United States District Court

District of Oregon

 

 

Case Management - Electronic Case Filing

(CM/ECF)

 

Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ's


CASE Information

Sources

Logins & Passwords

PACER login v. CM/ECF login

Setting Default PACER login

Your CM/ECF User Account

Maintaining Your Account

Substitution/Withdrawal of Counsel

E-Mail Notices

"Free-Look"

Summary E-mail Notice

E-mail Notice for Social Security and Criminal Cases

E-mail Notice for Pro Hac Counsel

Undeliverable E-mail notices

Unique Documents

Paperless Minute Entries

Individual Consents to a U.S. Magistrate

Conventionally Filed Documents

National Project Information

Contacts

Case Information Sources

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • Pending Civil Cases
    Go to CM/ECF using PACER login & password
  • Criminal Cases and Civil Cases not in CM/ECF (Generally civil cases filed prior to 1/1/2000)
    Go to WebPACER using PACER login & password
  • Civil and Criminal Case Information generally older than 1990
    Go to Clerk's Office to view microfiche
  • Criminal case information is available only on PACER.

 

  • Effective March 1, 2004 All Civil and Criminal case information will be located in CM/ECF.

You will need a PACER login and password to access this information. Contact PACER at 1-800-676-6856 or online at pacer.psc.uscourts.gov.

PACER login v. CM/ECF login --Which one do I use?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • Clicking on hyperlinks within e-mail notifications - Use PACER login & password
  • Entering CM/ECF to run reports or queries or to view documents and docket sheets - Use PACER login & password
  • Entering CM/ECF to electronically file or maintain your user account - Use CM/ECF court-generated login & password

Once in CM/ECF, users can switch between use of their CM/ECF and PACER logins via selections under the Utilities menu.

If you do not have a PACER account, you may contact the PACER service center at 1-800-676-7957 or register for an account directly from their website at pacer.psc.uscourts.gov. If you register on-line - it takes only 2-3 days to receive a login and password.

If you do not currently have a PACER account, please contcat us and the court-generated documents you have missed will be sent to you.

Setting Default PACER login

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Attorneys have the ability to create a "default" link between their individual CM/ECF login and password and their firms' PACER login and password in order to bypass the PACER login prompt each time a report or query is requested.

  • Login using the CM/ECF login and password.
  • Run a report or query; this will cause the PACER login screen to appear.
  • Click the box ‘make this my default login' after entering the PACER login and password.

Users may also change their default PACER login.

  • Log into the system as a CM/ECF user
  • Click on "Utilities" from the main blue tool bar.
  • Click on ‘Change Your PACER Login.'
  • Enter a new PACER login and password.

The new PACER login and password overwrites the existing one.

Summary E-Mail Notification

 

 

 

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Effective March 1, 2004, attorney users will now have the option of selecting whether they wish to receive an e-mail notice each time a filing occurs or a daily summary report of filing activity the next morning. This feature is managed through the attorney's CM/ECF User Account, E-mail Information Screen.

• Selection of the radio button "Send a notice for each filing" will cause all of the electronic notifications to be received as the filing is completed.

• Alternatively, selection of the radio button "Send a Daily Summary Report" will substitute the immediate notifications with a summary report of filings. This summary is sent the following morning and is generated only if there is activity to report.

My e-mail address changed. Please update my account.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Attorneys may (and should) maintain their own e-mail account in the CM/ECF system. See Section 13.0 Utilities of the User Manual

Log in to the CM/ECF system - (Using your CM/ECF login and password - not PACER)
Select: "Utilities"
Select: "Maintain Your Account"
Select: "E-mail information"

  • Primary e-mail address: Registered users will see their e-mail address in this window. If this address changes, it should be modified/updated in this window.
  • Send the notices specified below: The system defaults to notices sent to the primary e-mail address. The attorney may specify additional e-mail addresses in the second window and elect to have the notices go to either the primary or secondary addresses or to both. An attorney may want to "uncheck" the primary box and check the secondary box when he is out of the office for an extended period.
  • Send notices in cases in which I am involved: The system also defaults to sending notices to an attorney in every case in which he is attorney of record.
  • Send notices in these additional cases: An attorney may also specify additional cases for notification. Case numbers for those cases should be entered in the window as YY-NNNNN. This list should be maintained by the attorney as well, adding and deleting case numbers of interest as necessary.
  • Send a notice for each filing : This setting should be selected. ( The "Send a Daily Summary Report" is not working at this time).
  • Select: "Return to Account Screen"
  • Select: "Submit"
  • Select: "UPDATE ALL" When prompted with a list of cases to update
  • Select: "Submit

E-mail notifications for filings in Social Security and Criminal Cases

 

 

 

 

 

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Pursuant to the Judicial Conference Policy on Public Access to Electronically Filed Documents (www.privacy.uscourts.gov), acess to electronically filed documents over the Internet in Social Security and criminal case is restricted to attorneys of record in the specfic case and court staff. CM/ECF must determine that the viewer of documents in those cases is counsel of record at the time the e-mail notice is opened. This requires that the user be logged in as a CM/ECF user before opening the document from the e-mail message.

To view electronically filed documents from e-mail in both Social Security and criminal cases follow these steps:

  • Open a Second Browser Window:When an e-mail notificatoin is received in either a Social Security or criminal case, a second browser window must be opened
  • Log into CM/ECF From the Second Browser Window: The user must log into CM/ECF using the CM/ECF login and password BEFORE clicking on the hyperlinks within the e-mail noticeification.
  • Return to the First Browser Window: Tthe user may return to the e-mail notification window and click on the hyperlinks (using the PACER login and password) to view the electronically filed document.

"Free-Look"

 

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If an attorney and a secretary both get an e-notification and both click on the URL to view the document, do we get charged for the second viewing?

Effective March 1, 2004, with the district's move to Version 1 of the national release, the primary e-mail recipient and the first listed secondary addressee will receive the "free-look". Modifications to the software to permit all secondary addressees their "free-look" will not be available until Version 2 is implemented in the district.

Attorneys should review the order of e-mail addresses for secondary addresees in their user accounts and make appropriate modifications.

When the document is accessed from the e-mail message, the user will be prompted for their PACER login information. Even though a receipt displays advising the user the cost of the document, there will be no charge to the PACER Account.

Undeliverable E-mail

 

 

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Clerk's Office staff monitors all undeliverable e-mails daily and contacts attorneys immediately to ascertain the reason for the message was returned as undeliverable. Some common reasons for undeliverable e-mail are:

  • E-mail address has not been updated
  • Some Internet Service Providers consider messages from the CM/ECF system as "spam". The sender of all CM/ECF notices is info@ord.uscourts.gov. Notify your provider to deliver messages from this address
  • The e-mail box has exceeded capacity.

Can our out-of-state counsel receive e-mail notice?

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Counsel admitted Pro Hac Vice to this court, may also register for a CM/ECF login and password and receive e-mail notification from the court of activity in their cases. The registration form may be printed from our web site ord.uscourts.gov/ecf/ecf.html and faxed to the court. (See LR 83.3)

Substitution/Withdrawal of Counsel

 

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Pursuant to LR 83.10 Counsel must keep the court informed of their current address information. When attorneys change firms, they must continue to file the appropriate Notices of Substitution or Withdrawal of counsel in each pending case. In addition, they must also access their CM/ECF user accounts and update the address and e-mail information. Updating the CM/ECF user account instantly spreads the new information to cases the attorney is taking to the new firm.

There is not a "hot link" to the document in my E-mail notice. Where is the document?

 

 

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The court has the ability to create a docket entry without attaching a PDF document. The court will be using this method for some court generated orders.

Counsel will be able to determine when there is a PDF document associated with the entry by the blue hyperlink ("hot link") under the document number. Absence of a hyperlink indicates a PDF document has not been associated with the entry.

Counsel is seeing exactly what is in the court's record; the entire text of the document is reflected in the docket text.

The notice of e-filing generated at the conclusion of the transaction is printed by court staff for retention in the paper case file. If a paper version of the notice is necessary for your records, it is recommended that counsel print the e-mail notice.

Individual Party Consent to U.S. Magistrate Judge

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Individual party consents to all further proceedings before a U.S. Magistrate Judge are non-public documents. Consequently, they should not be filed electronically. Instead they must be tendered in conventional format to the Clerk of the Court. Once all parties have consented, clerk's office staff will enter a "public" consent on the record. (See Also LR 100.17(d))

Conventionally Filed Documents

The following documents must be filed conventionally - not electronically.

  • Sealed Documents (LR100.17(c))
  • Individual Party Consents to a U.S. Magistrate Judge (LR100.17(d))
  • Complaints (LR 100.4(a))
  • Notices of Removal (LR100.4(b))
  • Applications for Admision Pro Hac Vice (filing fee required)

National CM/ECF Project

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The U.S. Courts maintains a website at www.uscourts.gov. Detailed information regarding the status of the CM/ECF project can be obtained by clicking on the U.S. District Courts link.

Contacts

 

 

 

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District of Oregon Internet Website: www.ord.uscourts.gov

Oregon CM/ECF Project Page: www.ord.uscourts.gov/ECF/

PACER Service Center: Website www.pacer.psc.uscourts.gov
E-mail pacer@psc.uscourts.gov
Telephone: 1-800-676-6856 or 1-210-301-6440

Adobe Acrobat Reader/Writer Software:
Telephone: 1-888-502-5275 or on the web at: www.adobe.com

 

For Additional Information about the CM/ECF project in the District of Oregon, contact us at: info@ord.uscourts.gov


Last revised: 2/20/2004