Opinion
No. 5:12-CV-122-F
06-12-2012
CAROL DALENKO, Plaintiff, v. DONALD W. STEPHENS, SHANNON R. JOSEPH, SANFORD L. STEELMAN, JR. BARBARA A. JACKSON, DONNA S. STROUD, ROBERT C. HUNTER, JAMES A. WYNN, JR., and SAM ERVIN, IV, individually and officially, Defendants.
ORDER
This matter is before the court on Petition For Leave to Waive Exemption From E-Filing [DE-14] (CM/ECF) filed by the pro se Plaintiff, Carol Dalenko. In the Petition and the Memorandum [DE-15] in support thereof, Dalenko contends that the court should allow her to file electronically because she has been prejudiced in this case and others by having to file documents in paper form. Dalenko also asserts that she is an experienced registered user of the electronic filing system of the North Carolina appellate courts, and that she has registered for CM/ECF training with this court.
Local Civil Rule 5.1 provides, in pertinent part, the following:
(b) Registered User. Only an attorney who is registered in CM/ECF may file documents electronically....
. . .
(f) Exceptions to Electronic Filing. Documents filed by a party who is not represented by an attorney permitted to practice in the Eastern District of North Carolina ... shall be filed in paper, and are excluded from electronic filing. Any document filed in paper that is not exempt pursuant to this section must be accompanied by a motion for leave to file the document and a proposed order. . . .Local Civil Rule 5.1 (emphasis added). Under these rules, all pro se parties must file in paper form, and are not permitted access to the electronic system. The prejudices Dalenko contends she faces are no different from that of every other pro se litigant in this court, and the court declines to create a special exception for Dalenko in this case.
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JAMES C. FOX
Senior United States District Judge