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GUARDIAN AD LITEM PROCEDURES (criminal)

Submitted by schwebkes on Thu, 12/07/2023 - 10:11

The procedures outlined below should be used to request the appointment of a guardian ad litem in a criminal matter.  They apply to all appointments under 18 U.S.C. § 3509(h)(1) - Child Victims’ and Child Witnesses’ Rights Act or 18 U.S.C. § 5034 - Juvenile Delinquency Proceedings.   These instructions cover requesting an appointment of a guardian ad litem, the order appointing the guardian ad litem, and submitting invoices.

 REQUESTING A GUARDIAN AD LITEM

  • Follow the instructions to request leave to file a document under seal.  Once leave has been granted, you can file the Sealed motion for appointment of guardian ad litem.  See below for step-by-step instructions on filing the motion.  The court may consider an oral request in open court or make a sua sponte appointment.
  • Orders regarding the appointment of the guardian ad litem will be filed under seal.

SUBMITTING INVOICES FOR SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE GUARDIAN AD LITEM

  • The order appointing the guardian ad litem will specify a funding limit. The guardian ad litem should invoice the court on a routine basis, either monthly or no less than bi-monthly, in one of the following ways: 
    • Email the invoice to CM-ECFIntake_OKED@oked.uscourts.gov. The subject line should read “Invoice to Clerk of Court re: Guardian Ad Litem”. The case number should be included.
    • Mail the invoice to the court, attention Clerk of Court. Again, the case number should be included. 
    • A copy should also be submitted to the chambers of the appointing judge.
  • To exceed the funding limit specified in the order, the guardian ad litem should contact the Clerk of Court (before exceeding the amount) via email at CM-ECFIntake_OKED@oked.uscourts.gov. The subject line should read “Request to Clerk of Court re: Guardian Ad Litem”. 
  • Once their service as guardian ad litem has been completed, the guardian ad litem should include, with the submission of their final invoice, a statement indicating that their service as guardian ad litem is complete and this is their final invoice. 

​​​​​​INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING A MOTION FOR GUARDIAN AD LITEM

Under the criminal tab, select the Sealed Documents (in Public Cases) link, choose the event Sealed motion for appointment of guardian ad litem and click Next.

  

Add your case number, select Find This Case and click Next.  You may need to indicate the defendant case where the sealed motion will be filed.    

If the hyperlink contains the correct case style, select Next to continue.  If not, stop your filing and determine the correct case number.

Select the filing party.  If you need to select multiple names, hold down the CTRL key while selecting.  After proper selection, select Next.

Please review the notice regarding service.  You must MANUALLY SERVE the sealed PDF(s) on all parties in this case.

Add the pdf file of the main document.  In the Attachments section, add the pdf files, if applicable, and properly describe each exhibit/attachment. When finished uploading, select Next.

Review the final text for accuracy.  If the final text does not reflect your filing intent, discontinue the entry by clicking on the menu bar and beginning again.  Select Next to contine.

You must mail a copy of the NEF and the filed pleading to anyone listed in the "delivered by other means" section of the NEF

If sealed access has not been granted in this case, you MUST serve the NEF and pleading to ALL parties