| U.S. District Court District of Oregon CM/ECF User Manual |
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Case opening procedures will proceed in the traditional manner. Attorneys must tender the filing fees to the Clerk's Office, along with an original and copy of the complaint or petition, civil cover sheet, and requested service of process forms. Filing parties must include a text searchable PDF version of every initial case paper (including scanned versions of related state court papers in removal actions) on a 3.5" diskette or CD-ROM. The documents will be filed by the court clerk who will collect any applicable fee, issue a receipt, assign the case number and judge, issue process and generate case management orders to the filing attorney for service. Court staff will also enter case opening statistical information and party information for that case.
Case opening procedures will proceed in the traditional manner.
Party information is to be added next. (Note: The United States of America (USA) is the system default plaintiff in all criminal cases.)
(a) Party Name Search
The user should always search the database for existing party names before adding new names. To perform a search, the user must enter the first few letters of the party’s last name into the search window provided and hit Search. A drop down window will display all names which match the entered search criteria. Search criteria are not case sensitive. The list is alphabetized by last name only, and not by first name. Users must scroll through the whole list to determine if the party name is already in the database to avoid creating a duplicate party record. Users should keep in mind that some names are common and some parties (for example, a warden of a prison or the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration), will have several pending actions linked to a single name record. A match of a name during a search does not necessarily mean that the same person is referenced in all of the cases associated with that name. Indeed, there may be several individual parties associated with cases in the database who happen to share the exact same party name.
(b) Party Selection
If the party exists, the user should highlight the name. Only one name may be selected at a time in this window. Address information should be added only for pro se litigants. Additionally, Social Security numbers and/or tax identification numbers should not be entered. The court does not need to maintain personal address records for represented parties. Alias name information may also be added by selection of the Alias button. The system does not limit the number of alias names associated with a party. Repeat the addition of party and attorney information for remaining plaintiffs and defendants. Following the addition of all parties, aliases, and attorneys, the user should then hit End Party Selection.
(c) Party Role
The party role should be selected from a drop down list displaying available party role types. In a criminal case, where it is necessary to add a non-defendant party (for example, upon the filing of an amicus motion or motion to quash), add the party to the case using the most appropriate role type from the following list. These parties will not appear on the face of the docket sheet but will be available to select for filing purposes and the associated attorneys will receive e-mail notification of activity in that case.
- Objector
- Mediator
- Creditor
- Arbitrator
- Notice Party
- Custodian
- Interested Non-Party
- Taxpayer
(d) Pro Se Designation
If the party is a pro se litigant, select y for yes. If the party is represented by an attorney select n for No. The system will default to a No selection.
(e) Party Text
The Party Text field is reserved for extended descriptions of the party. For example, a Delaware corporation may be added to the Party Text field. Select Next when party text information is completed
(f) Create New Party
New names may be added to the database by selecting Create New Party from the search display screen.
Select the Attorney button at the bottom of the Party Information screen to link an attorney to the party. The function of adding an attorney is similar to the addition of a party. Attorneys may be searched for by their Oregon Bar ID number or by last name. Note that the letters OSB (for Oregon State Bar) should not be used as a prefix. A user may review the attorneys for the party currently being entered by selecting the Review button. When that party information is complete, the user should hit Submit.