CLERK’S OFFICE UPDATE2019 APPELLATE ADVOCACY SEMINAR

BAR ASSOCIATION OF THE FIFTH FEDERAL CIRCUIT

Lyle CayceClerk of Court

October 7, 20191

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• Circuit Overview

• CM/ECF Filing Initiatives

• Practice Notes and References

• Statistical Review

• Questions

AGENDA

CIRCUIT OVERVIEW

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Louisiana Districts:Eastern District, New Orleans

Chief Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown - Clerk Bill BlevinsMiddle District, Baton Rouge

Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick - Clerk Mike McConnellWestern District, Shreveport

Chief Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. - Clerk Tony Moore

Mississippi Districts:Northern District, Oxford

Chief Judge Sharion Aycock - Clerk David CrewsSouthern District, Jackson

Chief Judge Daniel P. Jordan, III - Clerk Arthur Johnston

Texas Districts:Eastern District, Beaumont

Chief Judge Rodney Gilstrap - Clerk David O’TooleNorthern District, Dallas

Chief Judge Barbara Lynn - Clerk Karen MitchellSouthern District, Houston

Chief Judge Lee Rosenthal - Clerk David BradleyWestern District, San Antonio

Chief Judge Orlando Garcia - Clerk Jeannette Clack

FIFTH CIRCUIT’S NINE DISTRICT COURTS

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17 Authorized judges (16 Active and 9 Senior* Judges):• Houston: Judges Reavley*, King*, Jones, Smith, Elrod, and Costa• Austin: Judges Benavides*, Owen, Willett, and Oldham• Dallas: Judges Haynes and Ho• San Antonio: Judge Higginbotham*• Jackson: Judges Jolly*, Barksdale*, Southwick, and Graves• Shreveport: Chief Judge Stewart• New Orleans: Judges Davis*, Wiener*, Dennis, Clement*, Higginson and

Engelhardt• Baton Rouge: Judge Duncan

1 Vacancy:• Mississippi (Judge Ozerden Nominated)

FIFTH CIRCUIT JUDGES

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CM/ECF FILING INITIATIVES

• Attorney Pending Deadlines/Filings

• Utilities Bar Functions:– Bar Renewals– Electronic Record on Appeal (EROA)– Brief Templates– Quality Control of Briefs

• Automatic Compliance Review at Docketing6

NEW FEATURE SHOW PENDING DEADLINES

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PENDING DEADLINES/FILINGS

UTILITIES BAR FUNCTIONS

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BAR RENEWAL

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RENEWAL NOTICE

ELECTRONIC RECORD

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ELECTRONIC RECORD VOLUMES

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CREATE PORTFOLIO

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BRIEF TEMPLATES

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BRIEF TEMPLATES

CHECK PDF DOCUMENT

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COMPLIANCE REVIEW

Automated Scan Process• Submit electronically filed documents to

an automated quality control service that looks for potential defects upon filing. Currently only the Appellant's Brief, Appellee's Brief, and Reply Brief. Ultimately we will do this for all.

• Automatically report defects to the appropriate staff member, greatly reducing the time required to "quality control" (QC) the document for defects.

• If the defects are sufficiently serious to warrant rejection of the filing, the defects are automatically included in the deficiency form (BR-5 docketing letter).

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Test Types• Case Number/Caption• Court Name/Originating Court Name• Brief Type (Appellant, Appellee, Reply)• Volume Limitations (Word Count, etc.)• Scanned Document• ROA Citations• Social Security Numbers• Signature• The required sections of the brief (e.g.

Certificate of Interested Persons, Table of Contents/Authorities, Statement of Jurisdiction, etc.).

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IMMEDIATE NOTICE OF POSSIBLE ERRORS

RESULTS

• 4562 Briefs Docketed (1 Nov 18 – 4 Oct 19):

– 1125 Docketed with Errors– 24.66% Error Rate– 1258 Corrected After Errors– 27.58% Correction Rate

• Over 500 Hours of Staff Work Saved.

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PRACTICE NOTES AND REFERENCES

• Common Errors

• Practice Tips

• Filing Resources and Assistance

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• Incorrect Events and Reliefs (Searchable list on ECF Page).– To Upload a Sealed Document You Must Use the Event “ECF Motion

and/or Document Filed Under Temporary Seal” in the Category of “Under Seal.”

– Extension Beyond 30 Days Requires a Motion.

• No Appearance Form.• Missing/Incorrect ROA or Authority Citations (Cite Link).• Missing Certificate of Compliance on motions, responses, replies,

rehearings, etc. • Missing Certificate of Conference.• Incomplete Transcript Order Forms (Required even if transcripts are

not needed). • Incorrect Caption Format.• Must File record Excerpts Separately. Do Not Attach to Brief.

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COMMON ERRORS

• Register Early and Keep Information Updated: Member Fifth Circuit Bar, PACER Enrollment for the Fifth Circuit, and filed, updated Appearance Form.

• Renewals: Every 5 years. Notice sent to registered email (Keep Updated).

• Notice of Docketing Activity (NDA): Check for any Attachments. If think incorrectly filed, don’t refile. Please call.

• Docketing Letters Contain All the Necessary Information.

• Extensions:

• All requests for extension must include justification.

• Level 1 Extension = Only 30 days total. Must file motion for extension beyond 30 days.

• Court Considers Criminal Cases where Defendant is Sentenced to 24 months or less as “Short Release” cases, which are closely monitored.

• Reply Briefs: FRAP 31(a)(1) changed to allow 21 days for filing of Reply brief from filing of Appellee’s brief. Court greatly disfavors requests for extension to file Reply brief.

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PRACTICE TIPS

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RESOURCES AND ASSISTANCE• Website: www.ca5.uscourts.gov• Fifth Circuit Life of the Appeal Flow Chart• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)• Practitioner Guide• Guide to Filing Emergency Motions• Brief Guidance and Sample Briefs• Record Reference Guide (Cite link)• Case Management Teams Contact List• Help Desk: 877.232-1038 or

Webmaster_ca5@ca5.uscourts.gov

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CASE TEAMS CONTACT LIST

STATISTICAL REVIEW1 July 2018 – 30 June 2019

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NEW APPEALSCircuit 2018 2019

DC 932 965

1ST 1,226 1,339

2ND 4,212 4,087

3RD 2,972 2,933

4TH 4,211 4,470

5TH 7,347 7,164

6TH 4,304 4,194

7TH 2,800 2,650

8TH 2,811 2,768

9TH 10,661 10,137

10TH 1,836 1,701

11TH 5,908 5,376

TOTAL 49,220 47,784

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NEW APPEALS BY STATE

2018 2019

TX = 5001 LA = 1331 Other = 565 MS = 450

TX 68.1%

MS 6.1%

Other 7.7%

LA 18.1%

TX = 5007 LA = 1092 Other = 608 MS = 457

TX 69.9%

MS 6.4%

Other 8.5%

LA 15.2%

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NEW APPEALS BY CASE TYPECriminal 30.7%

Prisoner Appeals 27.5%

Successive Habeas Corpus 7.0%

IFP Mandamus 1.9%

Federal Question 8.4%

Diversity 4.8%

Mandamus 0.4%

Civil Rights 8.5%

Bankruptcy 1.0%

U.S. Civil 1.7%

Other 0.6%

Agency 0.7%

BIA 6.2%

Miscellaneous 0.6%

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Cases Commenced

Procedural Terminations

Total Merits Terminations

Merits Terminations

After Oral Hearing

Merits Terminations

on Briefs

% Placed on the Oral

Argument Calendar

% Reversed

Criminal 2,197 424 1,859 227 1,380 12.2% 4.9%

U.S. Prisoner Petitions 612 300 399 20 327 5.0% 6.1%

Other U.S. Civil 204 85 100 47 35 47.0% 19.5%

Private Prisoner Petitions 1,359 686 719 56 562 7.8% 3.6%

Other Private Civil 1,502 763 780 416 233 53.3% 12.5%

Bankruptcy 74 27 48 29 13 60.4% 14.3%

Administrative Agency 505 222 224 43 153 19.1% 2.0%

Original Proceedings* 671 214 523 2 478 0.3% 0.0%

Miscellaneous 40 2 0 0 38 0.0% 0.0%

TOTAL 7,164 2,723 4,652 840 3,219 18.1% 6.5%

Total Number of PublishedOpinions

Total Number of

Unpublished Opinions

Number of Petitionsfor Panel

Rehearing

Number of Panel

RehearingsGranted

Number of Petitions for Rehearing En Banc

Number Granted

Fifth Circuit 473 2,397 234 15 190 6

STATISTICAL SNAPSHOTFor the 12 month period ending June 30, 2019

*Including successive habeas corpus and pro se mandamus petitions

CASE PROCESSING TIMES2018-2019

•Notice of Appeal to Filing of Last Brief: 4.9 Months

•Last Brief to Hearing or Submission: 5.3 Months

•Hearing to Final Disposition: 1.3 Months

•Submission to Final Disposition 0.5 Months

•Notice of Appeal to CA 5 Final Disposition: 9.1 Months

The median time from filing of the Notice of Appeal to CA 5 final disposition in oral argument cases is 13.9 Months.

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• 29,713 Total Active ECF Filers (Attorney & Non-Attorney)

• 26,673 Total Active Bar Members

• 23,726 Total Active Bar Members Registered for ECF

• 14,777 Active ECF Filer Accounts Created in the Last 5 Years

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5TH CIRCUIT BAR

QUESTIONS?

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