Court Rules
Common questions about Judge Joshua D. Wolson's rules

Are courtesy copies required for Judge Joshua D. Wolson?

Courtesy copies are required for sealed filings and motions. Details: delivery upon filing. Courtesy copies are required for sealed filings and for motions with more than five exhibits.

View ruleSource: page 8, section E. Courtesy Copies

Does Judge Joshua D. Wolson require a pre-motion conference or letter before filing a motion?

Yes. A pre-motion letter is required for rule 12. Details: 5 pages. Parties filing Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12 motions must hold a substantive verbal discussion with opposing counsel before the due date, submit a pre-motion letter if no agreement is reached, attend a pre-motion conference, and receive a briefing schedule if the dispute is unresolved.

View ruleSource: page 15, section I. GENERAL MATTERS

What page or word limits apply to brief before Judge Joshua D. Wolson?

Judge Joshua D. Wolson's rule states these limits: 25 pages; 25 pages; 8750 words; 8750 words; 10 pages; 3500 words; 7 pages; 2450 words. Opening and opposition briefs are limited to 25 pages (or 8,750 words with a word count certification), replies to 10 pages (or 3,500 words), and sur-replies to 7 pages (or 2,450 words).

View ruleSource: page 14, section B. Motion Practice 3. Length of briefs

What page or word limits apply to premotion letter before Judge Joshua D. Wolson?

Judge Joshua D. Wolson's rule states these limits: 5 pages. Pre-motion letters to Judge Wolson must not exceed five single-spaced pages.

View ruleSource: page 15, section I. GENERAL MATTERS

What formatting rules apply to filings before Judge Joshua D. Wolson?

Judge Joshua D. Wolson's formatting rule includes must be text searchable. All exhibits filed with the court must be text searchable.

View ruleSource: page 7, section C. Exhibits

What must be included with written submission filings before Judge Joshua D. Wolson?

The rule identifies required filing content or certificates. Substantive arguments are prohibited in footnotes of written submissions; such arguments will not be considered or preserved for appeal.

View ruleSource: page 13, section B. Motion Practice 1. Formatting requirements

What must be included with reply brief, sur reply brief filings before Judge Joshua D. Wolson?

The rule identifies required filing content or certificates. Replies and sur-replies should only be filed when necessary, must be concise, address only new issues raised by opposing counsel, and should not rehash previous arguments.

View ruleSource: page 14, section B. Motion Practice 2. Replies and sur-replies

How may parties contact Judge Joshua D. Wolson's chambers?

Parties may contact Judge Joshua D. Wolson's chambers by email only as allowed by the rule. Administrative or procedural communications must be directed to a Courtroom Deputy or Chambers; emails for letters are only allowed for routine matters with no anticipated opposition, and responsive letters require Judge Wolson’s request.

View ruleSource: page 5, section A. Correspondence With Chambers

How does Judge Joshua D. Wolson handle sealed or redacted filings?

A motion to seal is required for covered sealed filings before Judge Joshua D. Wolson. Parties filing material under seal must familiarize themselves with the sealing standard established in In re Avandia.

View ruleSource: page 7, section D. Sealed And Redacted Documents

How do I request an adjournment or extension before Judge Joshua D. Wolson?

Judge Joshua D. Wolson's rules specify what an adjournment or extension request must include. The request must include reason for request. Requests to reschedule the Rule 16 scheduling conference must be made as early as possible and based on a pre-existing commitment.

View ruleSource: page 11, section A. Pretrial Procedures

Does Judge Joshua D. Wolson require motion papers to be bundled?

Yes. Judge Joshua D. Wolson requires bundling for covered papers. Co-parties (multiple plaintiffs or defendants) must file joint motions unless there is a clear conflict in their positions.

View ruleSource: page 18, section II. CIVIL CASES

Is electronic filing required before Judge Joshua D. Wolson?

Yes. Electronic filing is required for the covered filings. Exhibits filed via ECF must be separate documents with identifying names (not generic labels like “Exhibit A”); single “Exhibits” files will be struck.

View ruleSource: page 6, section 1.
Complete rules summary for Judge Joshua D. Wolson

Courtesy copies are required for sealed filings and for motions with more than five exhibits.

Administrative or procedural communications must be directed to a Courtroom Deputy or Chambers; emails for letters are only allowed for routine matters with no anticipated opposition, and responsive letters require Judge Wolson’s request.

Emails to Judge Wolson must include the case name and docket number in the subject line, plus required verbiage corresponding to the email’s content.

Exhibits filed via ECF must be separate documents with identifying names (not generic labels like “Exhibit A”); single “Exhibits” files will be struck.

Deposition testimony and transcripts must be submitted as full-sized pages, with only a cover page identifying the witness and relevant pages; full transcripts are only allowed if entirely relevant.

Do not submit pleadings from the current case before Judge Wolson (cite instead); do not submit pleadings from other federal cases (cite by court, case number, docket number instead).

All exhibits filed with the court must be text searchable.

Scanned exhibits must use optical character recognition (OCR) or comparable technology to ensure text searchability.

Parties filing material under seal must familiarize themselves with the sealing standard established in In re Avandia.

A sealing motion must be filed contemporaneously with the material to be sealed, except in emergency situations where no advance or contemporaneous motion is required.

Parties seeking to file material under seal must provide Judge Wolson with courtesy copies of all proposed sealed documents via email.

Redactions must not be so extensive as to render the document unreadable, in accordance with the common law right of public access.

When filing a redacted document, the party must submit an unredacted version with highlighted proposed redactions to Chambers or via CM/ECF.

Parties must collaborate when filing sealing motions involving opponent-marked confidential material; non-cooperation may result in cost sanctions.

Sealing motions or submissions designating more than 10 individual references for sealing will likely be referred to a special master, with costs split on a case-by-case basis.

Courtesy copies must be emailed to WolsonCourtesyCopy@paed.uscourts.gov with required subject line content, using e-filed versions with CM/ECF headers, proper file naming or coversheets, and no paper, Dropbox, or FTP submissions.

Pro hac vice motions will be denied if the required filing fee is not submitted.

Lawyers admitted pro hac vice must register for the Court’s CM/ECF system within seven days of the admission order, or their pro hac admission will be cancelled and orders will not be mailed to them.

Requests to reschedule the Rule 16 scheduling conference must be made as early as possible and based on a pre-existing commitment.

Joint Rule 26(f) status reports must be filed at least seven days before the Rule 16 scheduling conference.

Joint Rule 26(f) status reports must be submitted to Judge Wolson via email using the provided sample form.

All written submissions to Judge Wolson must be double-spaced, use at least 12-point proportionally spaced font, have at least 1-inch margins, and footnotes must match the body font and size.

Briefs longer than 10 pages must include a table of contents.

Parties must email all stipulations and proposed orders to Chambers instead of filing them on the court docket.

Parties are encouraged to submit stipulations and proposed orders in Word document format.

Counsel must file text-searchable versions of all briefs on the CM/ECF system.

Substantive arguments are prohibited in footnotes of written submissions; such arguments will not be considered or preserved for appeal.

Replies and sur-replies should only be filed when necessary, must be concise, address only new issues raised by opposing counsel, and should not rehash previous arguments.

Replies and sur-replies must be filed no later than seven days after the previous filing.

Parties are prohibited from making additional submissions except to notify the court of subsequent binding authority.

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