Sample Documents

Every sample on this site, in three formats: PDF to read, Word to edit, and plain text to paste into any program. Each one is built from the same text that appears in its article, where the line-by-line explanation lives.

These are teaching templates, not filings

The facts are invented. The captions, deadlines, and citations are placeholders for you to replace. Nothing here has been checked against your court's rules. Before you file anything built from a sample, read the article that goes with it, then read your district's local rules and your judge's standing orders, and run the self-review checklist.

Sample Section 1983 Complaint (False Arrest)

A complete complaint against two officers and a city for a false arrest after recording police, with jurisdiction, parties, numbered facts, separate counts, a Monell count, and a prayer for relief.

Download: PDF · Word (.docx) · Plain text

Read it with explanations: the sample article · Guide: How to Write a Section 1983 Complaint

Sample Declaration Under 28 U.S.C. § 1746

A first-person declaration for summary judgment: one fact per numbered paragraph, exhibit references, body-camera timestamps, and the correct unsworn-declaration language.

Download: PDF · Word (.docx) · Plain text

Read it with explanations: the sample article · Guide: How to Write a Declaration

Sample Response to a Motion to Dismiss

A response that answers each ground in the motion's order, cites the complaint by paragraph, addresses qualified immunity, and asks for leave to amend in the alternative.

Download: PDF · Word (.docx) · Plain text

Read it with explanations: the sample article · Guide: Rule 12 Motions

Sample Motion for Extension of Time

A one-page unopposed motion under Rule 6(b)(1)(A) with a certificate of conference, certificate of service, and proposed order.

Download: PDF · Word (.docx) · Plain text

Read it with explanations: the sample article · Guide: How to Ask for More Time

Sample Motion for Leave to Amend

A Rule 15(a)(2) motion that addresses each Foman factor, identifies what the amendment changes, and attaches the proposed pleading and a proposed order.

Download: PDF · Word (.docx) · Plain text

Read it with explanations: the sample article · Guide: How and When to Amend

Sample Meet-and-Confer Letter

A Rule 37(a)(1) letter identifying deficient discovery responses request by request, the rule that requires each cure, and a response date, with a separate conference record.

Download: PDF · Word (.docx) · Plain text

Read it with explanations: the sample article · Guide: How to Audit Discovery Responses

How to use a sample

Read the article first. The sample is the last section of a longer explanation of why each part is there.
Open the Word or text version and replace every bracketed item with your facts. Delete any paragraph that does not apply. Do not leave a placeholder in a filed document.
Check every citation. The cases and rules in the samples are real, but whether they are the right authority for your court and your facts is something you must confirm.
Match the format to your district. Caption style, line spacing, page limits, and required certificates vary. Your local rules control.
Run the self-edit pass and the red-team checklist before you sign.

Official court forms

The federal courts publish a fill-in form for a civil-rights complaint by a person who is not a prisoner, called Pro Se 15, and a general civil complaint form, Pro Se 1. They are on uscourts.gov under Forms. Many districts accept them and some pro se guides recommend starting there. The samples on this page are for plaintiffs who want to plead more than the form allows, particularly the officer-by-officer facts and the clearly-established-law analysis the Fifth Circuit expects.

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