FAXBACK

FaxBack, which began in this District in 1997, was designed to streamline proceedings in this Court by allowing the electronic transmission of judgements, orders, notices, etc. The program benefits the bar and the bench in several significant ways. First and foremost, documents are faxed to participating attorneys shortly after issuance, usually well within 24 hours. Moreover, attorneys need no longer accompany motions and proposed orders with pre-addressed, postage-paid envelopes. Similarly, Chambers staff need no longer spend hours copying and collating orders or stuffing and sealing envelopes.

How the Program Works:

By enrolling in the program, you authorize the Clerk of Court to fax, in lieu of mailing, copies of all judgments, orders, notices, etc. entered by participating judges. If your fax machine is out of paper, busy, offline, or unable to receive transmission for any reason, the document will be printed and mailed. The system generates, and the Clerk's office maintains, a detailed report confirming receipt by parties of the electronic notice or noting the date and time of mailing.

There are several things you must do in order to ensure successful participation in the program. First of all, it is important to remember that your enrollment has no automatically retroactive effect; that is, although it will be effective for all future cases in which you are involved, it will not be effective for previously-opened, then-pending cases. In order to receive faxed orders in these cases, you must, when you enroll, list all pending cases in which you are the attorney of record, so that the information in those cases may be updated with your fax number.

It is also important to know which judges are participating in the FaxBack program. If the Judge to whom your case is assigned does not participate, you will not receive documents by fax, and you will still need to provide postage-paid, pre-addressed envelopes with your motions and proposed orders. Currently, the following judges are participating in the FaxBack program:

Judges Graham, Moore, Ungaro-Benages, Hurley, Lenard*, Middlebrooks, Gold, Seitz, King, Paine, and Ryskamp.

This list is growing; if you are not sure whether the Judge to whom your case is assigned participates in FaxBack, check this website or ask the Clerk's Office before you file.

Because you no longer provide relevant party information through pre-addressed envelopes, you need to pay careful attention to the accuracy and completeness of your service lists in cases before Judges who participate in FaxBack. Every motion and proposed order filed before a participating Judge must include a service list identifying every party who is to be noticed and providing current, accurate address information. Additionally, in multiple party, multiple attorney cases, the service list should also include the names of the parties that each attorney is representing. Because different Judges may have different content and format requirements for the service lists, it is a good idea, when in doubt, to contact the Clerk's Office.

How to Enroll

Simply fill out the authorization form, and fax it back as indicated. As discussed, it is very important to include, in the space provided, all currently-pending cases.