LAWRENCE HOWARD v. JOHN DOE Medical Staff Member

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

LAWRENCE HOWARD, Plaintiff, v. Case No. 25-CV-1996 JOHN DOE Medical Staff Member, Defendant.

ORDER

On December 19, 2025, Plaintiff Lawrence Howard, who is currently representing himself, filed a complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that his civil rights were violated. On January 7, 2026, the Court screened the complaint and named Sheriff Denita Ball as a defendant for the limited purpose of helping Plaintiff identify the John Doe Defendant. Dkt. No. 6. The Court instructed Plaintiff to use discovery to learn the Doe Defendant’s name and ordered him to inform the Court of his name within 60 days of Sheriff Ball’s attorney filing a notice of appearance. Id. On January 29, 2026, Attorney Iseah Hurtado filed a notice of appearance on behalf of Sheriff Ball. Dkt. No. 7. The following day, the Court entered a text only order observing that Attorney Hurtado filed a notice of appearance on behalf of Sheriff Ball, advising Plaintiff that he may serve discovery requests on Sheriff Ball by mailing the discovery requests to the attorney at the address listed in the notice of appearance, and directing Plaintiff to identify the Doe Defendant by March 30, 2026. Dkt. No. 8.

Shortly after the Court entered its order directing Plaintiff to identify the Doe Defendants by March 30, 2026, the Clerk’s office docketed Plaintiff’s motion for a status conference or for entry of a deadline requiring defense counsel to appear. Because defense counsel has filed a notice of appearance and the Court has set a deadline of March 30, 2026, for Plaintiff to identify the Doe Defendants, the Court will deny Plaintiff’s motion as moot.

Plaintiff also filed a motion for leave to participate in electronic filing. General Local Rule 5(a)(2) exempts pro se parties from the District’s electronic filing requirements. The District’s policies and procedures regarding e-filing also clearly state that pro se parties “cannot file electronically unless authorized by the court.” United States District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin Electronic Case Filing Policies and Procedures Manual, Section I(a)(1) (Dec. 2, 2024), available at https://www.wied.uscourts.gov/e-filing/ecf-policies-and-procedures#In%20General.

This Court does not grant self-represented parties leave to file electronically absent extraordinary circumstances. See Hobbs v. Willis, No. 22-cv-467, 2022 WL 1692062, at *2 (E.D. Wis. May 26, 2022). The reason for this policy is to ensure that busy court staff are not burdened with educating and correcting pro se filers, who are not regular users of the Court’s electronic filing system.

Plaintiff asserts that he is familiar with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, this Court’s Local Rules, and the policies governing electronic filing and that he has reliable and continuous access to the internet, email, and computer equipment necessary to prepare, convert, and submit filings in PDF format in compliance with CM/ECF technical procedural requirements. But Plaintiff has not presented extraordinary circumstances that would justify the exception he requests. Therefore, the Court will deny Plaintiff’s motion for leave to file electronically at this time.

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Plaintiff’s motion for a status conference or for entry of a deadline requiring defense counsel to appear (Dkt. No. 10) is DENIED as moot. Now that Attorney Iseah Hurtado has filed a notice of appearance on behalf of Sheriff Denita Ball, Plaintiff may serve discovery requests on Sheriff Ball by mailing the discovery requests to the attorney at the address listed in the notice of appearance. If Plaintiff does not identify the Doe Defendant(s) by March 30, 2026, or explain in writing why he is unable to do so, the Court will dismiss this case based on Plaintiff’s failure to diligently prosecute it.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff’s motion for leave to participate in electronic filing (Dkt. No. 9) is DENIED without prejudice.

Dated at Green Bay, Wisconsin on January 30, 2026. s/ Byron B. Conway BYRON B. CONWAY United States District Judge