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Electronic Filing

 

The Office of the Clerk shall be open for filing from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the locations of court. More Information

ECF Help Desk: 1-800-355-8498

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NOTICE FOR PACER FEE-EXEMPT USERS

The Court would like to remind fee-exempt PACER users of the terms of the exemption and of potential issues associated with a new software application called RECAP. It was designed by a group from Princeton University to enable the sharing of court documents on the internet. Once a user loads RECAP, documents that he or she subsequently accesses via PACER are automatically sent to a public internet repository. Other RECAP/PACER users are then able to see whether documents are available from the internet repository. A fee exemption applies only for limited purposes. Any transfer of data obtained as the result of a fee exemption is prohibited unless expressly authorized by the Court. Therefore, fee exempt PACER users must refrain from the use of RECAP. The prohibition on transfer of information received without fee is not intended to bar a quote or reference to information received as a result of a fee exemption in a scholarly or other similar work.

 

NOTICE FOR CM/ECF FILERS

The Court would like to make CM/ECF filers aware of certain security concerns relating to a software application or "plug-in" called RECAP, which was designed by a group from Princeton University to enable the sharing of court documents on the internet. Once a user loads RECAP, documents that he or she subsequently accesses via PACER are automatically sent to a public internet repository. Other RECAP/PACER users are then able to see whether documents are available from the internet repository. RECAP captures District and Bankruptcy Court documents, but has not yet incorporated Appellate Court functionality. At this time, RECAP does not appear to provide users with access to restricted or sealed documents. Please be aware that RECAP is "open-source" software, which can be freely obtained by anyone with internet access and modified for benign or malicious purposes, such as facilitating unauthorized access to restricted or sealed documents. Accordingly, CM/ECF filers are reminded to be diligent about their computer security practices to ensure that documents are not inadvertently shared or compromised. The Court and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts will continue to analyze the implications of RECAP or related-software and advise you of any ongoing or further concerns.

 


 

Documents filed on the Court's CM/ECF electronic filing system must be converted directly to PDF. Documents should not be scanned unless they require an original signature or where the original itself is in paper format. The Court prefers that documents be converted rather than scanned because converted documents provide text search capabilities and greatly reduce the file size. Click the following link for more details: Creating Text Based PDF Files

 

If you do have to scan a document, please observe the following minimum requirements for scanning resolution and pixel (bit) depth to support archival preservation and continued use (per the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)):

 

3.2.1 Bitonal (1-bit) scanned at 300-600 ppi (pixels per inch)

This is appropriate for documents that consist exclusively of clean printed type possessing high inherent contrast (e.g., laser printed or typeset on a white background). Scanning at 600 ppi is recommended.

 

3.2.2 Gray scale (8-bit) scanned at 300-400 ppi

This is appropriate for textual documents of poor legibility because of low inherent contrast, staining or fading (e.g., carbon copies, thermofax, or documents with handwritten annotations or other markings), or that contain halftone illustrations or photographs. Scanning at 400 ppi is recommended.

 

3.2.3 Color (24-bit RGB [Red, Green, Blue]) scanned at 300-400 ppi

Color mode (if technically available) is appropriate for text containing color information important to interpretation or content. Scanning at 400 ppi is recommended.