PART I — FOUNDATION
Rule 4. Computing time
Governing clock
The ECMS records time in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). UTC controls all filing deadlines unless a statute or order expressly states another clock.
Period stated in days
When a period is stated in days:
exclude the calendar date of the event that triggers the period;
count every following calendar date, including weekends and holidays; and
include the last date, with the deadline ending at 23:59:59 UTC.
The ECMS operates continuously. A deadline does not move merely because the last day is a weekend, holiday, or a day on which no live court session is held.
Period stated in hours
When a period is stated in hours, begin at the recorded time of the triggering event and count consecutive hours. A period stated in hours is not rounded to the end of a calendar date.
Court-controlled outage
The Clerk must publish a designated Emergency Intake Channel before these Rules take effect. If the ECMS is unavailable:
a filer must transmit the complete filing to that channel before the deadline, if reasonably possible;
the transmission must identify the filer, case, document type, and failed ECMS attempt;
the filer must upload the identical documents to the ECMS within twelve hours after ECMS availability is restored; and
the filer must contemporaneously file a notice attaching proof of the timely alternate transmission.
The ECMS timestamp remains unchanged, but the Court may enter an order declaring the alternate transmission legally timely. A party may not use the emergency channel merely because ordinary upload is inconvenient.
Unavailable alternate channel
If both the ECMS and Emergency Intake Channel were unavailable for at least thirty continuous minutes during the final two hours of a filing period, a filer may move within twelve hours after availability is restored to excuse the delay. The motion must include specific, verifiable evidence. This subdivision cannot enlarge a deadline that governing law makes jurisdictional or expressly nonextendible.
Mistaken notice
An error or delay in a courtesy reminder does not extend a deadline, but the Court may consider reasonable reliance on an affirmative written misstatement by the Clerk when the deadline is not jurisdictional.