United States Court of Appeals

FIFTH CIRCUIT

OFFICE OF THE CLERK

LYLE W. CAYCE

CLERK

TEL. 504-310-7700

600 S. MAESTRI PLACE, 

Suite 115

NEW ORLEANS, LA 70130

May 08, 2023

Mr. Daniel M. Riess

U.S. Department of Justice

Civil Division Federal Programs Branch

20 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20530

No. 23-10463 Defense Distributed v. Garland

USDC No. 4:22-CV-691

Dear Mr. Riess,

We have docketed the appeal as shown above, and ask you to use the 

case number above in future inquiries.

Filings in this court are governed strictly by the Federal Rules 

of Appellate Procedure. We cannot accept motions submitted under 

the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. We can address only those 

documents the court directs you to file, or proper motions filed 

in support of the appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. and 5th Cir. R. 27 for 

guidance. We will not acknowledge or act upon documents not 

authorized by these rules.

All counsel who desire to appear in this case must electronically 

file a "Form for Appearance of Counsel" naming all parties 

represented within 14 days from this date, see Fed. R. App. P. 12(b) 

and 5th Cir. R. 12. This form is available on our website 

www.ca5.uscourts.gov. Failure to electronically file this form 

will result in removing your name from our docket. Pro se parties 

are not required to file appearance forms. 

ATTENTION ATTORNEYS: Attorneys are required to be a member of the 

Fifth Circuit Bar and to register for Electronic Case Filing. The 

"Application and Oath for Admission" form can be printed or 

downloaded from the Fifth Circuit’s website, www.ca5.uscourts.gov. 

Information on Electronic Case Filing is available at 

www.ca5.uscourts.gov/cmecf/. 

ATTENTION ATTORNEYS: Direct access to the electronic record on 

appeal (EROA) for pending appeals will be enabled by the U S 

District Court on a per case basis. Counsel can expect to receive 

notice once access to the EROA is available. Counsel must be 

approved for electronic filing and must be listed in the case as 

attorney of record before access will be authorized. Instructions 

Case: 23-10463 Document: 00516742441 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/08/2023

Case 4:22-cv-00691-O Document 211 Filed 05/09/23 Page 1 of 4 PageID 4626
for accessing and downloading the EROA can be found on our website 

at http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/docs/defaultsource/forms/instructions-for-electronic-record-downloadfeature-of-cm. Additionally, a link to the instructions will be 

included in the notice you receive from the district court.

Sealed documents, except for the presentence investigation report 

in criminal appeals, will not be included in the EROA. Access to 

sealed documents will continue to be provided by the district court 

only upon the filing and granting of a motion to view same in this 

court.

We recommend that you visit the Fifth Circuit’s website, 

www.ca5.uscourts.gov and review material that will assist you 

during the appeal process. We especially call to your attention 

the Practitioner’s Guide and the 5th Circuit Appeal Flow Chart, 

located in the Forms, Fees, and Guides tab. 

ATTENTION: If you are filing Pro Se (without a lawyer) you can 

request to receive correspondence from the court and other parties 

by email and can also request to file pleadings through the court’s 

electronic filing systems. Details explaining how you can request 

this are available on the Fifth Circuit website at 

http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/docs/default-source/forms/pro-sefiler-instructions. This is not available for any pro se serving 

in confinement.

Special guidance regarding filing certain documents:

General Order No. 2021-1, dated January 15, 2021, requires parties 

to file in paper highly sensitive documents (HSD) that would 

ordinarily be filed under seal in CM/ECF. This includes documents 

likely to be of interest to the intelligence service of a foreign 

government and whose use or disclosure by a hostile foreign 

government would likely cause significant harm to the United States 

or its interests. Before uploading any matter as a sealed filing, 

ensure it has not been designated as HSD by a district court and 

does not qualify as HSD under General Order No. 2021-1.

A party seeking to designate a document as highly sensitive in the 

first instance or to change its designation as HSD must do so by 

motion. Parties are required to contact the Clerk’s office for 

guidance before filing such motions.

Sealing Documents on Appeal: Our court has a strong presumption 

of public access to our court’s records, and the court scrutinizes 

any request by a party to seal pleadings, record excerpts, or other 

documents on our court docket. Counsel moving to seal matters 

must explain in particularity the necessity for sealing in our 

court. Counsel do not satisfy this burden by simply stating that 

the originating court sealed the matter, as the circumstances that 

justified sealing in the originating court may have changed or may 

not apply in an appellate proceeding. It is the obligation of 

counsel to justify a request to file under seal, just as it is 

their obligation to notify the court whenever sealing is no longer 

necessary. An unopposed motion to seal does not obviate a 

counsel’s obligation to justify the motion to seal.

Case: 23-10463 Document: 00516742441 Page: 2 Date Filed: 05/08/2023

Case 4:22-cv-00691-O Document 211 Filed 05/09/23 Page 2 of 4 PageID 4627
 Sincerely,

LYLE W. CAYCE, Clerk

 By: _________________________

Casey A. Sullivan, Deputy Clerk

504-310-7642

cc:

Mr. Nicholas Bruno

Ms. Karen S. Mitchell

Case: 23-10463 Document: 00516742441 Page: 3 Date Filed: 05/08/2023

Case 4:22-cv-00691-O Document 211 Filed 05/09/23 Page 3 of 4 PageID 4628
Provided below is the court’s official caption. Please review the 

parties listed and advise the court immediately of any 

discrepancies. If you are required to file an appearance form, a 

complete list of the parties should be listed on the form exactly 

as they are listed on the caption.

_________ 

Case No. 23-10463

_________ 

Defense Distributed; Second Amendment Foundation, Incorporated,

 Intervenor Plaintiffs - Appellees

v.

Merrick Garland, U.S. Attorney General, in his Official capacity 

as Attorney General of the United States; United States 

Department of Justice; Steven Dettelbach, in his official 

capacity as Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms 

and Explosives; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and 

Explosives,

 Defendants - Appellants

Case: 23-10463 Document: 00516742441 Page: 4 Date Filed: 05/08/2023

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