1) NOTICE OF APPEAL - M.R.A.P. 3, 4, Appendix I, form 3

Timely filing is the only necessary requirement to perfect an appeal. A Notice of Appeal must be filed within 30 days after entry of the judgment or order being appealed; or within 14 days after the filing of the notice of appeal by another party; or within 30 days after entry of the order denying certain post-trial motions. The Notice of Appeal must be received and filed with the lower court clerk within the specified filing time. Mail time does not apply. The date of entry is the date the lower court clerk receives and files the judgment or order. A Notice of Appeal shall specify the party or parties taking the appeal and the party or parties against whom the appeal is taken and shall designate in whole or in part the judgment being appealed. The $200 Docket Fee is paid at the time of filing the Notice of Appeal or Cross-Appeal. Appellant's counsel serves all parties; and the lower court clerk serves a "filed" copy on all counsel other than appellant's counsel, the court reporter, and the Supreme Court Clerk, together with the $200 Docket Fee. A party not represented by counsel is served, and the defendant is served in criminal cases. The lower court clerk should be provided sufficient copies of the Notice of Appeal to accomplish service on all parties. The certified copies of the trial court docket opinion, if any, and judgment from which the appeal is being taken, which are to be transmitted to the Supreme Court with the Notice of Appeal, are made by the lower court clerk at the appellant's expense.

2) APPEARANCE FORM

When the Notice of Appeal is docketed in the Supreme Court Clerk's Office, an Appearance Form will be issued to each attorney. It is imperative that this Appearance Form be returned within 14 days in order for attorneys to be assigned to the correct party in the appeal.
Appearance Form

3) DESIGNATION OF THE RECORD

Within 7 days after filing the Notice of Appeal, the appellant shall file with the trial court clerk and serve on the appellee and court reporter(s) a written designation of the record necessary for appeal. The designation should specifically list opening and closing arguments and voir dire if they are necessary to the appeal. If the entire record is not designated, a statement of issues is filed and served on the counsel for appellee. The appellee can file and serve on appellant and the court reporter an additional designation of the record. The additional designation is prepared at the expense of the appellant unless the trial court judge enters an order requiring payment by the appellee. Unless specifically designated, the record will not include the following: a) Subpoenas for any witness or defendant where the defendant has appeared; b) Papers relating to discovery, including depositions, interrogatories, requests for admission, and all related notices, motions or orders; c) Motions and Orders for continuance or extension of time; d) Documents concerning the organization of the grand jury or any list from which grand or petit jurors are selected; e) Pleadings subsequently replaced by amended pleadings; f) Jury voir dire. Briefs are not usually included in the record unless necessary to show that an issue was presented to the trial court.

4) PREPAYMENT OF COSTS - M.R.A.P. 11

Within 7 days after filing the Notice of Appeal, the appellant shall deposit with the lower court clerk an estimated sum for transcript and record preparation. Upon payment of the estimated costs, the appellant files with the lower court clerk a Certificate of Compliance setting forth that the costs have been paid and serves a copy on the court reporter, appellee and Supreme Court Clerk. If dissatisfied with the amount deposited, the lower court clerk and/or court reporter can apply for an increase with the trial court judge. The appellant must comply with the order granting any increase within 14 days after entry. The cost of record preparation is adjusted and then the actual cost is determined. If additional costs are due, the record will not be filed with the Supreme Court until those costs are paid. The court reporter will not begin transcribing the proceedings until the Certificate of Compliance has been served. The court reporter will file an Acknowledgment upon receipt from the appellant of the Certificate of Compliance. The court reporter has 60 days to prepare the transcript. After the transcript is filed, the lower court clerk has 30 days to assemble the Clerk's papers. This portion of the appeal record consists of copies of designated papers and exhibits filed in the trial court.

5) ATTORNEY REVIEW - M.R.A.P. 10(b)(5)

After service of the lower court clerk's notice of completion, the appellant may review the record for 14 days. The appellant shall then deliver the record to the appellee along with a written statement of any proposed correction to the record. The appellee has 14 days to review the record. At the expiration of this period, the appellee returns the record to the trial court clerk along with a written statement of any proposed correction to the record. Agreed corrections are made by stipulation. Disputed corrections are presented to the trial court judge for determination. Such corrections shall be completed within 7 days. If it is determined that a supplemental record must be filed, the order of the trial court judge shall specify the due date for filing the supplemental record and the party responsible for the record preparation. A motion to extend the attorney review time is filed in the trial court and a copy served on the Supreme Court Clerk. A copy of the Order granting or denying the motion for additional review time is served on the Supreme Court Clerk. After all corrections have been made or supplemental record prepared, the appeal record is delivered to the Supreme Court Clerk.

6) BRIEFING - M.R.A.P. 25, 26, 28, 29, 31 and 32

When the record is filed in the Supreme Court Clerk's Office, counsel is notified in writing of the filing and the briefing schedule begins.

7) ORAL ARGUMENT - M.R.A.P. 34

A notation of whether or not oral argument is requested shall be on the cover of appellee's principal brief and appellant's reply brief. If no reply brief is filed, a letter shall be filed within the time allowed for filing of the reply brief. A concise statement of the reasons in support of oral argument shall be included in the brief or letter. Any party not complying with this rule shall not be heard orally except by special permission or order of the appropriate appellate court. If oral argument has been requested, counsel will be notified by the Court if the request has been granted or if the case will be submitted on the briefs only. Oral argument is discretionary. After all briefs are filed, a Court Assignment Notice is entered.

8) DECISION - M.R.A.P. 45(c)

On the day the decision is announced, lead counsel will be mailed a Decision Letter. Supreme Court decisions are handed down each Thursday at 1:30, and Court of Appeals decisions are handed down Tuesdays at 1:30. All decisions of the Court of Appeals will be final unless the Supreme Court grants certiorari.

9) MOTIONS FOR REHEARING - M.R.A.P. 40

A Motion for Rehearing may be filed in the Clerk's Office within 14 days after the decision on the merits. The Motion for Rehearing shall not exceed 25 pages. The original and ten copies are filed in Supreme Court cases, and the original and eleven copies are filed in Court of Appeals cases. A response to the Motion for Rehearing shall be filed within 7 days after service of the Motion for Rehearing, and oral argument is not permitted. The filing fee is $50 for a Motion for Rehearing.

10) CERTIORARI REVIEW - M.R.A.P. 17

A decision of the Court of Appeals is not reviewable by the Supreme Court except on writ of certiorari. However, a party seeking review of a judgment of the Court of Appeals must first file a Petition for Rehearing in the Court of Appeals.

Within 14 days after the disposition of the Petition for Rehearing, the original and ten copies of a petition for writ of certiorari must be filed in the Supreme Court and served on all other parties. The following shall be attached to the petition: 1) a copy of the Court of Appeals opinion and judgment, and 2) a copy of the Petition for Rehearing filed in the Court of Appeals. Briefs and oral argument shall not be allowed unless requested by the Supreme Court. The writ of certiorari may not exceed 10 pages. Within 7 days after the filing of an application for writ of certiorari, a party may file an original and ten copies of a written response which shall not exceed 10 pages. A copy of the respondent's response to the Petition for Rehearing filed in the Court of Appeals may be attached.

11) MANDATE - M.R.A.P. 41

(a) Supreme Court: The mandate shall issue 21 days after the entry of judgment unless a Motion for Rehearing is filed at which time it will issue 7 days after final disposition of the Motion for Rehearing.

(b) Court of Appeals: The mandate shall issue 21 days after the latest of: the entry of judgment; the disposition of the Motion for Rehearing; or the denial or dismissal of a Petition for Certiorari.

12) FILING AND SERVICE - M.R.A.P. 25

Filing may be accomplished by mail; however, filing shall not be timely unless the documents are received by the Clerk within the time fixed for filing. Briefs and record excerpts are deemed filed on the day of mailing; however, to be deemed filed on the day of mailing, a certificate shall be attached. This certificate should be signed by the person mailing the document, identify the original document and number of copies being filed with the Clerk, identify the parties served with a copy, and specify the date of mailing. Papers received without a certificate shall be deemed filed on the date the document is received by the Supreme Court Clerk. Unopposed procedural and emergency relief motions may be filed by FAX transmission. A document in excess of 5 pages shall not be filed without prior leave of the Clerk. A paper may be filed by FAX only if opposing counsel can be served by FAX.

MOTIONS FOR TIME MRAP 27

All requests for extensions must be by written motion, should state the reason(s) the extension is necessary and specify the number of days needed. Only the original motion is filed, and opposing counsel is served with a copy. The $10 filing fee should accompany the original motion at the time of filing. There is an additional $5 fee for FAX motions. Any objection to a motion for time will be filed and submitted to the Court with any future extension request.

REQUESTS FOR RECORDS Rule 45

The Clerk is the custodian of records for the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals. The rules provide that no one may withdraw the record of a case during the pendency of an appeal except by or on behalf of a party. After the parties complete their briefs, the case is screened, assigned to the Court of Appeals or retained by the Supreme Court, and placed on a docket. (Workers' Compensation cases are assigned to the Court of Appeals upon filing of the notice of appeal.) After the case is placed on a docket, the case may be called up by the appropriate court at any time. After a mandate has been issued, any member of the bar in good standing may withdraw from the clerk's office any record after paying in advance a fee of $15.00. Incarcerated pro se litigants may withdraw from the clerk's office the appellate record in their cause after paying in advance a fee of $15.00. A reasonable mailing and handling fee of $10.00 will be assessed in the event the record requires mailing to the requesting party. Records containing more than 10 volumes will be assessed actual mailing cost. No record shall be held out of the clerk's office more than 90 days. If the record is held out past the 90 day period, a record delinquency fee will be assessed in the amount of $50.00. (Amended January 3, 2002)

Requests for records are processed twice daily. In general requests received by 10:00 may be picked up after 1:00; requests received by 2:00 may be picked up after 4:00; and, requests received after 2:00 can be picked up the following day.