Millions of Papers, Papers for Me

Stuck in the 19th Century, the Federal Circuit Rule 30(a) requires appellants to submit six paper copies of the appendix to the briefs. In a recent filing, pro se appellant Urvashi Bhagat asked the court to waive this requirement in favor of another form of out-dated technology known as “CDROM.”  Bhagat’s argument is that the 1,000+ pages of her appendix, would be cost prohibitive, unwieldy, and an unwarranted consumption of paper.   The copying and delivery cost here really is several thousand dollars — easily outweighing the $500 appeal filing fee.

In any event, the Federal Circuit has rejected the motion: “The motion is denied.  Six paper copies of the joint appendix will be due in accordance with Federal Circuit Rule 30(a)(5).” [CDROMBRIEF] [DenialCDROM]

Despite my suggestion that paper is archaic – I’ll readily admit that I also usually prefer a set of well-tabbed binders over a large PDF — except for keyword searching.  I also don’t have a CDROM device.  Perhaps my difficulty with electronic form is that I do not have the right software/tech on hand – suggestions?