket entry it is not a link to the actual document Note The date the event was electronically entered on the docket appears within the docket text This date may differ from the filed date if the document was filed manually and not docketed the same day it was received Party This is a list of all parties associated with a specific case the type of party e g defendant and the date the party was added to or terminated if applicable from the case The names and addresses of the attorneys that represent the parties are also listed Related Transactions Each selected transaction in the case is shown in a box with any other transactions to which it is linked or related
52. o access the document click the View Document button The document will open in PDF format If the document number is black the document is not available online Customers must contact the court to obtain copies of any document not available online Docket Text A brief summary of the event which resulted in this docket entry Note Entered mm dd yyyy This is the date the event was electronically entered on the docket Documents filed on one day but not entered into the court s database until the next day will result in the difference between the date filed and date entered Filers The Filers menu option provides a list of parties that have filed documents in a specific case party type date the filer was added to the case and date the filer was terminated if applicable from the case Click on the hyperlink for the filer name to access January 2006 39 CM ECF PACER User Manual additional information such as the document number pertaining to documents filed by the individual event name and date filed Select the silver bullet in the event field to obtain docket text for a particular entry History Documents The History Documents menu option provides events docketed on a specific case This list can be sorted to include all events in the case or only events with documents Included in the information is the document number if applicable date filed and description of the event Select the silver bullet
53. ode List is available under the Reports option on the main menu Criminal This option will search a district court for criminal cases by party name or case number The search can be limited by region and or date range l If necessary select a particular region of the country to limit the search The default setting is to search all courts 2 Searches can be limited to a particular date range To search one day enter the same beginning and end dates To search forward enter a beginning date only To search backward enter an end date only The default setting will search for cases without a date range 3 More specific searches can be performed by selecting a region and a date range This may help reduce the number of search results 4 Either a party name or a case number must be entered to perform a search The search will not combine these fields so only one of these fields can be entered January 2006 16 CM ECF PACER User Manual 5 Select Yes or No to display results with or without case title 6 Click Search 7 The search produces a list of cases if any that match the search criteria entered The party name case title if chosen court in which the case is located a case number filing date and closing date for each match are displayed The court in which the case is located is abbreviated For example TXWDC is an abbreviation for the Texas Western District Court The first two letters are the postal abb
54. of the complaint 1 Original Proceeding 2 Removed from State Court 3 Remanded from Appellate Court 4 Reinstated or Reopened 5 Transferred from another district 6 Multi District Litigation 7 Appeal to District Judge from Magistrate Judgment Lead Case The case number if multiple cases were filed either consolidated or jointly administered under one case number Related Case Case s linked to the main case either by joint administration or consolidation Def Custody Status For criminal cases the defendant may be detained or held under guard Flags Used internally by the court Filed The date the initiating document was filed at the court Demand Monetary demand as filed in the complaint per thousands 000 Cause The U S Civil Statute in Title Section format under which the plaintiff files the complaint as well as a brief description of the statute January 2006 24 CM ECF PACER User Manual Disposition The outcome of the case Terminated The date if any the case was closed Reopened The date if any the case was reopened Other Court Case If applicable the name of the court where the case originated along with the original case number Plaintiff The party that initiated the suit action Defendant The party against which the action is brought Deadlines Hearing This will display the pending hearings deadlines for the specified case Included in the information is the document numb
55. ote A case number should be entered to make the search more specific This will avoid generating a report that may contain hundreds of pages Written Opinions The Written Opinions menu option provides a listing of written opinions made by the court for the date range entered Written opinions have been defined by the Judicial Conference as any document issued by a judge or judges of the court sitting in that capacity that sets forth a reasoned explanation for a court s decision The responsibility for determining which documents meet this definition rests with the authoring judge Utilities Menu Some of the menu options under this category may vary in each court ECF Login This option allows the customer to enter an Electronic Case Filing ECF login and password This login password is issued by the court and allows customers to file documents electronically The court s Local Rules and procedures dictate who is eligible to receive an ECF login password Note An ECF login password does not allow access to view documents Change Client Code The Change Client Code menu option provides a means to change a client code in order to track charges on future billings In order for a client code to appear on a statement it must be entered and updated prior to a search It can be changed several times during a session Li Enter up to thirty two characters in the client code field 2 Click on Submit If the change is not submitted th
56. ourt Cause The U S Civil Statute in Title Section format under which the plaintiff filed the complaint and a brief description of the statute Filed to By choosing a beginning and ending date the report will display all cases either January 2006 28 CM ECF PACER User Manual filed closed or both between the dates entered Dates should be entered in MM DD Y Y Y Y format Note Do not enter a date range that is too broad Doing so can result in difficulty receiving the data in addition to accruing charges for a large report Terminal Digit s Will display cases where the last digit of the case number is equal to this value Open Cases Closed Cases Clicking in these boxes will produce a report containing open cases closed cases or both if both boxes are checked filed within the date range selected Sort By Three sort options are provided within this report Customers may sort by Case Number Terminal Digit or Divisional Office Output Format Type of format in which the report will be displayed Formatted Display Provides selections in HTML web page format Data Only Provides a file containing raw data in pipe delimited format The selections above will yield a report as requested The report provides the Case Number Title Case Dates Filed Closed Reopened Days Pending and Notes Judgment Index The Judgment Index menu option provides a list of cases in which judgments have been entered according to
57. reviation of the state in which the case is filed with the next letter indicating the district within the state C for central district E for eastern district M for middle district N for northern district S for southern district and W for western district The Court Code List is available under the Reports option on the main menu Report Options Court Code List The Court Code List menu option provides a list of the court abbreviations used by the U S Party Case Index Date Ranges The Date Ranges menu option provides the date ranges of the cases in each court It will specify how far back information can be accessed and the last time the U S Party Case Index was updated for each court Note The start date in the USPCT is the filing date of the first case from the data received from a particular court It is not an indication that every case filed since then is available in the USPCI Courts Not on Index The Courts Not on Index option provides a list of the courts not included in the U S Party Case Index at this time Statistical Reports The reports available for purchase in the U S Party Case Index are the F 2 U S Bankruptcy Courts F SA U S Bankruptcy Courts and the Civil Justice Reform Act Reports Additional statistical reports are available on the Judiciary s web site January 2006 17 CM ECF PACER User Manual www uscourts gov under Judicial Business of the United States Courts The F 2 report con
58. rlDate FiledlCourt NamelLast NamelFirst Namel Middle NamelGeneration Social Security NumberlTax IdlStreet AddresslAddress 2lAddress 3ICitylStatel5 Digit Zip Codel4 Digit Zip Code Extension The selections above will produce the requested report The report provides the Case Number Related Case Info Case Type Party Info Judge Trustee Dates Filed Entered and Other Info Office Asset Fee County Claims Register A Claim is a right to payment or a right to an equitable remedy for a breach of performance if the breach gives rise to a right to payment A Creditor must file a Proof of Claim form along with documentation evidencing the validity and amount of the Claim The Court is required to keep a list of Claims filed in a case when it appears that there will be a distribution to Unsecured Creditors This menu option provides a list of claims filed in the case with relevant information for the specified case To search for claims enter a case number Search results can be limited by adding a creditor name claim number a range of claim numbers or leave blank to retrieve all claims The default date range is the first day of the current month to the current day Be sure to expand the date range to cover the life of the case being searched in order to view all claims filed for that case This report may be sorted alphabetically by Creditor Name numerically by Claim Number or by Filed Date January 2006 42 CM ECF PACER User Manual
59. rt s site that is being accessed The billing history for all sites accessed can be obtained under Account Information at the PACER website http pacer psc uscourts gov The information is available by the 15 day of the following month Show PACER Account This option displays the PACER login and client code if applicable for the current session Legal Research The Legal Research menu feature provides a means for linking to sites that provide a Law or Medical Dictionary It is designed to assist in understanding the documents January 2006 32 CM ECF PACER User Manual submitted to the court Note Some courts may not offer this feature Logout The Logout feature provides a means for logging out or exiting the CM ECF PACER system Chapter 7 U S Bankruptcy Courts for CM ECF Understanding Case Numbers Full case numbers for bankruptcy court cases consists of four part numbers A typical case number is 1 05 bk 06794 or 1 05 bk 06794 where 1 is the office 05 is the year bk is the case type and 06794 is the case number Office Year Case Type Case Number 1 05 bk 06794 All four parts are needed to uniquely identify a case in the court If a court has more than one divisional office there is an office code i e 1 2 3 4 etc for each division All cases opened in a given year have the last two digits of the year as the second part of the case number Next the case type is either bk for a ba
60. rticular case found while searching the U S Party Case Index either click on the case number link to the case summary information or click on the court code link to access the CM ECF PACER site for the court in which the case is located Case number links are only provided for courts that have CM ECF PACER accessible through the Internet January 2006 12 CM ECF PACER User Manual Note The charge for viewing a linked docket will not appear in the Billing History option of the U S Party Case Index The charge will appear at the linked court s Review Billing History option under Utilities Search Options Searches must be run with at least a party name a case number or a nature of suit code Other fields such as date range or region are optional and are provided to limit a search Form instructions and help are available on each online search menu By default the search results will be displayed one page at a time One billable page will contain up to 54 matches The charge for no matches found is one billable page An option is available to download the entire search results as a text or zip file The case number field in the output list will be a direct link to the full case information for a specific case The court field in the output list is a direct link to the court s database A receipt is displayed at the bottom of the screen indicating the number of billable pages and cost for the data on the current viewable web p
61. s Local Rules and procedures dictate who is eligible to receive an ECF login password Note An ECF login password does not allow customers to view documents Change Client Code The Change Client Code menu option provides a means to change a client code to track charges on future billings In order for a client code to appear on a statement it must be entered and updated prior to a search It can be changed and updated several times during a session 1 Enter up to thirty two characters in the client code field 2 Click on Submit If the Submit button is not clicked the client code entered will not be accepted January 2006 44 CM ECF PACER User Manual Change Your PACER Account This option allows a PACER customer to switch from one PACER account to another Review Billing History An option to Review Billing History is available at each CM ECF site Included in the Billing History report is the date and time of the transaction the number of billable pages the client code if applicable the description of the type of information provided 1 e docket report case search etc and the search criteria entered to run the search The history can be run for a single or multiple days l Click on Review Billing History 2 Choose the order of output by either Date or Client code Date If Date is chosen the transactions will be listed chronologically by date If the Client code Date is chosen the transac
62. stallment signifies that the case is an installment case and that the final installment has not yet been paid Origin Pertains to origination of a complaint in an adversarial proceeding 1 Original Proceeding 2 Removed Proceeding 4 Reinstated or Reopened 5 Transferred from Another Bankruptcy Court Reopen The number of times the case has been reopened Previous Term If reopened the previous closing date January 2006 36 CM ECF PACER User Manual Disposition If the case has been closed the final disposition 6699 Joint Signifies whether or not the case involves more than one person The n 66 99 indicates one debtor The y indicates joint debtors Related adversary proceedings The case numbers for any and all adversary proceedings related to the main case Pending Status Reflects the next event in the case Flags If flags are present for the case they will appear in this field They are used internally in the court and may contain such items as CLOSED CLAIMS DISCHARGED etc Trustee Provides the name of the representative of the bankruptcy estate who exercises statutory powers principally for the benefit of the unsecured creditors under general supervision of the court and the direct supervision of the U S Trustee or Bankruptcy Administrator followed by the city phone number and email address of this individual Note More than one trustee may appear in this field
63. stem Computer The minimum requirement is that a system is capable of running a web browser Internet Access This version of PACER is accessible through the Internet therefore Internet access is required Web Browser The current release of PACER was written as a web application compatible with Netscape 4 x and above or Internet Explorer 5 x and above However it is recommended to use the most recent version of any browser Mozilla and Firefox are also compatible with PACER Printer A printer is required for obtaining a hard copy of the information received Note If there is a problem with in office equipment contact the equipment vendor Neither the PACER Service Center nor the courts have the resources to provide extensive technical assistance for problems with a PC or other peripheral devices Availability The PACER system is available twenty four hours a day seven days a week Confirmation of updates or status of active and recently closed cases can be verified without having to make multiple trips to the courthouse Security The PACER login screen is protected by the secure SSL Web server This software encrypts information from customers as it is sent across the Internet keeping their logins and passwords encrypted When the secure server is being used the lock icon at the bottom of the browser will appear locked A notice may appear indicating movement from a secure document to an insecure document This message m
64. stomer to the docket text for this entry a hyperlink 1f available for the document that created this deadline schedule the docket text the filed date the due date and time and the date the deadline schedule was satisfied terminated Note Clicking the silver bullet will not link the customer to the actual document but to the docket text for this particular entry Docket Report Docket Sheet This menu option allows the customer to enter a specific case number specify a date range 1f desired and specify a document range if desired to obtain the Docket Report Customers can choose to include all terminated parties active parties and counsel and member cases There is an option to sort the report by oldest date first or most recent date first Docket reports were designed to be the official record of a case The parties and counsel for each party including an address and telephone number appear on the first page of the docket report followed by a list of events that have occurred in the case Additional features of the docket report include Case Flags Listed in the upper right corner of the docket these flags indicate certain actions in the case These flags are used internally by the court Header The name of the U S federal court with jurisdiction over the case divisional office where it is being administered and the case number Assigned to Name of the judge presiding over the case Related BK Case For a
65. t specific items Trustee Customers may choose to sort reports for cases assigned to a trustee Date Type Customers may choose to display the report according to Filed Date Entered Date Discharged Date Dismissed Date Closed Date or Converted Date From to By choosing a beginning and ending date the reports will display all cases between the dates entered Cases displayed will be representative of the sort option Date Type above Dates should be entered in MM DD YY Y Y format Note Do not enter a date range that is too broad Doing so can result in difficulty receiving the data in addition to accruing charges for a large January 2006 41 CM ECF PACER User Manual report Open cases Closed cases Clicking in these boxes will produce a report containing open cases closed cases or both 1f both boxes are checked filed within the date range selected Party information Clicking in this box will display addresses for all parties listed on the report Sort By Multiple sort options are provided within this report They are Sort by Filed Date Entered Date Case Number Case Type Divisional Office and Trustee Output Format Type of format in which the report will be displayed Formatted Display Provides selections in HTML web page format Data Only Provides a file containing raw data in pipe delimited format When selecting the raw format the data is displayed as follows Case YearlCase SequencelChapte
66. t transactions will run through the first of the current month to the current date 4 Click on Run Report January 2006 19 CM ECF PACER User Manual Note The totals provided using the Billing History at the USPCI do not include charges incurred from accessing a docket report using a link provided by the USPCI Each court provides an option to Review Billing History The totals provided under this menu give only the totals for this particular court In order for a customer to retrieve the actual fees incurred by using PACER the customer must access each court s Review Billing History option The PACER Service Center retrieves this information and combines all totals for easy access This information may be obtained by accessing the Account Information section at the PACER website More details on billing may be retrieved from the PACER website http pacer psc uscourts gov by selecting the PACER Overview icon PSC Home Page The PSC Home Page option is a link to the PACER Service Center website at http pacer psc uscourts gov E mail PSC The E Mail PSC option allows customers to send an email to the PACER Service Center PACER s email address is pacer psc uscourts gov Logout The Logout option provides a means for logging out or exiting the U S Party Case Index system January 2006 20 CM ECF PACER User Manual Chapter 6 U S District Courts Civil or Criminal for CM ECF Understanding Case Numbers Full
67. tail above Filed Date Customers may search by a date range within this field All cases filed during the specified date range are displayed in billable pages Last Entry Date Customers may search by a date range based on the case activity All cases with case activity for the specified date range are displayed in billable pages Nature of Suit This area provides a drop down menu selection screen with common Nature of Suit codes and a brief explanation of each To view a list of all recognized Nature of Suit codes visit PACER Documents at http pacer psc uscourts gov Inquiries using the Nature of Suit NOS search option require an entry for Filed Date or Last Entry Date Major categories include January 2006 21 CM ECF PACER User Manual 110 195 Contracts 610 690 Forfeiture Penalty 210 290 Real Property 710 790 Labor 310 385 Torts 820 840 Property Rights 422 423 Bankruptcy 861 865 Social Security 440 444 Civil Rights 870 875 Federal Tax Suits 510 550 Prisoner Petitions Last Name Customers may search for a case using the last name of a party in a case This field may also be used to enter a company name search At least three letters must be entered in this field to search by party name First Name This is not a required field Customers may enter an initial or the full first name to narrow the results when searching by party name requires at least three letters in the last name field Middle name
68. tains the information reported in Table F 2 U S Bankruptcy Courts Business and Nonbusiness Cases Commenced by Chapter of the Bankruptcy Code published periodically by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts The report includes total business and non business bankruptcy filings by chapter district and circuit The files are updated quarterly The files are in Microsoft Excel format xls The F 5A report provides a summary of the number of business and non business bankruptcy petitions filed by chapter of the bankruptcy code for a twelve month period It displays totals by county code as well as each circuit and judicial district County codes are determined by the county of residence of the first named debtor in the petitions Summary categories have been provided for Within U S but outside home state and Outside U S Note Details on county codes can be accessed under County District Locator under the Search option at http pacer psc uscourts gov The Civil Justice Reform Act Reports are as follows District Summary Report Report of Social Security Case Appeals Pending for Over 6 Months Circuit Summary Report Report of Civil Cases Pending Over 3 Years Report of Motions Pending Over 6 Months Bench Trial Submitted Over 6 Months Report of Bankruptcy Appeals Pending for More Than 6 Months District and Circuit Averages CJRA Nature of Suit Report National Summary CJRA Nature of Suit Summary Report CJRA Status
69. te Filed The filing date of the petition in a bankruptcy case or complaint in an adversary proceeding Date Discharged The date the case was discharged if applicable Date Terminated The date the case was terminated if applicable January 2006 35 CM ECF PACER User Manual Date of last filing This reflects the date of the last document or hearing or changes to the case information Alias Any additional names used by the individual or company are provided They include AKA Also Known As DBA Doing Business As or FKA Formally Known As Associated Cases The Associated Cases menu option provides cases related to the case Information included is the main case number associated case number and case title bankruptcy adversary or miscellaneous Clicking on any of the case numbers will direct the customer to the docket report for that case Click the Back button of the browser to return to the Query Options menu Attorney The Attorney feature provides the attorney s names and addresses as well as the party s they represent Case Summary The Case Summary menu option provides the case header for the specified case followed by a summary that includes Office The divisional office for the case County Provides the name of the county of residence for the debtor or plaintiff s Fee Fee status for the bankruptcy case P paid signifies that the case filing fee has been paid T in
70. tions will be grouped by client code in order by date with a subtotal for each 3 Enter a start and end date for the billing transactions in the specified location If dates are not entered report will run with default options They are the first day of the current month through the current date 4 Click on Run Report Note The billing history provided under this option only reflects the total for the particular court s site that is being accessed The billing history for all sites accessed can be obtained under Account Information at the PACER website http pacer psc uscourts gov The information is available by the 15 day of the following month View PACER Account Information This option displays the PACER login and client code if applicable for the current session Legal Research The Legal Research feature provides a means for linking to sites that contain a Law or Medical Dictionary It is designed to assist in understanding the documents submitted to the court January 2006 45 CM ECF PACER User Manual Note Some courts may not offer this feature Logout The Logout feature provides a means to logout or exit the CM ECF PACER system January 2006 46 CM ECF PACER User Manual Chapter 8 U S Courts of Appeals The U S Courts of Appeals hear appeals from the district courts located within their circuit as well as appeals from decisions of federal administrative agencies There are 94 U S judicial distr
71. under Account Information at the PACER website http pacer psc uscourts gov The information is available by the 15 day of the following month 49 CM ECF PACER User Manual Comment The Comment menu option provides an option to send an e mail message to the PACER Service Center January 2006 50
72. y number Items on the docket report that are blue and underlined indicate a hyperlink If a document number is hyperlinked clicking on it will take the customer to a PACER Transaction receipt indicating the number of pages for that document To access the document click the View Document button The document opens in PDF format If the document number 1s black then the document is not available online Customers must contact the court to obtain copies of any document not available online Docket Text A brief summary of the event that resulted for the docket entry Note Entered mm dd yyyy This is the date the event was electronically entered on the docket Documents filed on one day but not entered into the court s database until the next day will result in the difference between the date file and date entered January 2006 26 CM ECF PACER User Manual Filers The Filers menu option provides a list of all the parties who have filed documents in a specific case The information will display by clicking on the party name This information includes the document number pertaining to documents filed by the individual which may be a hyperlink to view that document date filed brief description of the document and the docket text History Documents The History Documents menu option provides all the public events docketed on a specific case This list can be sorted to include all events in the case or only events with docume

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