Court Rules

Southern District of California Electronic Filing Rules

15 rules from official source documents

Electronic filing requirements, permitted filing channels, EFSP portals, and exceptions.

CRITICALCivil cases

Applies to
Ex parte motion

Appropriate ex parte motions may be made after first contacting chambers and must ultimately be filed electronically on CM/ECF.

Appropriate ex parte motions may be made at any time after first contacting chambers, but must ultimately be filed electronically on CM/ECF.

Judge Benjamin J. Cheeks

CRITICALCivil cases

Applies to
Transcript request

Transcript requests for proceedings before Judge Rodriguez must be filed electronically, per instructions on the court's website.

Transcript requests for proceedings before Judge Rodriguez must be electronically filed. Detailed instructions can be found at https://www.casd.uscourts.gov/attorney/transcript-order.aspx.

Judge James E. Simmons, Jr.

CRITICAL

Applies to
Final exhibit witness list

Final Exhibit and Witness Lists must be emailed to efile_ohta@casd.uscourts.gov 14 days before trial.

email a copy of their Final Exhibit and Witness Lists to efile_ohta@casd.uscourts.gov fourteen (14) days before trial.

Judge Jinsook Ohta

CRITICAL

Applies to
Jury instructions

Jointly proposed and disputed preliminary, during trial, and final jury instructions must be submittedto efile_ohta@casd.uscourts.gov by the court-set deadline.

includes both the jointly proposed and disputed instructions for the 1) preliminary jury instructions; 2) during trial jury instructions; and 3) final jury instructions to efile_ohta@casd.uscourts.gov by the deadline set by the Court.

Judge Jinsook Ohta

CRITICAL

Applies to
Proposed order

Proposed orders and judge-signed documents must not be filed on the ECF docket.

Proposed orders or other documents requiring the Judge’s signature must not be filed on the docket.

Judge Jinsook Ohta

CRITICALCriminal cases

Applies to
Proposed order

counsel shall email proposed orders on motions directly to the Judge’s official email address, which is efile_Robinson@casd.uscourts.gov, as well as copy the Courtroom Deputy Clerk at Jessica_A_Ortiz@casd.uscourts.gov. Proposed orders should be submitted simultaneously with the accompanying motion in Word format.

counsel shall email proposed orders on motions directly to the Judge’s official email address, which is efile_Robinson@casd.uscourts.gov, as well as copy the Courtroom Deputy Clerk at Jessica_A_Ortiz@casd.uscourts.gov. Proposed orders should be submitted simultaneously with the accompanying motion in Word format.

Judge Todd W. Robinson

CRITICALCriminal cases

Applies to
Motion to seal

The motion to seal, the proposed sealed document(s), and a proposed order in Word format, should be submitted for review directly to the Judge’s official email address, which is efile_Robinson@casd.uscourts.gov, as well as copy the Courtroom Deputy Clerk at Jessica_A_Ortiz@casd.uscourts.gov.

The motion to seal, the proposed sealed document(s), and a proposed order in Word format, should be submitted for review directly to the Judge’s official email address, which is efile_Robinson@casd.uscourts.gov, as well as copy the Courtroom Deputy Clerk at Jessica_A_Ortiz@casd.uscourts.gov.

Judge Todd W. Robinson

CRITICALCivil cases

Applies to
Settlement conference statement and confidential settlement letter

The Settlement Conference Statement and optional Confidential Settlement Letter must be lodged as PDFs by email to the stated address, not filed, and received at least 10 calendar days before the conference.

Both the Statement and the Letter must be lodged in .pdf format via email to efile_goddard@casd.uscourts.gov (not filed), and must be received no later than 10 calendar days prior to the conference.

Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard

CRITICAL

Applies to
Proposed order

All proposed orders should be submitted by email (efile_cabrera@casd.uscourts.gov) in Word format

All proposed orders should be submitted by email (efile_cabrera@casd.uscourts.gov) in Word format

Magistrate Judge Guillermo Cabrera

CRITICAL

Applies to
Protective order

Parties must email a Word copy of the proposed protective order to efile_cabrera@casd.uscourts.gov.

The parties must email a copy of the proposed protective order in Word format to efile_cabrera@casd.uscourts.gov.

Magistrate Judge Guillermo Cabrera

CRITICAL

Applies to
Sealed document

Sealed documents must be filed via ECF using the “Sealed Lodged Proposed Document” event immediately after filing the motion to seal.

After filing a motion to seal, the moving party must immediately file the proposed sealed documents in CM/ECF using the “Sealed Lodged Proposed Document” event pursuant to ECF Manual Section 2(j).

Magistrate Judge Janet A. Cabral

CRITICAL

Applies to
Proposed order

All proposed orders should be submitted by email (efile cabral@casd.uscourts.gov) in Word format and should be free of any attorney names, firm names, document management numbers or insignia in the caption, margins or footer.

All proposed orders should be submitted by email (efile cabral@casd.uscourts.gov) in Word format and should be free of any attorney names, firm names, document management numbers or insignia in the caption, margins or footer.

Magistrate Judge Janet A. Cabral

WARNINGCriminal cases

Applies to
Ex parte document

Ex parte documents for which opposing parties receive no notice may be filed in paper format under seal.

ECF Manual § 2(i) permits all ex parte documents for which no notice is to be provided to opposing parties to be filed in paper format under seal.

Judge Benjamin J. Cheeks

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to
Lodged document

Lodged documents must not be filed with the Clerk of Court or on CM/ECF unless the Court directs otherwise.

Lodged documents shall not be filed with the Clerk of Court or on the Case Management/Electronic Case Filing ("CM/ECF") system unless the Court directs otherwise.

Judge James E. Simmons, Jr.

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to
Settlement proposal exchange

The parties should not file or otherwise copy the Court on these exchanges.

The parties should not file or otherwise copy the Court on these exchanges.

Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard
Common questions about Southern District of California electronic filing rules

Is electronic filing required in Southern District of California?

Judge Jinsook Ohta: Yes. Electronic filing is required for the covered filings. Final Exhibit and Witness Lists must be emailed to efile_ohta@casd.uscourts.gov 14 days before trial.

View ruleOfficial source Source: page 5, section X. Trial B. Trial Exhibits

Judge James E. Simmons, Jr.: Yes. Electronic filing is required for the covered filings. Transcript requests for proceedings before Judge Rodriguez must be filed electronically, per instructions on the court's website.

View ruleOfficial source Source: page 1, section II.D. Transcript Requests

Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard: The Settlement Conference Statement and optional Confidential Settlement Letter must be lodged as PDFs by email to the stated address, not filed, and received at least 10 calendar days before the conference.

View ruleOfficial source Source: page 2, section Settlement Conference Statements and Confidential Settlement Letters

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