Local rule on motions was invalid

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted June 1, 2021 11:12 AM

When Brannen Marcure sued several police officers for allegedly violating his civil rights, the defendants attacked his pro se complaint as failing to state a valid claim, but he didn’t sign his response to their Rule 12(b)(6) motion and a district judge in Central Illinois struck the document based on Marcure’s failure to promptly remedy this violation of Rule 11(a)’s signing requirement after it was brought to his attention. Then the judge — applying a local rule that says a litigant’s failure to respond to a motion …

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