Getting Started

Pro Se Process

Individuals who are representing themselves without an attorney are called “pro se”. The Clerk’s Office can provide some information and resources to pro se individuals. The information we give you about your case in our court is procedural in nature. Please refer to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and our local rules. Click here to download our pro se guide to filing a civil action that includes some helpful information.

The Clerk’s Office is forbidden by law from giving you legal advice. Some examples of legal advice are:

Offering Interpretation of rules;
Recommending a course of action;
Predicting a judicial officer's decision; or
Interpreting the meaning or effect of any court order or judgement.

Filing a Complaint

Parties wishing to file a lawsuit must file a Complaint in the Clerk’s Office. The Court has approved forms for parties who wish to file Complaints. (Please note that forms for prisoner plaintiffs vary slightly from forms for non-prisoner plaintiffs.)

If you file a Complaint that is not on a court-approved form, the Clerk will file the document but you may be directed to re-submit the Complaint on an approved form. Failure to do so may be grounds for dismissal.

If you are pro se, you may receive help from a non-attorney to draft your pleadings and other papers, but you must personally sign your Complaint and all other papers filed with the Court. You may not allow a non-attorney to appear in Court for you.

Filing Fees

The filing fee for most Complaints is $350.00, plus an administrative fee of $55.00. At the time you file your Complaint, you must either pay the fees in full or file a Motion to Proceed in Forma Pauperis with an accompanying Application to Proceed Without Prepayment of Fees. (Prisoner plaintiffs are not required to file the Motion; they are only required to file the Application along with a six-month financial statement from their institution.)

Summons

A summons is a notice to a person or entity that they have been sued. You must prepare a summons for each defendant you have sued; there are a few exceptions to this requirement. Service may be by certified mail, process service, or U.S. Marshal. Depending on the plaintiff’s IFP status, the Court may handle the actual service. Our office can assist you with this process at the proper time.

After You File Your Complaint

Once your Complaint is filed, it will be assigned a case number and be assigned to a particular Judge. You must write your case number on all documents you send to the Court related to your lawsuit.

Many pro se plaintiffs want to know how long it will take for the Court to screen their Complaints. There is no set amount of time. The Court tries to review Complaints in a timely manner. However, you must remember that the judges have hundreds of cases assigned to them each year. Do not be alarmed if you do not hear from the Court immediately after filing your Complaint. You can always call or write the Clerk’s Office to check on the status of your case.

After the Court has screened your Complaint, the Court will issue an order. The order will inform you if any of your claims were dismissed, and if so, why. If all of your claims are dismissed at the screening stage, then your Complaint will not be served on defendants. If any of your claims are allowed to proceed past initial screening for further development, the Court will issue an order informing you what claims will be allowed to proceed.

After service of process, the defendant will have a period of time to respond to your Complaint. The defendant will either: file an answer, file a motion, or do nothing. The answer is a formal response to the Complaint by the defendant, including any denials of and defenses to the allegations in the Complaint. A defendant typically has 21 days to serve an answer following service of the summons and Complaint but there may be circumstances when this time is extended. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(a)(1)(a). The requirements for answers are set out in Rule 8. Unless directed to do so by the Court, you should not respond to the answer.

A motion by a defendant at this stage would likely ask the Court to dismiss the complaint for one of the reasons set out in Rule 12. If the defendant files a motion to dismiss, you will have a chance to respond. If the defendant fails to respond to the Complaint at all, you may seek entry of default judgment against the defendant. Fed.R.Civ.P. 55.

Discovery Stage

Parties to the lawsuit will likely need to gather facts, documents, and evidence to support their position. This process is called discovery. Discovery can take any of the following forms:

Interrogatories – written questions posed to an opposing party;
Requests for Admissions – written statements to an opposing party with a request that the statement be admitted or denied;
Requests for Production – written requests to produce certain documents or items relevant to the case;
Subpoena – a written request to a non-party to procedure certain documents or items relevant to the case; and
Depositions – an out-of-court proceeding used by a party to ask a party or witness questions under oath and in the presence of a court reporter.

All parties are allowed to conduct discovery during the discovery period—usually a period lasting several months while the lawsuit is pending before the court. Discovery must be conducted according to strict rules and may not be used to harass or burden other parties. Fed.R.Civ.P. 26.

Pretrial Motion

Most cases never make it to trial. The case may end by a party filing a dispositive motion or the case may settle. Dispositive motions are motions that dispose of the case before trial. The most common types of dispositive motion is a motion for summary judgment. The scheduling order will provide a deadline for filing dispositive motions.

Summary Judgment. A trial is necessary only when there are disputed issues of material fact. At some point in the case, it may become apparent that the facts in the case are not in dispute, and one or more parties may file a motion for summary judgment. A motion for summary judgment can be filed at any time after the answer is filed. If the Court grants the motion, the case will be over, and judgment will be entered in favor of the party who moved for summary judgment. If the Court grants the motion in part, the claims that are still in dispute will be set for trial. If the Court denies the motion, the case will be set for trial.

Settlement and Mediation

Another way in which a case may end without a trial is when the parties reach what is called a settlement. A settlement is an agreement between the parties to resolve the lawsuit. Generally, but not always, it involves a monetary payment to the plaintiff in exchange for the dismissal of the case. Parties can discuss settlement and settle the case at any time and do not need court intervention to settle a case. If a case is settled, a short order will generally be issued dismissing the case.

Occasionally, parties need outside intervention to assist with their settlement efforts. The Court encourages litigants to consider the benefits of mediation either through a private mediator or the Court’s mediation program. Successful mediation saves the time and expense of a trial, and at the same time, permits the parties to play an active role in the final decision about their case. The mediation process generally involves a joint meeting with all parties and counsel to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their case and each side's position. Please review the Mediation section for more information.

Going to Trial

The last stage of a lawsuit in district court is a trial. If the Court does not dismiss the case or grant a motion for summary judgment, and if the parties do not agree to a settlement, then the case will go to trial. Very few cases actually make it this far.

There are two types of trials: bench trials and jury trials.

A bench trial is held before a judge if:

none of the parties asked for a jury trial (or did not ask at the right time);
the law does not allow a jury to decide the type of case at issue; or
the parties have agreed to waive a jury trial.

The Judge will hear the evidence, determine the law, and decide who wins the lawsuit.

A jury trial occurs when:

The law allows a jury to hear the type of case at issue; and
At least one of the parties asked for a jury trial within the right time frame.

At a jury trial, the jury hears the evidence and the Court instructs the jury about the law. The jury will then apply the law to the facts to decide who wins the lawsuit.

The Judge sets the date that the trial will begin. When the Judge sets the trial date, he or she usually enters an order setting pretrial deadlines for filing or submitting various documents associated with the trial. Once trial has begun, it usually takes place in the following order: jury selection, opening statements, plaintiff’s evidence, defendant’s evidence, closing arguments, and jury deliberations.

Appeals and Interlocutory Appeals

Any party to a lawsuit has a right to file an appeal to the appellate court. Appeals from cases in the Alabama Middle District are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

In general, only final orders or judgments from the district court may be appealed. This is called an appeal as of right. In order to appeal, a final order or judgment should be entered on the docket of your case. A final order or judgment is the document which announces the final decision with respect to your case (that is, whether you won or lost) and closes the case with the district court.

You have thirty days (or sixty days if the case involves a party who is the United States, a federal agency or federal employee) from the date that the final order or judgment was entered on the docket to file a Notice of Appeal. The Notice of Appeal is filed in the district court where the judgment you are appealing was entered. If you miss the deadline, you may file a motion for extension of time. There is no guarantee your motion will be granted so you should make every effort to meet the deadline.

A Notice of Appeal is a one-page document containing your name, a description of the final order or judgment (or part thereof) being appealed, and the name of the court to which the appeal is taken (the Eleventh Circuit).
The fee for filing a Notice of Appeal is $505.00. If you cannot afford to pay the fee, you may file a non-prisoner application to proceed without prepayment of the fee. Once you file a Notice of Appeal, the District Court no longer has jurisdiction over your case, and all questions regarding the case should be addressed to the Clerk of the Eleventh Circuit.

In some limited circumstances, you may appeal a non-final decision while your case is ongoing. These types of appeals are called interlocutory appeals. The limited circumstances in which you may seek an interlocutory appeal are set forth in 28 U.S.C. §1292. If you choose to file an interlocutory appeal, your Notice of Appeal is filed in the district court where the decision you are appealing was issued.