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Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
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Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
............................................................... 1
Overview of Hyperlinking in Federal Court ....................................................................................... 2
Types of Permissible Hyperlinks ....................................................................................................... 3
Links to Prior CM/ECF Filings
Drafting Documents to Later Include Links to CM/ECF .................................................................... 4
Gathering the Links for Citations to the Record ................................................................................. 4
Inserting CM/ECF links into your document
—
Microsoft Word ......................................................... 6
Inserting CM/ECF links into your document
—
Corel WordPerfect ..................................................... 7
Links to Attachments to a Brief being Filed in CM/ECF
Adding Links to Attachments to a Brief being Filed
—
Microsoft Word .............................................. 9
Adding Links to Attachments to the Document Being Filed
—
WordPerfect ..................................... 12
Links to Legal Citations
Access to Linking Software ............................................................................................................. 15
Linking Software
—
Compatibility Information ................................................................................ 16
Westlaw InsertLinks........................................................................................................................ 17
Installing Westlaw InsertLinks ........................................................................................................ 17
Using West InsertLinks
—
Microsoft Word....................................................................................... 17
Using West InsertLinks
—
Corel WordPerfect .................................................................................. 18
Shepard’s Links 2008
...................................................................................................................... 19
Installing Shepard’s Links
............................................................................................................... 19
Using Shepard’s Links—
Corel WordPerfect................................................................................... 20
Manually Inserting Hyperlinks
Manually Creating Links to Westlaw or Lexis Resources ................................................................ 22
Manual Links to Court Websites ..................................................................................................... 25
Publish to PDF
—
Retaining the Hyperlinks
Conversion to PDF
—
Microsoft Word ............................................................................................. 26
Conversion to PDF
—
Corel WordPerfect ......................................................................................... 29
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Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
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Overview of Hyperlinking in Federal Court
In the internet research world, hyperlinks are a standard way of “drilling down” for
more detail or specific information. Just as all web pages contain links to other
pages, cases downloaded from legal research services such as Westlaw or Lexis
contain links to the cases, statutes, articles, or other sources cited within the
opinion. The links allow immediate access by the reader to these referenced
materials.
Attorneys can include links to cited law and CM/ECF filings in their briefs filed in
CM/ECF, adding another level of persuasion to their writing. Hyperlinks in briefs
and other court filings provide quick, easy, and pinpoint access to particular
sections of a case, or to specific filings in the court’s record. The attorney can
thereby highlight the precise issue presented, and the specific evidence and
controlling or persuasive law the court should consider.
Hyperlinks in court filings are very beneficial for court chambers. Court
submissions which include links to relevant case law and case filings are easy for
chambers staff to review. The attorneys’ arguments can be immediately verified
in the context of the relevant law. The judge or judicial clerk is able to read the
text of the cited case law on one screen while reading the attorney’s brief on the
other. And if a brief contains links to referenced exhibits, and even to specific
pages within those exhibits, the judge or judicial clerk can access the relevant
evidence without having to navigate through the CM/ECF record. Particularly
when dealing with large and complex cases, links save chambers considerable
time and effort. Links make it easy for the court to verify
–
and adopt
–
the
positions taken by an advocate.
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Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
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Types of Permissible Hyperlinks
Subject to the local rules of a district, the following types of hyperlinks are
typically allowed in court documents.
Type of link
Description (and Examples)
Links to documents previously
filed on CM/ECF
Links to attachments and
exhibits being filed with your
brief
Links to case and statute
citations
For example:
Westlaw,
Lexis,
or court websites.
Links to Local Rules:
Either to the entire document,
or to the specific page within the document where
the cited rule is located.
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Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
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Links to Prior CM/ECF Filings
Drafting Documents to Later Include Links to CM/ECF
If you intend to include CM/ECF links in a document you are creating, use a
consistent citation format that cites the CM/ECF filing number along with the
CM/ECF page number. For example:
STEP
ACTION
1
Download the filings from CM/ECF, and save them in your computer.
Reminder: You can download a document from CM/ECF one time for
free when you receive the Notice of Electronic Filing. Charges apply
to each additional download of the same document.
2
Documents downloaded from CM/ECF will include a header that
identifies the CM/ECF filing number and the page numbers within that
filing.
3
When drafting your brief, cite to the CM/ECF filing number and
CM/ECF page number to which you are citing. For example:
Assume you are citing to the following page of evidence.
The citation within the brief could appear as follows:
The Plan included a Trust Agreement. (Filing No. 13-1, at CM/ECF p. 3).
Note: A consistent citation format is necessary when using CM/ECF
LinkBuilder (currently under development by Kansas and Nebraska
courts for nationwide use by attorneys) to add links.
Gathering Links for Citations to the Record
Now that the filing numbers and associated page numbers are in the brief, you
can manually add links to the electronic record as follows:
1
STEP
ACTION
1
Open the CM/ECF docket sheet for the case and scroll to the cited
docket filing.
1
CM/ECF LinkBuilder is currently being designed as an automation tool for use by counsel in
adding CM/ECF links. The projected testing date is August 2013.
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STEP
ACTION
2
If linking to the main CM/ECF filing, right-click on the docket filing
number,
then,
If linking to a sub-file within a CM/ECF filing number:
Either
Click on the docket filing number;
A window will open which lists all sub-filings
for that docket filing number.
Place your cursor over the link for the
document you are citing. Right-click,
and from the drop-down menu that appears,
Select Copy Shortcut.
Or
Right-click on the sub-filing number as reflected in the docket text
and,
Select Copy Shortcut.
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Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
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Inserting CM/ECF links into your document
—
Microsoft Word
To manually add the links you have copied from the docket to the MS Word
document you are drafting
:
STEP
ACTION
1
In the brief, use your cursor to select the citation you want to link.
2
Select the Insert tab on the MS Word ribbon, then select Hyperlink.
An Insert Hyperlink dialog box will appear.
Note:
The text you selected will automatically appear in the “
Text to
display
” line.
3
Place your cursor in the Address box of the Insert Hyperlink dialog
box. Right-click. From the drop-down that appears, select Paste.
4
The link to the first page of the filing will appear.
To link to the filing only, or to only page 1 of the filing, click OK. The
link to the citation will be added in your brief.
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STEP
ACTION
5
To link to the specific page number of the CM/ECF filing that you are
citing,
In the address box, scroll to or place your cursor at the end of the link
address.
Add the following text: ?page=<page number> . For example,
To link to page number 3 of a filing, add ?page=3. Click OK and the
link to the page will be added to the citation in the brief.
Note: Use the page numbers assigned by CM/ECF when linking to
pages in documents filed in CM/ECF. Do not use Bates numbers or
other numbering assigned to the record by the parties.
Note: While the document remains in an MS Word format, the link will
go only to the first page of the document. But upon conversion to
PDF (see instructions below), the PDF link will go to the specific page
you cited.
6
Convert the brief to a PDF following the instructions below.
7
File the PDF version of the document in CM/ECF.
Note: It is not necessary to re-file or re-attach the documents to which
you are linking to if they have been previously filed in CM/ECF.
Inserting CM/ECF links into your document
—
Corel WordPerfect
To manually add the links you have copied from the docket to the WordPerfect
document you are drafting:
STEP
ACTION
1
In the brief, use your cursor to select the citation you want to link.
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Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
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STEP
ACTION
2
From Tools on the menu bar,
select Hyperlink.
3
A Hyperlinks Properties dialog box will appear.
Use the Delete key
from the computer
keyboard to remove
document>
4
Right-click in the
Document/Macro box.
Select Paste.
5
The link to the first page of
the filing will appear.
To link to the filing only, or
to only page 1 of the filing,
click OK.
The link to the citation will
be added in your brief.
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Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
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STEP
ACTION
6
To link to the specific page number of a CM/ECF filing to which you
are citing,
In the address box, scroll to or place your cursor at the end of the link
address.
Add the following text: ?page=<page number> . For example,
To link to page number 3 of a filing, add ?page=3. Click OK and the
link to the page will be added to the citation in the brief.
Note: While the document remains in WordPerfect format, the link will
go only to the first page of the document. But upon conversion to
PDF, the PDF link will go to the specific page you cited.
7
Convert the brief to a PDF following the instructions below.
8
File the PDF version of the document in CM/ECF.
Note: It is not necessary to re-file or re-attach the documents to which
you are linking to if they have been previously filed in CM/ECF.
Links to Attachments to a Brief being Filed in CM/ECF
Adding Links to Attachments to a Brief being Filed
—
Microsoft Word
If a document cited in your brief has not previously been filed on CM/ECF, you
may link to the document within your brief only if the document is filed as an
attachment to your brief. Follow the steps below to add active hyperlinks to
documents you will be filing as brief attachments in CM/ECF.
STEP
ACTION
1
Save all the attachment documents you will cite in your brief into a
single folder in your computer. The documents must be in PDF format.
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Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
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STEP
ACTION
2
While drafting your brief, include the citations to the documents saved
in your computer.
3
Using your cursor, select the text to which a link will be added.
4
On the Insert
ribbon,
select Hyperlink.
5
In the Insert Hyperlink dialog box:
Navigate to cited file saved on your computer;
Select the file; and
Click OK.
6
A link to the file will be added to the text. If you hover over the link with
your cursor, you will see the link address.
Add links accordingly to all the citations in your brief.
Note: Specific page links can be added by following the directions in
the previous section. Use the PDF page number, not a Bates number
or footer page number, for the citation.
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