United States District Courts’ Local Rules and Procedures on Electronic Filing by Self-Represented Litigants
Tim Reagan
2025, 36 pages
This report compiles local rules and procedures in the ninety-four district courts on electronic filing by self-represented litigants. More than two thirds of the courts permit self-represented litigants to use the court’s electronic filing system at least on a case-by-case basis.

Redaction of Non-Government Party Names in Social Security and Immigration Case Documents
Jana E. Laks and Kristin A. Garri
2025, 22 pages
At the request of the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, the Center completed a study of unredacted non-government party names in Social Security and immigration case documents.

Default and Default Judgment Practices in the District Courts
Emery G. Lee III and Jason A. Cantone,
2024, 55 pages
This report summarizes the practices of district courts regarding entry of defaults and default judgments pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55.

Unredacted Social Security Numbers in Federal Court PACER Documents
Kristin A. Garri, Roy P. Germano, Jason A. Cantone, and Jana E. Laks
2024, 31 pages
At the request of the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, the Center identified unredacted Social Security numbers in public filings in violation of Federal Rules of Practice and Procedure: Appellate Rule 25(a)(5), Bankruptcy Rule 9037, Civil Rule 5.2, and Criminal Rule 49.1.

Local-Counsel Requirements for Practice in Federal District Courts
Tim Reagan
2024, 44 pages
This report, which was prepared for the standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure’s subcommittee on attorney admissions, summarizes when and where federal district courts require local counsel to participate in litigation and attorney admissions to the district courts’ bars.

Fees for Admission to Federal Court Bars
Tim Reagan
2024, 55 pages
This report, which was prepared for the standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure’s subcommittee on attorney admissions, summarizes fees charged for admission to federal court bars, including admission fees, pro hac vice fees, and fees charged by state and territory bars for certificates of good standing.

Jurisdictions with a High Number of Civil Jury Trials
Emery G. Lee III and Kristin A. Garri
2023, 64 pages
This report fulfills the Center’s requirement under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (Pub. L. No. 117-103), to submit a report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations “identifying jurisdictions that have a high number of civil jury trials and analyze whether the litigation practices, local court rules, or other factors in those jurisdictions may contribute to a higher incidence of civil jury trials.”

Mandatory Initial Discovery Pilot (MIDP)—Final Report
Emery G. Lee III and Jason A. Cantone
2022, 195 pages
This study presents findings related to the Mandatory Initial Discovery Pilot (MIDP) project in new civil cases initiated in district courts. The Center conducted the study at the request of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules.

Federal Courts’ Electronic Filing by Pro Se Litigants
Tim Reagan, Carly Giffin, and Roy Germano
2022, 79 pages
From research on pro se use of the federal courts’ Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system, we learned that (1) perhaps paper filers should not be required to separately serve parties already receiving electronic service; and (2) perhaps the rules should clarify references to electronic filing, which sometimes means using CM/ECF and sometimes means otherwise submitting filings electronically, as by email.