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Block on Trump's Asylum Ban Upheld by Supreme Court
You know the drill: New attorneys practicing in the Ninth Circuit need to be aware of the court's local rules to make sure they don't look too much like a newbie.
In comparison with some other circuits, the Ninth Circuit's rules appear to be slightly more laid back. But even so, federal courts are on the whole much stricter and sterner when it comes to enforcing the rules than your average state court. If you are just starting out in federal practice, here are three quick tips.
1. No training required for the Ninth Circuit's ECF. Unlike some district courts, no official training is required before an attorney can e-file briefs and other documents in the Ninth Circuit's electronic case filing system (ECF). However, the court strongly recommends that attorneys review the available training material since messing up your e-filing could affect deadlines. Also, attorneys don't have to be a member of the Ninth Circuit bar in order to register in the ECF system.
2. Getting an extension for filing a brief. New attorneys struggling to conform their briefs to the circuit's standards can breathe a sigh of relief -- the court rules allow for time extensions to file a brief.
3. Page limitations. Pro tip: Your brief is not meant to be the next great American novel, and the Ninth Circuit knows it. Under Rule 32, principal briefs may not exceed 30 pages and a reply brief is 15 pages max. However, if a principal brief contains no more than 14,000 words or if it uses monospaced face and contains no more than 1,300 lines of text, but exceeds 30 pages, it'll still be accepted. Headings, footnotes, and quotes also count towards the word and line limits.
If you need more help with the rules, contact the Ninth Circuit's Clerk's Office at (415) 355-8000.
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