23rd Judicial Circuit Court, DeKalb County, Illinois Document Format Requirements

CRITICAL

Auxiliary lighting is prohibited in the courtroom.

No auxiliary lighting of any kind shall be used in the courtroom.

CRITICAL

Agreed Orders must not contain hearing or trial dates.

Agreed Orders shall not contain dates for hearings or trials.

CRITICAL

Pages must be 8½ by 11 inches.

The size of the pages must be 8 ½ by 11 inches;

CRITICALCivil cases

If approved forms lack sufficient space, an attachment must be used as a rider to them.

If there is insufficient space on the forms, an attachment shall be used as a rider to the approved forms.

CRITICAL

The upper-right 2-by-2-inch corner of each pleading's first page must be left blank for the Clerk's stamp.

The top right 2 inch by 2 inch corner of the first page of each pleading shall be left blank for the Clerk's stamp.

CRITICAL

The media coordinator must arrange pooling in accordance with the judge's order for the proceeding.

It is the media coordinator's responsibility to set up pooling arrangements that follow the judge's order for the proceeding.

CRITICAL

Electronic recordings of official proceedings may be disseminated only by written transcript, except as provided by amended Supreme Court Rule 604.

Except as provided for in Supreme Court Rule 604, as amended, the electronic recording of any official proceeding shall be disseminated by written transcript only.

CRITICAL

Transcripts must be prepared in accordance with applicable statutory authority and the current edition of the Illinois courts’ court-reporting regulations manual.

All transcripts shall be prepared in accordance with the applicable statutory authority and current edition of the Administrative Regulations for Court Reporting Services in the Illinois Courts manual.

CRITICAL

A petition to expunge felony or misdemeanor arrest records must be in writing.

Any petition to expunge records of felony or misdemeanor arrest pursuant to 20 ILCS 2630/5.2, 730 ILCS 5/5-5-4 and 730 ILCS 5/5-6-3.1 shall be in writing

CRITICAL

Petitions, findings, and orders of protection must use approved forms.

All Petitions, Findings and Orders of Protection shall be made on approved forms.

CRITICAL

Format

PDF

Electronically filed documents must be unalterable PDFs that print with the same contents and formatting as the authoring program produces.

Any electronically filed document must be unalterable (sealed PDF), and be able to be printed with the same contents and formats as if printed from its authoring program.

CRITICAL

Documents sought for the official record must consist of individual 8.5-by-11-inch sheets and may not be permanently bound or continuous forms.

All documents sought to be admitted into the official record shall consist of one or more individual sheets measuring 8.5 inches by 11 inches, not permanently bound and not a continuous form.

CRITICAL

Documents must use type of at least 12 points and a plain or block font.

Documents shall be a minimum of 12 point type. The font shall be a plain or block type.

CRITICAL

Signatures and dates must be in black or blue ink or in an electronic format approved by the Supreme Court.

Signatures and dates shall be in black or blue ink or in an electronic format approved by the Supreme Court.

CRITICAL

Margins

top 1 in, bottom 1 in, left 1 in, right 1 in

Documents must use at least 12-point body text and 10-point footnotes, letter-size pages, minimum one-inch margins, and a blank two-inch-square top-right corner on the first page of each pleading.

The size of the type in the body of the text must be no less than 12 point font, and footnotes no less than 10 point font; b. The size of the pages must be 8 ½ by 11 inches; c. The margins on each side of the page must each be a minimum of 1 inch; d. The top right 2 inch by 2 inch corner of the first page of each pleading shall be left blank for the Clerk’s stamp.

CRITICAL

Documents must be legible and printed in permanent black or blue ink, whether handwritten, typed, or computer generated.

Documents shall be legibly printed in permanent black or blue ink, by hand, type or computer generated.

CRITICAL

Filed documents must not contain staples.

Documents to be filed shall not contain staples.

CRITICAL

The Presiding Judge must approve the contents and formatting of pre-printed forms, including any number of carbonless copies, before use.

The contents, and formatting, including the number of carbonless copies, if any, of pre-printed forms must be approved by the Presiding Judge prior to use.

CRITICAL

Margins

top 1 in, bottom 1 in, left 1 in, right 1 in

Documents must use white paper weighing at least 20 pounds, have margins of at least one inch on every side, and leave margins free of handwritten changes or continuations.

Documents shall be on white paper of not less than 20 pound weight and shall have a margin of at least one inch on the top, the bottom and each side. Margins shall not be used for any handwritten modifications or continuation to the document.

CRITICAL

Format

PDF

Documents must be submitted as PDFs and, when possible, converted directly from the program that created them; paper-only documents may be scanned.

Documents must be submitted in PDF format. When possible, documents must be converted to PDF directly from the program creating the document, rather than from the scanned image of a paper document. Documents only available in paper format may be scanned and converted to PDF for electronic filing.

CRITICAL

Exhibits attached to motions, petitions, or similar documents must be 8.5 by 11 inches.

All exhibits attached to motions, petitions or the like shall conform to the 8.5-inch by 11-inch standard.

CRITICAL

The first page must have a blank space measuring 2.5 by 2 inches on the right side of the header area.

The first page of the document shall contain a blank space, measuring 2.5 inches by 2 inches, incorporated within the right side of the header area.

WARNING

Original estate-planning documents are exempt from the stated size limits, but a conforming photocopy must be submitted with the original.

The above referenced size limitations shall not apply to the filing of original estate planning documents, however, photocopies of the same, expanded or reduced to conform to these size standards, must also be submitted into the court record along with the original copy.

WARNING

An objecting witness must use Form 4 or a substantially similar form.

Any objecting witness shall file his or her objection using Form 4, in the Appendix, or a substantially similar form.

WARNING

Motions, petitions, and similar documents must conform to the 8.5-by-11-inch paper-size standard.

motions, petitions or the like shall conform to the 8.5-inch by 11-inch standard.

WARNING

To the extent practicable, electronically filed pleadings must follow the formatting rules for paper pleadings.

All electronically filed pleadings shall, to the extent practicable, be formatted in accordance with the applicable rules governing formatting of paper document pleadings.

WARNING

Witnesses must be notified of their right to object using Form #2A or a substantially similar form.

All witnesses shall be notified by counsel proposing to introduce their testimony of their right to object to extended media coverage, by using Form #2A, in the Appendix, or a substantially similar form.

WARNING

The clerk's notice of a media coverage request must use Form 2 in the Appendix.

Using Form 2, in the Appendix, the Clerk of the Circuit Court shall send written notice and a copy of the Request for Media Coverage to the following persons:

WARNINGCivil cases

Exhibits, prior orders, and prior pleadings must not be attached and filed with the Circuit Clerk unless law, rule, or court leave requires or permits it.

Exhibits, prior orders, or prior pleadings SHALL NOT be attached and filed with the Circuit Clerk unless otherwise required by law, rule, or by leave of Court.

WARNING

Documents must be legible and printed in permanent black or blue ink, by hand, type, or computer generation.

Documents shall be legibly printed in permanent black or blue ink, by hand, type or computer generated.

WARNING

Format

PDF

When possible, documents must be converted directly from their authoring program rather than from a scanned paper image.

When possible, documents must be converted to PDF directly from the program creating the document, rather than from the scanned image of a paper document.

WARNING

Attorneys and litigants may duplicate Clerk-provided forms only if the duplicates have the same standard heading and content as the Clerk's form.

C. The duplication of forms available from the Clerk of the Circuit Court, by attorneys or litigants, is acceptable provided they contain the same standard heading and content as the Clerk's previously supplied form.

WARNING

Discovery and depositions must not be attached as exhibits unless a statute or Supreme Court Rule requires it.

Discovery and depositions shall not be attached as exhibits, except as required by Statute or Supreme Court Rule.

WARNING

Attorneys and litigants may duplicate Clerk-provided forms if the duplicates retain the same standard heading and content as the supplied form.

The duplication of forms available from the Clerk of the Circuit Court, by attorneys or litigants, is acceptable provided they contain the same standard heading and content as the Clerk's previously supplied form.

WARNING

Links in electronic documents are for convenience only, and external linked material is not part of the filing or basic record.

Electronic documents containing links to material either within the filed document or external to the filed document are for convenience purposes only. The external material behind the link is not considered part of the filing or the basic record.

WARNING

Printed text must be dark enough to reproduce clearly when photocopied or scanned.

Printing is not acceptable unless the type is dark enough to reproduce clearly when photocopied or scanned for computer imaging.

WARNING

Format

PDF

The Exhibit C request form must be provided as a fillable, accessible PDF.

The request form, attached as Exhibit C, shall be available in an accessible format (in a fillable, accessible PDF) on the court's and clerk's websites and in the court's and the clerk's offices.

WARNING

Documents must use at least 12-point plain or block type; Times New Roman or a sans serif type is suggested.

G. Documents shall be a minimum of 12 point type. The font shall be a plain or block type. Suggested use is Times New Roman or any San Serif type for reproduction and scanning purposes.

WARNING

Margins

top 1 in, bottom 1 in, left 1 in, right 1 in

Documents must use white paper weighing at least 20 pounds, have margins of at least one inch on all sides, and leave margins free of handwritten modifications or continuations.

Documents shall be on white paper of not less than 20 pound weight and shall have a margin of at least one inch on the top, the bottom and each side. Margins shall not be used for any handwritten modifications or continuation to the document.

WARNING

The first page must have a blank space measuring 2.5 by 2 inches on the right side of the header area.

The first page of the document shall contain a blank space, measuring 2.5 inches by 2 inches, incorporated within the right side of the header area.

WARNING

A person may request an accommodation in any form, and the court may not require a particular form or format.

However, the person making the request may submit it in any form, written, verbal, or other, and the court may not require completion of Exhibit C or any other form or format.

WARNING

A media coverage request must use Form 1 or a substantially similar form.

Requests shall be filed using Form 1, in the Appendix, or a substantially similar form.

WARNING

Attorneys and litigants may duplicate county-specific forms if the copies retain the standard heading and content of the Clerk's previously supplied form.

The duplication of county-specific forms available from the Clerk of the Circuit Court, by attorneys or litigants, is acceptable provided they contain the same standard heading and content as the Clerk's previously supplied form.

WARNING

Noncompliant attorney filings may be rejected, while noncompliant self-represented filings must be reviewed by the court before rejection.

Documents filed by attorneys that do not comply with the format specified by the applicable statute or rule may be rejected. Documents filed by self-represented parties that do not comply with the applicable statute or rule shall be reviewed for acceptance by the court prior to rejection.

WARNING

Media personnel may have to demonstrate equipment compliance, and noncompliant equipment may be excluded from the courtroom.

Media personnel may be required to demonstrate compliance wtth these requirements. Failure to do so may result in the exclusion of the equipment from the courtroom.

WARNING

The first page must include a 2.5-by-2-inch blank space on the right side of the header.

H. The first page of the document shall contain a blank space, measuring 2.5 inches by 2 inches, incorporated within the right side of the header area

WARNING

News media are encouraged to pool equipment and personnel and must do so when courtroom space or equipment limits make pooling necessary.

News media are encouraged to pool equipment and personnel in all proceedings and must do so, when necessary, due to space limitations in the courtroom or limits on equipment, as set forth below.

WARNING

Electronically filed pleadings should follow the applicable paper-pleading formatting rules to the extent practicable.

All electronically filed pleadings shall, to the extent practicable, be formatted in accordance with the applicable rules governing formatting of paper document pleadings.

WARNING

The top-right 2-by-2-inch corner of each pleading’s first page must be left blank for the Clerk’s stamp.

The top right 2 inch by 2 inch corner of the first page of each pleading shall be left blank for the Clerk's stamp.

WARNING

An order granting a marriage-license petition may use the Clerk-provided form or a substantially similar format.

An order granting such petition may be entered on the form provided by the Clerk, or in a format substantially similar to it.