On August 26, 2019, the Western District of Michigan went live on the NextGen version of CM/ECF.  NextGen changed the login requirements.  Refer to the additional information regarding NextGen.

                                          PageID Cite Form

Additionally, any filing that references a portion of a different Western District of Michigan case record shall be preceded with the 13-digit case number for that other case (e.g., 1:15-cv-99999 PageID.234).

See this reference page, LCivR 10.9, LCrR 49.11, Administrative Order No. 16-MS-017, and 16-MS-018 for more information.

The PageID is located in the blue document header of all electronically filed documents, applied by the electronic case filing system at the time of filing.  It is a sequential pagination of the entire District Court record, uniquely identifying each page.

For more information regarding references to the record, refer to LCivR 10.9, LCrR 49.11, and Administrative Order No. 16-MS-17.

Information on obtaining a copy of your name change petition can be found here.

The cost of Vivitrol should be included in the vendor's bid.

MRT facilitators only need to be trained prior to actually providing services. In order to submit a bid, you need only agree to have staff trained. You can wait to schedule training until after the contract is awarded.

The probation office will provide the vendor with shipping labels for prepaid postage. The treatment agency is responsible for purchasing shipping envelopes/containers.  Some shipping materials can be obtained free of charge from the U.S. Postal Service. 

Full Question:  Is there specific wording to indicate “a statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation and agreement to furnish any or all items upon which pricesare offered at the price set opposite each item” on page L-5 1.2, c 2 iii or is it up to the vendor to determine the wording?
Answer:  This is referring to number 8 of AO Form 367. You do not need to add any other statement to your offer. 

Full Question:  On page L-3 of the Sex Offender Treatment RFP, it references “the offeror shall identify all required documents included in the submitted proposal through the use of labeled tabs.”  Do you want the proposal in a binder with tabs for each section, or should it have for headings for each new page that are not in a binder or something else?
Answer:  We prefer agencies not submit proposals in binders. You may either tab the required document for the Background Statement or make them clearly identifiable through the use of headings. 

The treatment agency can schedule group and individual treatment times. Typically, treatment is held during the week. Often agencies offer both day time and evening time slots to accommodate work schedules. 

There have not been any amendments to the RFP.

There is not a required length of time for group treatment. Typically, sex offender groups have been either one and one half hours (3 units) per group or two hours (4 units) per group and substance abuse groups have been one or one and a half hours per group.

Those EMQ's are correct. They were based on historical numbers. They are only an estimate and it is possible more referrals could be made to group vs individual during the next fiscal years.

You should include certifications for clinical staff and clinical supervisors.

There is nothing in the Statement of Works that prohibits mobile drug and alcohol screening. If an agency were to propose using this type of service, the agency would need to outline how they will ensure compliance with the requirements listed in the Statement of Works and RFP.

Yes, you may do this as long as the subcontracted agency agrees to provide services if you are awarded the contract instead of them. You will need to provide all of their certifications along with your submission.

Yes, you may still submit a proposal.  Attendance at the Offerors’ Conference was optional and a transcript of the conference is available here. 

We are looking specifically for Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT).

Please refer to Local Language under Project Code 2022 for Manualized Group, Page C-16 of 16 which states the following:
 
COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL TREATMENT
* 2022
 
The vendor shall provide Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT) to the federal clients.

The vendor shall administer the TCU Criminal Thinking Scales prior to participants starting group and shall administer the TCU Criminal Thinking Scales again after participant completes group. The vendor shall score the pre and post tests and shall forward the scores to the DATS officer(s) or the contracting assistant upon participants completing treatment. The TCS CTSFORM and Scoring Guide are attached or can be obtained free of charge online at http://ibr.tcu.edu/forms/client-drug-use-and-crime-risk/.
 

A separate proposal is needed for each separate catchment area. The BPA Solicitation Number is listed in the upper left hand corner of each respective BPA. If there is a different BPA number, you must submit separate bids.

Yes. The U.S.P.O. shall make both home and workplace visits to ensure compliance with the conditions of supervision and to assess your adjustment at home and in the community.

All initial appearances following an arrest occur either in Grand Rapids or Marquette. By calling the main office number, you will be directed to the officer handling the pretrial investigation. All persons arrested will make an appearance in court where it will be determined if the defendant is released or detained. Your information may be helpful to that decision.

The written monthly report is due to the United States Probation Officer between the third and fifth day of each month.

On the blue menu bar at the top of the screen, you'll see a Search option.  Click on the word Search and a small window will appear.  Enter a key word or portion thereof, and click the Search button.  The system will search menus and events to find a match to your search.  Each item found on the results page is an active link to the menu item, so you can click it to proceed directly to e-file the document.

Service of an electronically filed document upon a registered attorney is deemed complete upon the transmission of a Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) to that attorney under subsection (i)(iv) of the Local Rules governing e-filing, and a separate certificate of service is not required to be filed. Traditionally filed documents must be served on registered attorneys by nonelectronic means of service, and a certificate of service should be filed (electronically) in that circumstance. Likewise, unregistered attorneys and pro se individuals must be served by nonelectronic means of service. The NEF generated at the time of filing will make service issues apparent.

There are a couple of potential problems:

•  Check with your technical support staff/Internet service provider to see if SPAM or virus protection software has recently been upgraded or added. These protectors are great for reducing the amount of junk mail we receive, however they can trash a desirable e-mail on mistake and without your knowledge if not set up with important exceptions.  When SPAM protectors are in place, your e-mail server first acknowledges receipt of the Court's electronic message, then trashes it.  Because your server has acknowledged receipt, the Court considers service complete.  Therefore it is important to make sure that ecfhelp@miwd.uscourts.gov is listed as an exception to any rules that are set in the SPAM/virus protection. 

• It could be that although your name was added as counsel for a party, the setting with regard to sending notice was set to no.  Check the docket for the case.  If  "Attorney to be noticed" does not appear beneath your contact information for the party you represent, it may be that notice to you was inadvertently never set, or was subsequently turned off.  Contact the ECF Help Desk and we will assist in rectifying the situation.

While a PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) account is used in conjunction with CM/ECF, it is separate from CM/ECF and is maintained by the PACER Service Center in San Antonio, Texas. Follow the PACER Service Center link to their website, or contact them by phone at 1-800-676-6856.

Either,

(1) you have logged in to the system using your PACER login and password:

You'll be able to tell whether you are logged in as a PACER user if the blue menu bar at the top of the CM/ECF screen displays Civil and Criminal or not.  If those two items are not listed on the blue bar, you are logged in as a PACER user.  Click on the word Logout on the blue bar, then log back in using the e-filing login and password assigned to you by this Court.

or (2) you have used the correct e-filing login and password:

But your computer is remembering that you previously logged in using your PACER login and password and it is displaying what it remembers. You will need to Clear Cache before trying again to login.

There may be long term or short term changes that you would like to make to your account. You may have switched e-mail service providers or want a temporary change in the account to be notified.  An Electronic Learning Module is available on this website to walk you through maintaining your e-mail.  After logging in, click Utilities on the blue menu bar at the top of the screen. Click Maintain Your E-Mail. On that screen, update your e-mail information as appropriate, and click Submit. Continue to click Submit as prompted until you receive confirmation that the update was successful.

Yes. Changing it to something that makes sense to you is easy:

Log in to the system. On the blue bar at the top of the screen, click on the word Utilities. On the resulting menu, click Maintain Your Password.  Your new password must be eight characters or more, include both uppercase and lowercase alphabetic characters, and contain at least one digit or special character.  After you have decided what your new password will be, click in the password field and type in your new password.  (Note: Your login must remain as it was assigned by the Court.)  At the bottom of the screen, click the Submit button.  Continue to click Submit as prompted until you receive confirmation that the update was successful.

The electronic filing system has several layers of security. First, a login and password are required to access the system. Second, documents are encrypted and transmitted through Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Last, the electronic receipt issued by the Court contains a unique validation code that works along with the portable document format to ensure that documents cannot be altered after being received by the Court.

• A computer running a Windows or a Macintosh operating system
• PDF writing software to convert documents from a word processor format to portable document format (PDF)
• A word processor
• Internet access supporting a transfer rate of 56Kbps or higher (high speed Internet is recommended)
• Browser software (Please refer to the CM/ECF login screen for the latest information on recommended versions of browser software.)
• A scanner to image documents that were not created by you (attachments/exhibits)

The Local Rules of this Court, as amended January 1, 2005, require filing and service of all documents electronically by use of the ECF system unless the attorney has been specifically exempted by the Court for cause, or a particular document is not eligible for electronic filing under the Local Rule(s).

Documents that may not be filed electronically are listed in W.D. Mich. LCivR 5.7 and W.D.Mich. LCrR 49.10.

Once the document is received by the Court, the electronic filing system:

• sends a receipt to the filer verifying that the document has been received and filed
• updates the docket sheet
• makes the updated docket sheet and the document itself immediately available to anyone with access to the system
• sends a notice of the filing to all registered attorneys associated with the case

Attorneys create documents on their own computers, using word processing software. However, instead of printing the documents out on paper and delivering them to the Court, the attorneys save the documents in a portable document format (PDF). This format allows other system users to view the documents in their original format regardless of the type of computer or word processing system originally used to create the documents or being used to view them.

Request this Court to complete form AO 451 Certification of Foreign Judgment. There is a certification fee and copy fees for the judgment. Click here for fee amounts. Submit the completed form and the filing fee to the Court in which you want the judgment registered.

First, determine from the Clerk's Office if the file is indeed located at the Federal Records Center located in Chicago, Illinois.

Once it has been determined that the file is at the Federal Records Center, a request for an archived file can be made with the Clerk's Office in writing, together with a retrieval fee. Click here for amount. NARA will generally send the file to the Clerk's Office within five business days of receipt of the retrieval request. You will be contacted when the file has been received. Files may be reviewed at all divisional offices during the hours of 8:30am - 4:30pm Monday - Friday. Copies of case documents may be mailed directly to the requestor. Click here for copy fees.

In some situations, you may be able to contact the Federal Records Center directly and retrieve records on your own. Contact the Clerk's Office for assistance with this process.

Refer to W.D. Mich. LCivR 10.6 or LCrR 49.8, as applicable, regarding sealed documents.

For a dispositive motion, refer to W.D. Mich. LCivR 7.2(d) and for a nondispositive motion, refer to W.D. Mich. LCivR 7.3(d).

Refer to Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(f).

To proceed without prepayment of filing fees, click here to fill out the Affidavit of Financial Status. Include this completed form when you file your complaint.

This district is composed of a Northern Division and a Southern Division.

The Southern Division comprises the counties of Allegan, Antrim, Barry, Benzie, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Charlevoix, Clinton, Eaton, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Hillsdale, Ingham, Ionia, Kalamazoo, Kalkaska, Kent, Lake, Leelanau, Manistee, Mason, Mecosta, Missaukee, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola, Ottawa, Saint Joseph, Van Buren, and Wexford.

The Northern Division comprises the counties of Alger, Baraga, Chippewa, Delta, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw, Luce, Mackinac, Marquette, Menominee, Ontonagon, and Schoolcraft.

Click here for a graphical representation of these counties.

Follow the instructions for opening a civil case.  Additional requirements for removal cases include:

• Attach to the Notice of Removal document the:
  • State Court Summons and Complaint, and
  • Notice of Filing Notice of Removal (the document that was directed to the State Court)

1. Clerk's Office staff cannot give "legal advice" and therefore cannot:

• Explain the meaning of a specific rule
• Make an interpretation of a case law
• Explain the result of taking or not taking an action in a case
• Answer whether jurisdiction is proper in a case
• Answer whether a complaint properly presents a claim

2. Clerk's Office staff can provide procedural information such as:

• Instruction on how to execute a task (number of copies, use of forms)
• Provide information as to compliance with court policy

3. Clerk's Office staff cannot recommend a lawyer.

Our court does not maintain any records of minor children who were naturalized with their parents. Please contact the USCIS for more information.

Unfortunately, no. Please contact the USCIS directly to inquire about the delay in processing your case.

Please click here for information about contacting the jury office.

Those people who have been selected and are sitting as jurors will be notified via telephone if the trial is canceled due to weather. Persons who are supposed to report for selection should call the number listed on your summons. The message will be updated if selection is canceled.

Family may call the jury office in the event of an emergency. Jury staff will notify you immediately.

There are restaurants within walking distance of the building or you may bring a lunch with you. Lunch is not provided by the Court.

Upon check in you will be given a work slip or attendance verification for your employer. If you are selected as a juror you will receive proof of each day's attendance on your last reporting day, at the conclusion of the trial. You may also access the E-Juror portion of our website and print an attendance letter daily.

Please use good judgment and dress conservatively. Appropriate dress is required. Shorts, halter/tank tops or T-shirts with slogans are not permitted. As courtrooms tend to be cool you may want to bring a sweater or light jacket with you.

Click on the link below for the city your Summons requests you to report to:

  Grand Rapids

  Lansing

  Kalamazoo

  Marquette

Normally Court is in session from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Only in extremely rare cases will a jury be sequestered.

You will have received a list of area hotels with your summons. You must contact the hotel of your choice to make reservations. You will be reimbursed the subsistence allowance. Current Subsistence Rates (effective October 1, 2014):

  Grand Rapids Divisional Office: $147.00

  Kalamazoo Divisional Office: $140.00

  Lansing Divisional Office: $142.00

  Marquette Divisional Office: $129.00

You will be reimbursed the subsistence rate for each night you stay in a hotel. If you are financially unable to pay for a hotel in advance please contact the court to make other arrangements. Some local hotels will bill the court directly in the event of a financial hardship.

Please call the jury hotline number (800) 553-6050. You will need your nine digit participant number when calling. This number can be found on the front of your summons to the right of your name and address.

You are protected by Federal Statue, 28 U.S.C. § 1875, from being discharged, intimidated or coerced by your permanent employer because of your attendance for service at this Court. (a) No employer shall discharge, threaten to discharge, intimidate, or coerce any permanent employee by reason of such employee's jury service, or the attendance or scheduled attendance in connection with such service, in any court of the United States. (b) Any employer who violates the provisions of this section - (1) shall be liable for damages for any loss of wages or other benefits suffered by an employee by reason of such violation; (2) may be enjoined from further violations of this section and ordered to provide other appropriate relief, including but not limited to the reinstatement of any employee discharged by reason of his jury service; and (3) shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for each violation as to each employee and may be ordered to perform community service

Juror attendance fees are considered “other income” by the IRS and must be reported. A 1099 form will be mailed to any/all jurors who earn at least $600.00 in attendance fees (the $40.00 daily allowance). This does not include reimbursement for travel or subsistence.

During the months of November through March if you live over 50 miles from the courthouse and during the months of April through October and live over 75 miles from the courthouse you are entitled to receive a subsistence fee for each night you are staying in a hotel.

If you are staying with friends or family the subsistence allowance is $61.00 ($56.00 in Kalamazoo and $55.00 in Marquette) for each night you are staying with them.

To qualify for the subsistence allowance you must first call (800) 553-6050 and be instructed to appear. If you fail to phone ahead and be instructed to appear you will not receive payment.

You will be asked to provide a hotel receipt upon check in.

Current Subsistence Rates (effective October 1, 2020):

  Grand Rapids Divisional Office: $175.00

  Kalamazoo Divisional Office: $160.00

  Lansing Divisional Office: $162.00

  Marquette Divisional Office: $151.00

You will be reimbursed the subsistence rate for each night you stay in a hotel. If you are financially unable to pay for a hotel in advance please contact the court to make other arrangements. Some local hotels will bill the court directly in the event of a financial hardship.

Jury service in a state/county court does not exempt you from serving in federal court. If you have served on a Federal petit/grand jury within two years you may be excused. You must write a letter giving us the information regarding your previous federal jury service.

No. Attorneys must be admitted to practice in each court. To seek admission to the Western District of Michigan, please review the Attorney Admission and Registration page.

If the change of address will affect a case, (1) e-file a notice of change of address in that case and (2) update your contact information through your PACER account, under Manage My Account.

If the change of address does not impact a case, update your contact information through your PACER account, under Manage My Account.

Requests to be excused are generally processed the day they arrive at the courthouse. All excuse requests are sent to a District Judge, or Magistrate Judge, for decision. The jury department will notify you by email, if an email address was provided, of the judge's decision. If the Court does not have an email address you will be notified via first class mail. You may also check your status by calling (800) 553-6050. Enter your nine digit participant number for your current status. You must continue to call as instructed for reporting information until you have received notification that you have been excused.

Southern Division at Grand Rapids:  Antrim, Barry, Benzie, Charlevoix, Clinton, Eaton, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Ingham, Ionia, Kalkaska, Kent, Lake, Leelanau, Manistee, Mason, Mecosta, Missaukee, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola, Ottawa, Wexford
 
Southern Division at Kalamazoo:  Allegan, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Hillsdale, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Van Buren 
 
Southern Division at Lansing:  Jurors may occasionally be drawn from Grand Rapids counties to report to Lansing for jury selection.
 
Northern Division at Marquette (includes entire Upper Peninsula):  Alger, Baraga, Chippewa, Delta, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw, Luce, Mackinac, Marquette, Menominee, Ontonagon, Schoolcraft.

This court does not defer teachers to the summer months as we would have only teachers in the jury pools during that time. If you are a teacher you must serve during the term specified on your summons or you may request to be deferred to a less critical time during the school year.

We do not have naturalization records prior to 1920. Please see the Genealogy page for information on old naturalization records. For additional information, contact the National Archives and Record Administration located in Chicago, Illinois, or the county court where the person resided at the time they were naturalized. The National Archives website can be accessed here.

Yes.  The United States Constitution guarantees the right to a trial by jury in both crimnial and civil cases.  Your participation as a juror helps make this possible.

See the form below.

The state of Michigan is divided into two Districts, the Western District and the Eastern District. Each district is divided into “divisions” with designated counties in each “division”.

This, the Western District, is comprised of the following counties:

Southern Division at Grand Rapids:  Antrim, Barry, Benzie, Charlevoix, Clinton, Eaton, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Ingham, Ionia, Kalkaska, Kent, Lake, Leelanau, Manistee, Mason, Mecosta, Missaukee, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola, Ottawa, Wexford

Southern Division at Kalamazoo:  Allegan, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Hillsdale, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Van Buren

Southern Division at Lansing:  Jurors may occasionally be drawn from Grand Rapids counties to report to Lansing for jury selection.

Northern Division at Marquette (includes entire Upper Peninsula):  Alger, Baraga, Chippewa, Delta, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw, Luce, Mackinac, Marquette, Menominee, Ontonagon, Schoolcraft.

No, ALL requests to be excused MUST be made in writing. Please, DO NOT call the court to ask if you have a legitimate reason for being excused. Federal statue requires that all excuse requests must be decided by a Federal District Judge. The jury department can not advise if you have a legitimate excuse. If you feel you have compelling reasons that you can not serve you must write your reasons and submit them in the envelope that came with your summons. If you do not have that envelope you can mail your request to the address on your summons. The only time you should call regarding an excuse is when you have a last minute emergency that cannot be handled through the mail.

Please click here for information about contacting the jury office.

Any person summoned for jury service who fails to appear as directed may be ordered by the district court to appear forthwith and show cause for failure to comply with the summons. Any person who fails to show good cause for noncompliance with a summons may be fined not more than $1,000, imprisoned not more than three days, ordered to perform community service, or any combination thereof.

You can respond to the summons via eJuror providing your new address.  You will be disqualified from serving in this district once we have your new information.

The powers and functions of the federal grand jury differ from those of the federal trial jury, which is called the “petit” jury. The petit jury listens to evidence offered by the prosecution and the defense (if it chooses to offer any) during a criminal trial and returns a verdict of guilty or not guilty. The grand jury, on the other hand, does not determine guilt or innocence, but only whether there is probable cause to believe that a crime was committed and that a specific person or persons committed it. If the grand jury finds probable cause to exist, then it will return a written statement of the charges called an “indictment”. After that the accused may go to trial.

If you elect to send the paper forms mailed to you with your summons you need to return both the qualification questionnaire and the supplemental questionnaire.  If you respond on-line via eJuror you are not required to submit the paper forms.

Please call the jury hotline number (800) 553-6050.  Or, reporting information is also available by logging onto eJuror.  You will need your nine digit participant number to access your jury instructions.  This number can be found on the front of your summons to the right of your name and address.

The Jury Act allows courts to grant temporary deferrals of service on the grounds of "extreme hardship or extreme inconvenience". If jury service during the time specified on your summons will create a hardship for you, you may request in writing, to be postponed to another date. In many cases you will be able to defer yourself to another term by accessing the eJuror portion of our website.
    
You must complete all the information in eJuror before requesting a deferral.

If you are unable to defer yourself through eJuror you may submit a request to the court via the Request an Excuse or Deferral page of our web site.
 

No, once the Judge has made a decision regarding your request he or she will not reconsider. If your request is denied you must appear for selection (if instructed to appear when calling as required) and ask for reconsideration during the voir dire (selection) process

You will report to the location specified on the recording.  You will be asked to confirm your round trip mileage.  You will see a short video and receive orientation by jury personnel. Any questions you have will be answered at that time.  Parking and hotel information will be addressed at check in.

Click on the link below for the city your Summons requests you to report to:

Grand Rapids
Lansing
Kalamazoo
Marquette
 

Jurors are allowed to bring their cell phone into the building.  Although laptops and tablets are permitted the Court does not provide wi-fi at this time.

Please note that although jurors are allowed to bring their electronics, persons accompanying jurors are not allowed to bring phones or other electronic devices with them into the courthouse and will be required to return them to the car before entering the building.

You will be required to report promptly at 8:00 a.m. on your first day, unless the telephone answering device tells you another time to report. You will be checked in and receive reporting and selection instructions prior to the selection process. Jury selection normally begins at 9:00 and is normally concluded before 12:00 noon. Trials begin immediately after selection. Therefore, if you are not selected you should be excused before noon.

Normally Court is in session from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Only in extremely rare cases will a jury be sequestered.

Family may call the jury office at (800) 553-6050 or (616) 456-2383 in the event of an emergency. Jury staff will notify you immediately.

There are restaurants within walking distance of the building or you may bring a lunch with you. Lunch is not provided by the Court.

Jurors are paid $50.00 for each day you report to the courthouse.  If you are in travel status you will be paid $50.00 for your travel day in addition to the subsistence allowance (see question 17)

No, at this time there is no law requiring employers to do so.  However, a majority of employers at least make up the difference

At check in, and upon request, a work slip or attendance verification will be provided.  If selected as a juror you will receive proof of each day's attendance on your last reporting day, at the conclusion of the trial. You may also access the eJuror portion of our website and print an attendance letter daily.