Overview
New ECF rules allowed, as of last week, for e-filing of letters unless a judge's individual rules provided otherwise. We
noted previously that several judges had updated their rules to expressly allow or require ECF filing of letters. Since then, many more judges have followed suit. The chart below summarizes the judges' position on ECF filing of letters:
| Allow/Require | Do Not Address | Do Not Allow |
| District Judges | | |
| Baer | Abrams | Batts |
| Berman | Daniels | Briccetti |
| Buchwald | Griesa | Carter |
| Cote | Haight | Castel |
| Crotty | Hellerstein | Cedarbaum |
| Duffy | Kaplan | Failla |
| Engelmayer | Keenan | Gardephe |
| Forrest | McMahon | Karas |
| Furman | Owen | Marrero |
| Koeltl | Pauley | Oetken |
| Nathan | Sand | Rakoff |
| Patterson | Stanton | Ramos |
| Preska | Stein | Roman |
| Scheindlin | Sweet | Seibel |
| Schofield | | Sullivan |
| Swain | | Wood |
| Torres | | |
| Magistrate Judges | | |
| Cott | Fox | Davison |
| Ellis | Goldberg | Dolinger |
| Francis | Pitman | Yanthis |
| Freeman | | |
| Gorenstein | | |
| Maas | | |
| Netburn | | |
| Peck | | |
| Smith | | |
UPDATE: A reader correctly points out that the vast majority of judges in the “do not address” and “do not allow” columns have not updated their individual rules since the new ECF rules were announced in August, and thus will likely end up joining their colleagues in expressly allowing or requiring letters by ECF. Of all the judges who have updated their rules since the August ECF rule change, all but Judge Rakoff have allowed or required ECF filing. Judge Rakoff updated his rules on August 12, and continues to bar ECF filing of letters. Also, it bears emphasizing that letters to judges whose rules do not address the issue may be e-filed.
