| U.S. District Court District of Oregon CM/ECF User Manual |
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The court's permanent record of filings and proceedings held in a case is referred to as the docket sheet. Docket sheet information for a case includes the names of the parties or litigants, attorney information, and general statistical data. Civil case data is captured from the information submitted on the Civil Cover Sheet at the time of case opening. Criminal case data is captured from the charging documents filed. Docket sheets also contain a chronological account of the pleadings and other filings submitted in a case. These are called docket entries. Each docket entry will have a corresponding filing date, document number, and docket text. Docket entries are created by users selecting events from the available civil and criminal menus which most accurately describe the activity or document being filed.
Registered Users entering the system using a court-generated CM/ECF login and password will have access to the events used to create docket entries. Selection of Civil from the main blue tool bar will reveal the categories of documents filed in civil cases. Selection of Criminal from the main blue tool bar will reveal the categories of documents filed in criminal cases.
Pleadings and other documents filed by litigants in a case are referred to as attorney events. These include complaints, answers to complaints, motions, or responses and replies to motions. Likewise, judgments, orders, and minutes of proceedings are considered court events. Events are grouped into categories based on their function. The menus displayed to a user are predicated on whether that person is a Registered User or court user, and their access level to the system. For a Registered User, the menus of events under the Civil selection include: Initial Pleadings and Service, Motions and Related Filings and Other Filings. The menus of events under the Criminal selection include: Charging Instruments and Pleas, Motions and Related Filings and Other Filings. Selection of the links under those headings reveal the individual docket events. To electronically file a Trial Memorandum in a civil case, for example, the user would first select Civil from the main blue tool bar and click on the Trial Documents menu under Other Filings. The event Trial Memorandum appears under the Trial Documents menu for selection.
(a) Browser "Back" and "Forward" Buttons:
The BACK and FORWARD buttons on the browser's tool bar advance or reverse one screen at a time. If an error has been made or the user needs to verify entries on a previous screen, clicking the BACK button on the browser tool bar will take the user to that previous screen. The FORWARD button moves a screen ahead to return to the target screen. However, if any changes are made on a previous screen, the user will need to use the NEXT keys to progress. The user may always exit or abort a transaction before it is completed by using the BACK key on the browser tool bar or by clicking on another menu selection from the main blue tool bar.(b) The "Tab" Key:
The user may navigate through the screens by using a mouse. In most screens, the user may also use the TAB key and space bar to move through the data entry fields. Active or "focus" buttons will have a faint dotted outline around them. A focused button may be activated by hitting the space bar. The user can also use the SHIFT key and the TAB key simultaneously to move back one field at a time.
(c) Selecting Multiple Parties or Events:
Many event selections appear in alphabetical order in drop down lists. Multiple items may be selected from these lists by holding down the CONTROL key and clicking on the individual selections in the drop down list. Holding down the SHIFT key and clicking on the top and bottom of a selection will allow the user to select a range of items from the pick list.
(d) User Supplied Text:
During electronic filing, the user may supply additional text or augment the system-supplied text in the blank, prompt windows provided. User supplied text will be displayed on the docket sheet in italic print.
(e) Manipulating Text:
The docket text editing window permits the user to cut, copy and paste text in the same manner as Microsoft Word or WordPerfect. The user should first select and highlight the target text. CONTROL X will cut the selected text, CONTROL C will copy the selected text, and CONTROL V will paste the cut or copied text into the new position. Mouse users have access to the same text functions (cut, copy, and paste) by using the right click button on the mouse. Users are cautioned, however, that some special characters pasted from word processing applications may not transfer or copy well.
(f) Committing a Transaction:
A transaction is not final until the last screen in the sequence (the Final Warning Screen) has been completed and the user has clicked on the SUBMIT button.