---
title: Local Rules
robots: noindex, nofollow
---

<style type="text/css">
body {
text-align: justify;
}
</style>

# Local Rules for the Mayflower District Court for the County of New Haven
These are the Local Rules of the Mayflower District Court for the County of Clark. They may be cited as “LR __” or "D. Mayfl. LR __."
### RULE 1 - SCOPE; EFFECTIVE DATE; SUPERSESSION
1. These rules apply in all civil and criminal actions before the court.
2. These rules are effective as of 24th September 2024.
3. These rules supersede all previous rules issued by the court or any of its judges. Ordinarily, these rules apply to actions pending as of their effective date. However, if applying these rules to pending actions would be unjust or not feasible, the previously applicable rules will govern.

### RULE 2 - SANCTIONS
1. **VIOLATION OF RULES**
1. If an attorney, law firm, or party violates these rules or is responsible for a rule violation, the court may impose appropriate sanctions to protect the parties and the interests of justice. Sanctions may include, but are not limited to:
1. excluding evidence;
2. preventing a witness from testifying;
3. striking pleadings or papers;
4. refusing oral argument(s);
5. imposing attorney's fees.
### RULE 3 - SERVICE OF PROCESS
1. **PROCESS**
1. The Clark County Sheriff’s Office is not required to serve civil process for litigants, except as required by the Mayflower Rules of Civil Procedure or by State law, or as ordered by the court for good cause. A consenting sheriff or deputy sheriff of Clark County acting within his or her jurisdiction is specially appointed to serve, execute, or enforce civil process that is subject to Mayfl. R. Civ. P. 7(b).

### RULE 4 - ELECTRONIC CASE FILING (ECF)
1. **FORMAT REQUIREMENTS**
1. All electronic case filings must be legible, organized, and consistent with standard legal formatting required by the court.
2. Documents must be concise, properly paginated, and use a recognized font size and style.
2. **SUBMISSION FORMAT**
1. All submissions, including motions, pleadings, and other legal documents, must be submitted in .pdf format and attached to the corresponding Trello case management entry by the Clerk upon receipt.
3. **PROHIBITED FORMATS**
1. Submissions containing Google Drive links or any external cloud-storage links to PDF documents are not permitted.
2. All files must be uploaded directly as PDFs to the court’s designated platform.
4. **DOCUMENT AESTHETIC *(referred to as Gergug Clause)***
1. Pleadings and other court submissions must be free of any logos, firm logos, images, watermarks, facsimile seals, or any other graphical elements.
2. Additionally, line numbering, page borders, or any other unaesthetic features that do not contribute to the substantive content of the document are strictly prohibited.
3. All filings should maintain a clean, professional appearance, consistent with formal court standards.
4. Non-compliant documents may be rejected by the court.
5. **SPECIFIED FORMATS**
1. Where the court specifies a particular format for electronic submissions, only that format is allowed.
6. **TEXT SEARCHABILITY**
1. All submitted documents must be fully text-searchable.
2. Non-searchable scanned images of text will not be accepted.
7. **PRE-COURT SUBMISSIONS**
1. All pre-court submissions must be filed through the court’s electronic Discord system, known as judicialFLOW.
2. No case will be admitted to the court without completing this process.
8. **POST-COURT SUBMISSIONS**
1. After court proceedings have commenced, additional filings must be filed via the Court's e-filing system (judicialFLOW), except in extenuating circumstances, such as a sealed case.
2. Parties must ensure their Trello entry is accurately updated.
### RULE 5 - FILING DOCUMENTS UNDER SEAL IN CIVIL CASES
1. **SEALING DOCUMENTS**
1. A document may be filed under seal in a civil case only as permitted by Mayflower statutes, rules, or with leave of court.
2. **TEMPORARY SEALING**
1. A party may file a document under temporary seal if it contains:
1. confidential or proprietary information;
2. designation as confidential by another party, a nonparty, or a non-disclosure agreement;
3. information entitled to protection from disclosure under Mayflower law or court order;
4. information that would cause harm to the defendant if filed publicly.
2. **PROCEDURE FOR SEALING DOCUMENTS**
1. When filing under seal, the party must file a redacted version or state that redaction is impracticable.

### RULE 6 - CONTINUANCE
1. **GENERAL RULE**
1. A party seeking a continuance must show good cause.
2. If the continuance request is due to the absence of an expert witness, the party must demonstrate extreme good cause.
3. **TRIAL DATES**
1. Requests to continue a trial date must be filed as a written motion for continuance.

### RULE 7 - CIVIL MOTION PRACTICE
1. **MEET-AND-CONFER REQUIREMENT**
1. Before filing any motion—except those exempted by the Mayflower Rules of Civil Procedure—the moving party must attempt to meet and confer with the opposing party in good faith.
3. **MEET-AND-CONFER STATEMENT**
1. The moving party must file a meet-and-confer statement with the motion, certifying the attempt to resolve the issue.
5. **SUBSEQUENT AGREEMENTS**
1. If the parties agree after the statement is filed, they must promptly file a joint stipulation.
7. **RECIPROCITY**
1. If one party does not reply to the Meet and Confer as scheduled, the Petitioner may apply to the Court to waive the requirement.

### RULE 8 - WARRANTS
1. **FINALITY OF DENIAL**
1. If a judge denies a finding of probable cause on a warrant application, no other judge within the jurisdiction shall entertain or reconsider the same request based on identical or substantially similar facts and circumstances.
2. **PURPOSE**. This rule ensures judicial consistency and prevents forum shopping for warrant approvals, maintaining the integrity of the judicial process.
2. **EVIDENCE SUBMITTED**
1. All affidavits submissions must include links exclusively from Medal, YouTube, or Streamable. Videos from other platforms or inaccessible links will not be accepted.