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N.D. Tex. · Judge Kacsmaryk · Practice Guide

Hon. Matthew J. Kacsmaryk

All local rules for N.D. Tex., integrated with this judge's published requirements.

Drafting the Motion
Length limits — motion, opposition, reply
🏛 N.D. Tex. local rule
Motion

Unless another local civil rule provides otherwise, a brief must not exceed 25 pages (excluding the table of contents and table of authorities). A reply brief must not exceed 10 pages. Permission to file a brief in excess of these page limitations will be granted by the presiding judge only for extraordinary and compelling reasons. N.D. Tex. LR 7.2(c) ↗

Opposition

Unless another local civil rule provides otherwise, a brief must not exceed 25 pages (excluding the table of contents and table of authorities). N.D. Tex. LR 7.2(c) ↗

Reply

A reply brief must not exceed 10 pages. N.D. Tex. LR 7.2(c) ↗

AI use & disclosure requirements
👤 Judge Kacsmaryk — standing order

All attorneys and pro se litigants appearing before the Court must, together with their notice of appearance, file on the docket a certificate attesting either that no portion of any filing will be drafted by generative artificial intelligence (such as ChatGPT, Harvey.AI, or Google Bard) or that any language drafted by generative artificial intelligence will be checked for accuracy, using print reporters or traditional legal databases, by a human being. These platforms are incredibly powerful and have many uses in the law: form divorces, discovery requests, suggested errors in documents, anticipated questions at oral argument. But legal briefing is not one of them. Here's why. These platforms in their current states are prone to hallucinations and bias. On hallucinations, they make stuff up--even quotes and citations. Another issue is reliability or bias. While attorneys swear an oath to set aside their personal prejudices, biases, and beliefs to faithfully uphold the law and represent their clients, generative artificial intelligence is the product of programming devised by humans who did not have to swear such an oath. As such, these systems hold no allegiance to any client, the rule of law, or the laws and Constitution of the United States (or, as addressed above, the truth). Unbound by any sense of duty, honor, or justice, such programs act according to computer code rather than conviction, based on programming rather than principle. Any party believing a platform has the requisite accuracy and reliability for legal briefing may move for leave and explain why. Accordingly, the Court will strike any filing from a party who fails to file a certificate on the docket attesting that they have read the Court's judge-specific requirements and understand that they will be held responsible under Rule 11 for the contents of any filing that they sign and submit to the Court, regardless of whether generative artificial intelligence drafted any portion of that filing. Kacsmaryk -- ai_disclosure_requirement ↗

Filing & Scheduling
Briefing schedule & hearing date
🏛 N.D. Tex. local rule
Notice period

(e) Time for Response and Brief. A response and brief to an opposed motion must be filed within 21 days from the date the motion is filed. (f) Time for Reply Briefs. Unless otherwise directed by the presiding judge, a party who has filed an opposed motion may file a reply brief within 14 days from the date the response is filed. N.D. Tex. LR 7.1(e)–(f) ↗

Hearing days

Unless otherwise directed by the presiding judge, oral argument on a motion will not be held. N.D. Tex. LR 7.1(g) ↗

Proposed orders
🏛 N.D. Tex. local rule

Except for an opposed motion that is submitted on paper, each motion must be accompanied by a proposed order that is set forth separately. An agreed proposed order must be signed by the attorneys or parties. N.D. Tex. LR 7.1(c) ↗

👤 Judge Kacsmaryk — standing order

All motions require a proposed order that must be emailed to Kacsmaryk_Orders@txnd.uscourts.gov and must be in a Word format (not PDF). The subject line of the email must include the case number and the document number of the referenced motion.

Filing under seal
👤 Judge Kacsmaryk — standing order

The Court "heavily disfavor[s] sealing information placed in the judicial record" and discourages such requests. A party or parties seeking to file a specific document under seal must: (1) move for leave to do so; (2) brief the legal authorities indicating the risks of disclosure outweigh the public's right to know; and (3) explain that no other viable alternative to sealing exists. All facts recited in any such motion must be verified by the oath or declaration of a person or persons with personal knowledge. Parties should not seek to file under seal publicly available information. If any party wishes to submit "confidential" information to the Court, the submission must be filed only in a motion to file under seal.

The Hearing
Oral argument
🏛 N.D. Tex. local rule

Unless otherwise directed by the presiding judge, oral argument on a motion will not be held. N.D. Tex. LR 7.1(g) ↗

Know Before You Go
👤 Judge Kacsmaryk — deviations that burn people
  • The following attire is prohibited in the courtroom: shorts, flip flops, tank tops, halter tops, T-shirts with graphic writing, hats, sunglasses, and tights/athletic wear.
content assembled from published local rules & standing orders · click any section in the rail for the full treatment
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