Welcome to the official website for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The Clerk's Office is committed to providing quality service to those who appear before our Court.
Here are a few tips to help you more efficiently find the information you need and to minimize receiving notices of electronic filing errors from the Clerk's Office:
Familiarize yourself with the Local Rules, Judges' Preferences and the E-filing Policies and Procedures. Additionally, consult the Court's website before calling the Clerk's Office with questions. Often times it is quicker to consult the website for the information you need. The website has a word-search function to make accessing information faster. There are also links to the Local Rules and Frequently Asked Questions, both of which can eliminate the need to call the ECF Help Desk or other court staff. The website also has the most recent version of Court forms. Using these forms, and adhering to the instructions on the forms, may eliminate the need for the Clerk's Office to issue a notice of electronic filing error.
Keep all your contact information up to date. Attorneys are responsible for maintaining accurate and current contact information, including email addresses, to ensure receipt of electronic notices from the Court. The Clerk's Office does not monitor undeliverable email notifications or notify attorneys when electronic notices are not successfully delivered.
Primary email addresses and other contact information must be updated through PACER. Secondary email addresses may be updated through NextGen CM/ECF. Please see Maintain Your Central Sign-On Account for instructions.
When filing complaints and other case-initiating documents be certain to attach the most current versions of the Civil Cover Sheet and Summons. The divisional office box marked at the top of the Civil Cover Sheet determines to which division the case will be assigned. No judge assignment can be made if no divisional box is checked. Summons are issued electronically. Using the fillable version on the website will lead to your summons being issued quicker.
Before calling the ECF Help Desk to ask about the appropriate docketing event to use when electronically filing a document, try using the "Search" feature on the CM/ECF menu bar. Becoming acquainted with this feature not only reduces the need to call the ECF Help Desk, but can also lead to more accurate entry of docketing events, which will reduce the number of notices of electronic filing error received.
Check and double check all sealed, restricted and redacted filings prior to submitting them. Any document publicly filed which was intended to be redacted, restricted, or sealed will be publicly available for at least a short amount of time prior to the Clerk's Office being able to correct the filing.
If you cannot find the answer to your question on the website or in the available reference materials, or if you have made an error in electronic filing, do not hesitate to contact the Clerk's Office at 414-297-3372. Staff members are available weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to assist attorneys and the general public with questions.