Submitting Electronic Exhibits for Appeal Purposes

Exhibits admitted during a hearing or trial are not "filed" with the clerk. However, these exhibits, unless ordered to be sealed by a judge, are available for public inspection in the clerk's office until claimed or destroyed. Please contact the clerk's office for information on obtaining copies or to schedule an appointment to view exhibits.

If a case has been appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, each ECF User must transmit copies of the exhibits they offered that were admitted into evidence in the district court case through ECF within 14 days of the date the notice of appeal was filed. (This requirement applies for ALL judges of the Northern District of Texas, including those that permit paper filing or otherwise prohibit electronic filing.) Exhibits that are not sensitive in nature are required to be part of the electronic record on appeal per instructions of the Fifth Circuit. (Sensitive exhibits must be transferred in paper to the Fifth Circuit only when they request their transfer.)  Please note that if you must obtain copies of your exhibits from the Clerk's Office, you must contact the appeals deputy in the appropriate division to make arrangements.  Original exhibits cannot be released from the Clerk's Office absent a court order.

A specific ECF docket event has been created for public exhibits. Once transmitted through ECF, case participants and any member of the public using a public terminal in the clerk's office will be able to view the admitted exhibits.

To provide the required electronic copy of exhibits in ECF, follow the appropriate instructions below:

ECF User

If you are a registered ECF filer, you must follow these instructions, even if you filed all pleadings and motions in paper in the district court case.

CAUTION: Never mix sealed and unsealed exhibits.

For exhibits admitted by a judge as PUBLIC exhibits:

1. Prepare an index of your admitted exhibits ("Exhibit Index"). 
   List your exhibits in chronological order and clearly reference the exhibit number that was assigned by the district court. (Remember not to include exhibits with sensitive images.) Save the Exhibit Index in a PDF file that does not exceed 35MB in size.
2. Save a copy of your admitted exhibits in PDF. 
   Convert any non-documentary exhibit into a document format (e.g., substitute a photograph of a demonstrative or oversized exhibit). Ensure that the exhibit number assigned to each exhibit is clearly visible on the face of the exhibit or on a preceding identification page. You may combine multiple exhibits into the same PDF, so long as each file does not exceed 35MB in size.
3. Docket the Electronic Copy of Admitted Hearing or Trial Exhibit event. 
   Attach the PDF of the Exhibit Index as the Main Document and the PDF(s) of the public exhibits as Attachments.  If all exhibits cannot be attached to this entry (we typically recommend no more than 10 attachments per entry), repeat this step to upload all additional public exhibits.

For exhibits admitted by a judge as SEALED exhibits:

Follow steps 1 and 2 above.

For step 3., use the Sealed Electronic Copy of Admitted Hearing or Trial Exhibit event. Attach the PDF of the Exhibit Index as the Main Document and the PDF(s) of the sealed exhibits as Attachments.  If all exhibits cannot be attached to this entry, repeat this step to upload all additional sealed exhibits.

Non-ECF User

If you are not registered to file electronically in the ECF system, you must prepare a CD/DVD that contains all of your exhibits that were admitted into evidence as instructed below.

CAUTION: Never mix sealed and unsealed exhibits.

For exhibits admitted by a judge as PUBLIC exhibits:

1. Prepare an index of your admitted exhibits ("Exhibit Index"). 
   List your exhibits in chronological order and clearly reference the exhibit number that was assigned by the district court. (Remember not to include exhibits with sensitive images.) Save the Exhibit Index in a PDF file that does not exceed 35MB in size and name the file "Public Exhibit Index.pdf."
2. Save a copy of your admitted exhibits in PDF. 
   Convert any non-documentary exhibit into a document format (e.g., substitute a photograph of a demonstrative or oversized exhibit). Ensure that the exhibit number assigned to each exhibit is clearly visible on the face of the exhibit or on a preceding identification page. You may combine multiple exhibits into the same PDF, so long as each file does not exceed 35MB in size.  When naming each file, reference the public exhibit(s) contained therein, Ex. "Public Exhibits 1-3.pdf," "Public Exhibit 6.pdf."
3. Save the Public Exhibit Index.pdf file and all public exhibit files to a CD or DVD. 
   If you also need to submit sealed exhibits, follow the instructions below.  Otherwise, deliver the CD or DVD to the Appeals Deputy in the clerk's office in the appropriate division.

For exhibits admitted by a judge as SEALED exhibits:

1. Prepare an index of your admitted exhibits ("Exhibit Index").  List your exhibits in chronological order and clearly reference the exhibit number that was assigned by the district court.  Save the Exhibit Index in a PDF file that does not exceed 35MB in size and name the file "Sealed Exhibit Index.pdf."
2. Save a copy of your admitted exhibits in PDF.  Convert any non-documentary exhibit into a document format (e.g., substitute a photograph of a demonstrative or oversized exhibit). Ensure that the exhibit number assigned to each exhibit is clearly visible on the face of the exhibit or on a preceding identification page. You may combine multiple exhibits into the same PDF, so long as each file does not exceed 35MB in size.  When naming each file, reference the sealed exhibit(s) contained therein, Ex. "Sealed Exhibits 4-5.pdf," "Sealed Exhibit 7.pdf."
3. Save the Sealed Exhibit Index.pdf file and all sealed exhibit files to the same CD or DVD that contains the public Exhibit Index and public exhibit files.  Deliver the CD or DVD to the Appeals Deputy in the clerk's office in the appropriate division.

Attorney Guide to Claiming Exhibits

Under LR 79.2 and LCrR 55.2, , the clerk may not release exhibits prior to final disposition of a case unless ordered to do so by the presiding judge. If no appeal is filed, final disposition in a civil case is 30 days after entry of a judgment on the docket (or 60 days if one of the parties is the United States (US), a US agency, or a US officer or employee and FRAP 4(a)(1)(B) applies), or, in a criminal case, 14 days after entry of a judgment on the docket (or 30 days if the US is entitled to appeal). If an appeal is filed, final disposition is when the mandate is entered on the district court’s docket sheet or the appeal is otherwise dismissed. Exhibits may be claimed during the 60-day period following final disposition. The clerk will discard exhibits that remain unclaimed after the 60-day period without additional notice.

If you have questions about these procedures, please contact the courtroom deputy for the presiding judge.

Claiming Exhibits

Please use the court directory on the court’s website at www.txnd.uscourts.gov to contact the courtroom deputy for the presiding judge before visiting the clerk’s office to claim your exhibits.  This allows the courtroom deputy to verify that the exhibits may be released and to retrieve them from storage prior to your arrival.  The presiding judge may require you to acknowledge receipt of the exhibits on a form that the courtroom deputy will provide.