The following U.S. District Courts, among others, are permitting pro se Plaintiff to file pleadings via eCF directly: The Eastern District of Michigan, District of New Hampshire, District of Northern California, and the Middle District of Florida. There is no reason why a pro se Plaintiff could not be permitted to file pleadings directly via electronic Case File (eCF) system.
As long as pro se Plaintiff is registered with PACER.gov and has the user name and the password, he or she should be able to file pleadings to the U.S. District Court via eCF. PACER account allows anyone to view the Court files in any US Courts. But having PACER account does not automatically gives you the permission to be able to file pleadings on your civil case via eCF.
Filing pleadings via express carriers or U.S. Express Mail is costly and necessitates delay of at least a day or two. Relying the Court staff to upload Plaintiff’s pleading to eCF also delays a day or two, depending on the staff’s work schedule. When Defendant is able to file pleadings instantly via eCF at any time, day or night; while pro se Plaintiff is unable; the latter is severely prejudiced against.
As the Court recognizes, the file date is the date on which a pleading is received by or delivered to the Court. Given this, a time lag of a day or two caused by the carrier or US Postal Service would gravely prejudices against Plaintiff. Moreover, without the eCF capability, Plaintiff is barred from filing a pleading after the Court closes for business in the evening, while Defendant’s counsel can still file in the same evening—even a few minutes before the midnight deadline, if the deadline falls on that day. Such privilege would not be afforded to Plaintiff, if Plaintiff is not allowed to instantly file pleadings via eCF, as Defendant’s council could.
Thus, pro se Plaintiff should request the Court’s permission to be able to file pleadings directly via eCF.
Download a form to request a permission from the US District Court to be able to e-file pleadings.