(a) Selection of Grand Jurors. Grand jurors shall be selected at random in accordance with a plan adopted by this court pursuant to applicable federal statute and rule.

(b) Grand Jury Subpoenas. Sealed grand jury subpoenas shall be kept by the clerk for three years from the date the witness is ordered to appear. After that time, the clerk may destroy the subpoenas.

(c) Signature of the Grand Jury Foreperson. The grand jury foreperson shall sign the indictment with initials rather than his or her whole name. The foreperson will continue to sign the concurrence of the grand jury using his or her whole name.

In the interest of reducing delays and costs, judges and magistrate judges may conduct the arraignment at the same time as the post-indictment initial appearance.

Following the discovery conference required by Fed. R. Crim. P. 16.1, the attorney for the government and the defendant’s attorney shall notify the Court of the time agreed upon for any disclosures required by Fed. R. Crim P. 16(a)(1)(G)(i) and 16(b)(1)(C)(i), or of the parties’ respective positions if no agreement was reached.

(a) Communication with Jurors.

(1) No party or attorney for a party shall converse with a member of the jury during the trial of an action.

(2) After a verdict is rendered, an attorney must obtain leave of court to converse with members of the jury.

(b) Signature of the Petit Jury Foreperson. The petit jury foreperson shall sign all documents or communications with the court using his or her initials.

(a) Form and Content of a Motion. All motions and responses to motions, unless made during a hearing or trial, shall be in writing, conform to the requirements of Local Rules CV-5 and CV-10, and be accompanied by a separate proposed order for the judge’s signature. The proposed order shall be endorsed with the style and cause number and shall not include a date or signature block. Dispositive motions—those which could, if granted, result in the dismissal of an indictment or counts therein or the exclusion of evidence—shall contain a statement of the issues to be decided by the court. Responses to dispositive motions must include a response to the movant’s statement of issues. All motions, responses, replies, and proposed orders, if filed electronically, shall be submitted in “searchable PDF” format. All other documents, including attachments and exhibits, should be in “searchable PDF” form whenever possible.

(1) Page Limits.

(A) Dispositive Motions. Dispositive motions shall not exceed thirty pages, excluding attachments, unless leave of court is first obtained. Likewise,responses to such motions shall not exceed thirty pages, excluding attachments, unless leave of court is first obtained. Any reply brief shall not exceed ten pages, excluding attachments.

(B) Non-dispositive Motions. Non-dispositive motions shall not exceed fifteen pages, excluding attachments, unless leave of court is first obtained.Likewise, responses to such motions shall not exceed fifteen pages, excluding attachments, unless leave of court is first obtained. Any reply brief shall not exceed five pages, excluding attachments.

(2) Briefing Supporting Motions and Responses. The motion and any briefing shall be contained in one document. The briefing shall contain a concise statement of the reasons in support of the motion and citation of authorities upon which the movant relies. Likewise, the response and any briefing shall be contained in one document. Such briefing shall contain a concise statement of the reasons in opposition to the motion and a citation of authorities upon which the party relies.

(3) Certificates of Conference. Except as specified below, all motions must be accompanied by a “certificate of conference.” It should be placed at the end of themotion following the certificate of service. The certificate must state: (1) that counsel has conferred with opposing counsel in a good faith attempt to resolve thematter without court intervention; and (2) whether the motion is opposed or unopposed. Motions for continuance should also state whether the motion is opposed by any co-defendant or certify counsel’s inability to obtain the position of a particular co-defendant despite a good faith attempt to do so. Certificates of conference are not required of pro se litigants (prisoner or non-prisoner) or for the following motions:

(A) motions to dismiss;

(B) motions for judgment of acquittal;

(C) motions to suppress;

(D) motions for new trial;

(E) any motion permitted to be filed ex parte;

(F) objections to report and recommendations of magistrate judges;

(G) motions for reconsideration;

(H) dispositive motions; and

(I) any motion related to enforcement of a debt, including relief under the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act, 28 U.S.C. § 3101, et seq. and the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. §​ 1651.

(b) Timing of a Motion.

(1) Responses. A party opposing a motion has fourteen days from the date the motion was served in which to serve and file a response and any supporting documents, after which the court will consider the submitted motion for decision. Any party may separately move for a court order lengthening or shortening the period within which a response may be filed.

(2) Reply Briefs and Sur-Replies. Unless otherwise directed by the presiding judge, a party who has filed an opposed motion may serve and file a reply brief responding to issues raised in the response within seven days from the date the response is served. A sur-reply responding to issues raised in the reply may be served and filed within seven days from the date the reply is served. The court need not wait for the reply or sur-reply before ruling on the motion. Absent leave of court, no further submissions on the motion are allowed.

(c) Affidavit Supporting a Motion. When allegations of fact not appearing in the record are relied upon in support of a motion, all affidavits and other pertinent documents shall be served and filed with the motion. It is strongly recommended that any attached materials have the cited portions highlighted or underlined in the copy provided to the court, unless the citation encompasses the entire page. The page preceding and following a highlighted or underlined page may be submitted if necessary to place the highlighted or underlined material in context. Only relevant, cited-to excerpts of attached materials should be attached to the motion or the response.

(a) Generally. All pleadings and documents submitted in criminal cases must conform to the filing, service, and format requirements contained in Local Rules CV-5, CV-10, and CV-11.

(1) Defendant Number. In multi-defendant cases, each defendant receives a “defendant number.” The numbers are assigned in the order in which defendants are listed on the complaint or indictment. When filing documents with the court, parties shall identify by name and number each defendant to whom a document applies.

(2) Sealed Indictments. In multi-defendant cases involving one or more sealed indictments, the government should, at the time the sealed indictment is filed,provide the clerk with appropriately redacted copies of the indictment for each defendant. The goal of this procedure is to protect the confidential aspect of thesealed indictment with regard to any defendants not yet arrested.

(b) Public Access to Criminal Case Documents Generally. In order to serve the legal presumption of openness in criminal case proceedings, pleadings in this court are generally to be filed unsealed. Except for the documents listed in Section (c) of this rule, decisions as to whether to seal a particular pleading are made on a case-by-case basis by the court, with findings specific enough that a reviewing court can determine whether the sealing or closure was properly entered.

(1) Absent specific court findings to the contrary, all documents other than those specifically listed in paragraph (c) below and those submitted with a motion to sealin accordance with Local Rules CV-5(a)(7) and CR-49(a) are to remain unsealed.

(c) Authorization to Routinely Seal Particular Types of Criminal Case Documents. Despite the general rule cited in Section (b) above, there is an overriding interest in routinely sealing certain types of criminal case documents, because public dissemination of the documents would substantially risk endangering the lives or safety of law enforcement officers, United States Marshals, agents, defendants, witnesses, cooperating informants, judges, court employees, defense counsel, prosecutors, or their respective family members, and could jeopardize continuing criminal investigations. The documents that trigger this overriding interest are:

(1) unexecuted summonses or warrants (e.g., search warrants, arrest warrants);

(2) pen register or a trap and trace device applications pursuant to either 18 U.S.C. § 3121 et seq. or 18 U.S.C. § 2516 et seq. ;

(3) pretrial bail or presentence investigation reports and any addenda and objections thereto;

(4) the statements of reasons in the judgment of conviction;

(5) plea agreements,3 which are governed by Section (d) below;

(6) addenda to plea agreements described in Section (e) below;

(7) motions for downward departure for substantial assistance, and responsive pleadings and orders granting or denying the same;

(8) motions pursuant to Section 5K1.1 of the United States Sentencing Guidelines, memoranda in support thereof, responsive pleadings and orders granting or denying the same;

(9) motions for reduction of sentence under Fed. R. Crim. P. 35(b), memoranda in support thereof, responsive pleadings and orders granting or denying the same;

(10) amended judgments pursuant to a grant of a Fed. R. Crim. P. 35(b) motion; and

(11) orders restoring federal benefits filed in conjunction with item 10 above. The documents listed above shall be filed under seal without need of a motion to seal or a certification by counsel. Other than plea agreements, the documents shall remain sealed unless otherwise ordered by the court.

(d) Sealing and Unsealing of Plea Agreements

(1) Until it is accepted by the court, a plea agreement is in the nature of an unaccepted offer of terms between parties. In addition to the findings of Section (c) above, making a plea agreement public before it has been accepted may lead to publicity that would tend to prejudice a defendant who decides to exercise his right to trial by making it more difficult to select jurors who have not formed an opinion about the case. Such publicity may also provide details of the case pertinent to co-defendants who have not pled, thus prejudicing them. Therefore, plea agreements shall be filed under seal.

(2) The plea agreement shall be unsealed when the terms and conditions of the plea agreement are accepted absent a further court order finding that there is anoverriding policy interest in keeping that particular plea agreement sealed and providing findings specific enough that a reviewing court can determine whether the sealing or closure was properly entered. The routine unsealing of sealed plea agreements is intended to serve the right of public access to criminal casedocuments.

(e) Sealed Addendums to Plea Agreements. Every plea agreement in this court shall have an addendum that is sealed ( see Section (c)(6) above). The addendum will either state “no provisions are included in this addendum,” or it will contain specific provisions dealing with possible reductions in sentence in return for the defendant’s substantial assistance to the government. This will allow each plea agreement to be unsealed upon sentencing without prejudicing or endangering a cooperating defendant or the defendant’s family or other informants and defendants.

(f) In those instances where the court orders an entire criminal case sealed, case documents shall be e-mailed to the following addresses for filing by the relevant divisional clerk’s office:

Beaumont bmtcrimdocs@txed.uscourts.gov

Lufkin lufcrimdocs@txed.uscourts.gov

Marshall marcrimdocs@txed.uscourts.gov

Sherman shrcrimdocs@txed.uscourts.gov

Texarkana texcrimdocs@txed.uscourts.gov

Tyler tylcrimdocs@txed.uscourts.gov

(g) Defendants proceeding pro se shall submit all sealed criminal case documents in paper format to the clerk’s office for filing.

(h) Unless otherwise ordered by the presiding judge, counsel filing a document under seal must send a paper copy of that document to the presiding judge’s chambers. The paper copy should be sent directly to the judge’s chambers, not to the clerk’s office.

3 The plea agreement does not include the factual basis of the offense and stipulation or the elements of the offense, which are separate documents typically filed at the same time as the plea agreement.

(a) Electronic Filing of Transcripts by Court Reporters. Any transcript of criminal proceedings in this court filed by a court reporter or transcriber shall be filed electronically, including a “Notice of Filing of Official Transcript.” The clerk will post a “model notice” for the court reporter or transcriber’s use on the court’s web site. Upon request, the clerk shall make an electronic version of any unsealed transcript available for public inspection without charge at the clerk’s office. See 28 U.S.C. § 753(b).

(b) Availability of Transcripts of Court Proceedings. Electronically-filed transcripts of criminal court proceedings are subject to the following rules:

(1) A transcript provided to a court by a court reporter or transcriber will be available at the clerk’s office for inspection for a period of ninety days after it is electronically filed with the clerk. During the ninety-day inspection period, access to the transcript in CM/ECF is limited to the following users: (a) court staff; (b) public terminal users; (c) attorneys of record or parties who have purchased the transcript from the court reporter or transcriber; and (d) other persons as directed by the court. Court staff may not copy or print transcripts for a requester during the ninety-day inspection period.

(2) During the ninety-day period, a copy of the transcript may be obtained from the court reporter or transcriber at the rate established by the Judicial Conference. The transcript will also be available within the court for internal use, and an attorney who obtains the transcript from the court reporter or transcriber may obtain remote electronic access to the transcript through the court’s CM/ECF system for purposes of creating hyperlinks to the transcript in court filings and for other purposes.

(3) Within seven days of the filing of the transcript in CM/ECF, each party wishing to redact a transcript must inform the court, by filing the attached “Notice of Intent to Request Redaction,” of the party’s intent to redact personal data identifiers from the transcript as required by Fed. R. Crim. P. 49.1. If no such notice is filed withinthe allotted time, the court will assume redaction of personal data identifiers is not necessary.

(4) If redaction is requested, a party is to submit to the court reporter or transcriber and file with the court, within twenty-one days of the transcript’s delivery to the clerk, or longer if a court so orders, a statement indicating where the personal data identifiers to be redacted appear in the transcript. The court reporter or transcriber must redact the identifiers as directed by the party. These procedures are limited to the redaction of the specific personal identifiers listed in Fed. R. Crim. P. 49.1(a).

If an attorney wishes to redact additional information, he or she may make a motion to the court. The transcript will not be electronically available until the court hasruled on any such motion.

(5) The court reporter or transcriber must, within thirty-one days of the filing of the transcript, or longer if the court so orders, perform the requested redactions and file a redacted version of the transcript with the clerk. Redacted transcripts are subject to the same access restrictions as outlined above during the initial ninety days after the first transcript has been filed. The original unredacted electronic transcript shall be retained by the clerk as a restricted document.

(6) If, after the ninety-day period has ended, there are no redaction documents or motions linked to the transcript, the clerk will remove the public access restrictionsand make the unredacted transcript available for inspection and copying in the clerk’s office and for download from the CM/ECF system.

(7) If, after the ninety-day period has ended, a redacted transcript has been filed with the court, the clerk will remove the access restrictions as appropriate and make the redacted transcript available for inspection and copying in the clerk’s office and for download from the CM/ECF system or from the court reporter or transcriber.

(a) Submission of Hearing/Trial Exhibits. The parties shall not submit exhibits to the clerk’s office prior to a hearing/trial without a court order. The clerk shall return to the party any physical exhibits not complying with this rule. Exhibits shall be properly marked, but not placed in binders. Multiple-paged documentary exhibits should be properly fastened. Additional copies of trial exhibits may be submitted in binders for the court’s use.

(b) Post-trial/hearing Exhibit Procedures. The parties shall provide letter-sized copies of any documentary, physical, or oversized exhibit to the court prior to the conclusion of a hearing/trial. At the conclusion of a hearing/trial, the parties shall provide the courtroom deputy with PDF copies of all exhibits that were admitted by the court, unless otherwise ordered. Oversized exhibits will be returned at the conclusion of the trial or hearing. If parties desire the oversized exhibits to be sent to the appellate court, it will be their responsibility to send them.