7th Circuit adopts rule changes for district court dockets

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The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has adopted two rule amendments that place additional requirements on district courts to ensure case dockets are complete and available upon the 7th Circuit’s request.

The circuit court proposed amendments to Circuit Rule 10 and the rescission of Circuit Rule 11 on March 23 and opened a public comment period through April 25. The court officially adopted the amendments on Tuesday.

First, Circuit Rule 10 has been renamed “Preparation and Accessibility of Record in District Court Appeals.” The amendment also drafts new language into subsection (a) of the rule by requiring district courts to make their complete dockets electronically available within 14 days of the filing of a notice of appeal in a specific case. The district courts are also required to maintain records that are either confidential or not electronically available until the appellate court requests those records.

Attorneys also have new requirements under the amended rule: to ensure all documents are on the district court’s docket within 21 days of filing a notice of appeal.

Next, Rule 10(b) has been amended to require all motions to correct or to modify the record to be presented to the district court and included as part of the record. Notice of the district courts’ orders on those motions must be sent to the 7th Circuit.

The final amendment to Rule 10, found in subsection (f), now requires district courts to maintain presentence reports under seal unless a report is already public record. The rule’s former language required district courts to transmit the reports under seal.

Finally, Circuit Rule 11 has been rescinded. All amendments are effective immediately.

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