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How-To: Draft Your Written Objections (Federal)

Background: The Court made an important ruling in your case
Problem: The Court's ruling was based on error/mistake/oversight/etc.
Solution: You write & submit a formal objection

I. Definitions

Magistrate
1. a public civil officer, invested with some part of the legislative, executive or judicial power.

2. in a narrower sense, the term includes only inferior judicial officers, such as justices of the peace.
UNITED STATES [FEDERAL] MAGISTRATE: appointed by US District Court judges, magistrates have powers that include the ability to hear and determine specified pretrial motions pending before a district court, to conduct hearings, including evidentiary hearings, and to submit proposed findings of facts and recommendations for disposition.
Objection
a procedure whereby a party asserts that a particular witness, line of questioning, piece of evidence, or other matter is improper and should not be continued, and asks the court to rule on its impropriety or illegality. A timely objection on the record, stating the grounds thereof, must be made to evidence rulings admitting or excluding evidence if the ruling is to be challenged later on appeal. This is necessary to preserve the point on appeal. As to other rulings or orders entered by a trial court, the failure to object will not prejudice a party's right to challenge on appeal the action taken if he or she had no opportunity to object. See also challenge; motion [MOTION IN LIMINE].

II. Legal Citations

28 USC §636(b)(1)(C) | Pro Se Civil-Rights Cases and Collateral Attacks on Criminal Convictions
"Within fourteen days after being served with a copy, any party may serve and file written objections to such proposed findings and recommendations as provided by rules of court. A judge of the court shall make a de novo determination of those portions of the report or specified proposed findings or recommendations to which objection is made. A judge of the court may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge. The judge may also receive further evidence or recommit the matter to the magistrate judge with instructions."
Rule 46 Fed. R. Civ. P. | Objecting to a Ruling or Order
"When the ruling or order is requested or made, a party need only state the action that it wants the court to take or objects to, along with the grounds for the request or objection."
Rule 60 Fed. R. Civ. P. | Relief from a Judgment or Order
“(a) CORRECTIONS BASED ON CLERICAL MISTAKES; OVERSIGHTS AND OMISSIONS. The court may correct a clerical mistake or a mistake arising from oversight or omission whenever one is found in a judgment, order, or other part of the record. The court may do so on motion or on its own, with or without notice.”
Rule 72 Fed. R. Civ. P. | Magistrate Judges: Pretrial Order
“(2) Objections. Within 14 days after being served with a copy of the recommended disposition, a party may serve and file specific written objections to the proposed findings and recommendations.”
Rule 3-1 11th Cir. R. | Failure to Object to a Magistrate Judge’s Findings or Recommendations.
"A party failing to object to a magistrate judge’s findings or recommendations contained in a report and recommendation in accordance with the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1) waives the right to challenge on appeal the district court’s order based on unobjected-to factual and legal conclusions if the party was informed of the time period for objecting and the consequences on appeal for failing to object. In the absence of a proper objection, however, the court may review on appeal for plain error if necessary in the interests of justice."

III. Samples

# PDF Comments ₧
1logoAdobeTBD case. USFLMD. Pro Se Filing. 2020. §1981 Case (+ §760 FS). Clear Error + Contrary to LawiconPriceTag
2logoAdobeUSNYWD. 2007. Attorney Filing. Criminal Case. Response. Standard of Review + Governing Law.iconPriceTag
3logoAdobeUSNYWD. 2007. Attorney Filing. Criminal Case. Clear Error + Contrary to Law.iconPriceTag
4logoAdobeUSNYWD. 2007. Attorney Filing. Forum Selection. "Alter Ego" Doctrine.iconPriceTag
5logoAdobeUSNYWD. 2007. Attorney Filing. Ipso Facto Third-Party. Standard of Review. 28 USC §1441.iconPriceTag
6logoAdobeUSNYWD. 2007. Attorney Filing. Standard of Review + Governing Law. Rule 56. Summary Judgment.iconPriceTag
7logoAdobeUSNYWD. 2007. Attorney Filing. Letter Format. 3 Pages.iconPriceTag
8logoAdobeUSNYWD. 2007. Attorney Filing. Criminal Case. Evidence Suppression.iconPriceTag
9logoAdobeUSNYWD. 2007. Attorney Filing. Criminal Case. Evidence Suppression. Government Filing.iconPriceTag

IV. Templates

# Link Comments ₧
1iconMSWordReplace all of the placeholder tags with real information (eg "[plfName]" becomes "John Doe").iconPriceTag

V. Quick Commentary

  • Critical Note: File this document on time!
  • Standard of Review: Pursuant to Rule 72(a) Fed. R. Civ. P., a district court “[must] modify or set aside any part of the order that is clearly erroneous or is contrary to law”.
  • Expectation: Do not expect victory (even if you have a slam dunk objection).
  • Download as many sample documents as you'd like
    • Model your language after the language that lawyers use
  • Use the free-hand template (see Part III - above) to write your 'Objections'
  • Save the final version as a PDF file.
  • File the final version in court

VI. Additional Notes

  • Estimated Time ≈ 4-16 hours
  • Tolling: Filing written objections to the lower court's order extends the time to appeal the same order (even if the District Judge entered it)

VII. Bibliography

VIII. Conclusion

With the use of the template (as well as the samples above), you can more easily draft your Written Objections (Federal).

...POINTS & THINGS...

Congratulations! You're now booked up on how to write your Objections in federal court.

Please get the justice you deserve.

Sincerely,



www.TextBookDiscrimination.com
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add a comment
Your comment about judges enjoying absolute immunity is documented and proven as false. Old constitutional law, our current state and federal laws, the rules of judicial conduct but MOST-OF-ALL the judges own Department Of Justice (DOJ) Laws, Rules, Regulations and Procedures clearly state

- 11/2/23 | Anonymous User 047-***-***-138

Thank you for your informational comment. You’ve suppled the type of user interaction that TBD believes will add more value/resources to other site visitors. So, please enjoy the points you’ve received; and read further to see how you’ve made a difference...

Okay, to address your comment: The comment from above is not false. Instead, it is true (unfortunately). TBD derived it from multiple appellate decisions from the judiciary itself. You can find such material in:

(1) this Reading List on Judicial Immunity; and/or

(2) this breakdown of How Judicial Immunity Works.
The government decisions contained therein show that, unfortunately, our judiciary has hidden itself behind this so-called wall of "absolute judicial immunity". In some instances, they’ve used their self-made doctrine in order to cover up their non-judicial acts (eg, xeroxing papers – to hide crucial transcript pages).

So, in addressing your comment TBD has added more content to this page. Reason: TBD agrees with you that more information is needed on that blurb about absolute immunity. However, TBD has kept the original statement unchanged (reason: the statement is true; until/unless the government abolishes our judges' self-made absolute judicial immunity). Footnote: Your comment seemed to cutoff at 290 characters (which seems like a mistake because comments permit 1,024 characters). So, if there’s more information that you wanted to supply then please add another comment. - 11/3/23 | TextBookDiscrimination.com

TBD
I truly appreciate the time and effort you've invested in creating this resource.

I found it recently while trying to learn more about written objections.

Your site was one of the only places I could find actual examples.

I'm currently litigating a civil lawsuit in federal court and despite many hours in PACER looking though dockets of endless cases, I haven't found a single written objection.

But, that's no longer the case.

Thank you for offering such a voluminous, easily navigable, meticulous treasure trove of information.

I will be back again and again!

Keep Going!!!

- 12/21/23 | Anonymous User 107-***-***-161

TBD

Wow.

Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. Yes, I agree with you: sample legal documents are the best starting points for learning how to navigate through a legal proceeding. So, I’m glad you’ve been able to make use of the ones I’ve listed here.

In 2024, I’m thinking of launching a free online marketplace (where people can buy & sell sample documents – via book points). As of now, I just use email to buy additional samples from site visitors (few people have actually done so, though – so far).

When you get the chance, may you please consider selling your written objection to TBD (I pay 1,000 book points per document). For now, you can just email it/them to TextBook.Discrimination@outlook.com. Afterwards, I’ll send you a link that you can use to receive your book points. Please know that your document(s) will really benefit others. People really cherish them; and – as a pro se litigant myself – I understand why.

Lastly, I’m glad that you’ve picked up on the easy ways to navigate through different pages of this website.

• However... did you know... ...that clicking on the long, gray bar (top-right corner) will land you on the table of contents (for each web folder)? 😊

• Also... did you know... ...that clicking on the up arrow (top-right of each page) will move you up a web folder? 😊

• Plus, there are common parts [of each page] that you can double-click to show/hide. Let me know if you’ve found any of them! 😊

• Other Easter Eggs exist, too (albeit rare - by nature).
• All of these features are here to help you "Get Booked Up" on Justice! 😊

Until Next Time.

Best Wishes!

- 12/21/23 | TextBookDiscrimination.com

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