News

The Honorable George W. White, Former Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, died on Saturday, November 12, 2011 at age 80.

Judge White was appointed to the District Court bench by President James Earl Carter in 1980. Judge White served as Chief Judge of the Court from February 10, 1995 to February 26, 1999 when he retired from the bench. Judge White later served as the first director of the Cleveland Browns Foundation, a philanthropic foundation.

Amendments to the Federal Rules of Appellate, Bankruptcy, Criminal Procedure, and Evidence took effect December 1, 2011. Congress took no action after the changes were approved by the Supreme Court more than seven months earlier.

A free-of-charge website offers training for the federal Judiciary's Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service.  The site features data from real cases in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York filed over a six-month period in 2007.  The training site can be accessed via "What's New With PACER" on the PACER website home page, www.pacer.gov.  No registration is required, and a login and password are posted on the training site's Welcome Page.

Users can search the database to find cases to explore.  As searches are conducted, a transaction receipt display will explain what charge would have been accrued on the PACER service.  Reviewing the receipts will help users manage their PACER charges.

It is strongly recommended that the users of the training site also read the PACER Service Center User Manual.  And questions about using the training site can be posted to PACER customer service representatives at 800-676-6856 or pacer@psc.uscourts.gov. 

Because each federal court maintains its own version of the federal Judiciary's Case Mangement/Electronic Case Files syste, a court's "live" database may display information, selection of events, and choice of reports slightly differently from the training database.

On Friday, December 2nd Judges Polster and McHargh were interviewed by WOIO reporter Harry Boomer regarding Cleveland's Successful Transitions-Accelerated Reentry (STAR) Program, which assists high risk offenders in reentering the Greater Cleveland Community. Watch the video here.

The Northern District of Ohio is now part of an online pilot conducted by the Government Printing Office (GPO) called FDsys (Federal Digital System) which provides free online access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.

The main entrance of the James M. Ashley and Thomas W.L. Ashley U. S. Courthouse, located in Toledo, has reopened following renovation. Visitors may now gain entrance to the building utilizing the entrance located on Spielbusch Avenue.

Attorneys wishing to be considered for membership on the CJA Panel who meet the eligibility requirements may submit an application no later than March 30, 2012.  

The Judicial Conference of the United States Courts has amended the Electronic Public Access Fee Schedule to increase the PACER Internet access fee from eight cents per page to ten cents per page and to raise the waiver from $10 to $15 in a quarterly billing cycle, effective April 1, 2012.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is proposing comprehensive amendments to the Sixth Circuit Rules and Internal Operating Procedures. Pursuant to 6 Cir. R. 47(a), all interested parties have the opportunity to register comments to the proposed changes.

At its March 2012 session, the Judicial Conference approved minor changes to the miscellaneous fee schedules for the district courts and Court of Federal Claims. 

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio seeks to enter into a contract with a court reporting firm in the Toledo vicinity (including Michigan based firms), to provide court reporting services as needed for two active judges, two senior judges and two magistrate judges at the courthouse located at 1716 Spielbusch Avenue, Toledo, Ohio.

Attorney Jeffrey J. Helmick was sworn in to serve as U.S. District Judge in Toledo for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on June 18, 2012.

The U.S. Supreme Court has approved and transmitted to Congress amendments to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure that will take effect on December 1, 2012 unless Congress takes action to reject, modify or defer them.

The United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has scheduled a hearing session to consider various matters on July 26, 2012 in the Ceremonial Courtroom (19A) of the Carl B. Stokes U.S. Courthouse in Cleveland. Oral argument will commence at 9:30 a.m. Counsel presenting oral argument must be present at 8:00 a.m.

Modifications were made to Local Civil Rule 3.1 regarding Assignment of Cases; Related Cases, Refiled, Dismissed and Remanded Cases. Technical modifications were made to Local Civil Rules 67.1 and 67.2 regarding Deposits and Disbursements.

The district's Court Re-entry / STAR program was the subject of a July 21, 2012 story in The Plain Dealer (Federal re-entry program puts judge and offender on same team: Margaret Bernstein). The STAR (Successful Transitions-Accelerated Reentry) Program is a collaboration between the Northern District of Ohio U.S. Pretrial Services and Probation Office and community resource providers to facilitate safe and successful reintegration of offenders into the community, through early assessment and planning.

The U.S. Pretrial Services and Probation Department and the Clerk's Office have been working on a pilot project to provide judges and attorneys with electronic access to pre-sentence reports in criminal cases through the CM/ECF system.

The public comment period has opened for several proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Practice and Procedure, which govern litigation in the federal courts. The comment period closes February 15, 2013.

The Library of Congress has announced the launch of Congress.gov, a new resource for United States legislative information.

The U.S. Pretrial Services and Probation Department and the Clerk’s Office have been working on a pilot project to provide judges and attorneys with electronic access to pre-sentence reports in criminal cases through the CM/ECF system. The pilot project is a success. Therefore, beginning Monday, October 15, 2012 electronic filing of pre-sentence reports will become standard in all criminal cases.

Effective January 1, 2013, the regular attorney admission fee will increase from $216 to $225 and the pro hac vice fee will increase from $100 to $120.

The Court adopted Local Civil Rule 16.3.1 regarding the Review of Decisions by the Commissioner of Social Security. A technical modification was made to Local Civil Rule 16.2 regarding Tracks and Evaluation of Cases.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has issued his "2012 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary," focusing on efforts by the federal courts to contain costs. To see the full report, visit this link at the U.S. Supreme Court website.

Attorneys wishing to be considered for membership on the CJA Panel who meet the eligibility requirements may submit an application no later than March 29, 2013. 

CM/ECF now offers a mobile query interface which provides optimized display on mobile devices.

At its March 2013 session, the Judicial Conference amended the Electronic Public Access Fee Schedule for the appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts, the United States Court of Federal Claims, and the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. 

Effective May 1, 2013, pursuant to Judicial Conference Policy, all federal district courts will begin charging a $50 administrative fee for filing a civil action, suit or proceeding in a district court, in addition to the $350 filing fee. The administrative fee does not apply to an application for a writ of habeas corpus or to persons granted in forma pauperis status under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. 

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio has adopted a new form to be used when parties seek to proceed in forma pauperis.. All prior versions of the prior form should be discarded and no longer used. The new form is entitled "Application to Proceed without Prepaying Fees or Costs." It is available on the Court's web site and at the following link: http://www.ohnd.uscourts.gov/assets/Pro_Se/ApplicationIFP.pdf