A. FILING DOCUMENTS IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
All self-represented parties may submit documents in paper format or e-file. (Attorneys admitted to practice in this Court must file all documents electronically.) Any document submitted to the Court must be filed with the Clerk’s Office, be signed by the party or counsel, and contain a proper certificate of service showing that it was served on (that is, delivered to by U.S. mail, in person, or electronically) the opposing party or counsel. See the example of a certificate of service on Form 2. Only file one original of any paper document. See Rule 6.
Paper documents may be mailed to the Court of Appeals, sent by express mail or courier service, or hand delivered. Fax filings are not accepted. Incarcerated parties (prisoners) who are representing themselves on appeal may submit documents to prison officials to forward to the Clerk’s Office. See Rule 4. As of April 1, 2020, self-represented parties may also e-file documents.
Instructions to register to e-file
The Clerk’s Office closes at 4:30 p.m. All paper filings must be submitted by that time.
B. COSTS
The cost of filing a direct appeal or an application to appeal is $80 for criminal cases and $300 for civil cases. Application costs must be paid when the application is filed. If you file a direct appeal, you must pay the costs by the time you file your brief. Fees may be paid by credit card with any electronic filing or by cash, check, or money order. See Rule 5.
The Clerk cannot accept an application or a brief for filing without the filing fee unless (1) it is accompanied by an adequate pauper’s affidavit, (2) the self-represented party is incarcerated, or (3) in represented cases, the attorney for the party was appointed due to the party’s indigence. If the Court grants an application to appeal, another fee is not required when the subsequent direct appeal is docketed in this Court and the brief is filed.
If you believe that you are unable to pay the filing fee because you do not have the money, you must submit a sufficient notarized pauper’s affidavit along with the notice of appeal or application, using the form on the Court’s website. This form is not necessary if you are in jail or prison. See Rule 5. A sample pauper’s affidavit form is attached to this guide. See Form 1.
If a case is dismissed before you file your brief, you still must pay the fee when the Court sends a bill.
C. DOCKETING A DIRECT APPEAL
To start a direct appeal, a notice of appeal must be filed in the proper court, usually the trial court, within the proper time limit, usually 30 days from the date the order or judgment being appealed was filed (but within 7 days for dispossessory orders). When the notice of appeal is filed, the trial court clerk will prepare a copy of the record, as requested in the notice. The trial court clerk will send the record and any transcripts to the Court of Appeals, along with a copy of the notice of appeal. The Court of Appeals will not docket a direct appeal until it receives the record from the trial court clerk in the proper format. See Rule 11. The final order of the trial court that is being appealed must be included in the record and must have been stamped “filed” by the trial court clerk.
If the order does not contain the trial court clerk’s stamp, the Court of Appeals will return the notice of appeal and record to the trial court.
Once the appeal is docketed, the Clerk of the Court of Appeals will send a notice to the parties or their attorneys that the appeal has been received and docketed. This “Docketing Notice” is very important because it contains the deadlines for filing briefs, requests to argue, and calendaring information. Because this notice is sent by U.S. mail (or by e-mail for registered e-filers), it is very important that you have provided the Court with a valid mailing address (and e-mail address, if you are e-filing). The docketing notice should be read carefully. See Rule 13 and Section 5 of this guide: Direct Appeals, for more detail about briefs.
You can check the status of your case online from the docket or see opinions of the Court on the Court’s website. You can also review the record at the Clerk’s Office.
D. FILING AN APPLICATION TO APPEAL
Applications for discretionary appeal and applications for interlocutory appeal are filed directly with the Court of Appeals, not the trial court. The application contains your arguments about why the Court should grant your application, and you should include as exhibits any necessary parts of the trial court record. A discretionary application must contain a copy of the signed order or judgment being appealed that was stamped “filed” by the trial court clerk. See Rule 31 (c). An interlocutory application must contain a signed copy of the order or judgment being appealed that was stamped “filed” in the trial court and a stamped “filed” copy of a Certificate of Immediate Review from the trial court. See Rule 30 (c); see also Section 6 in this guide: Discretionary Applications, and Section 7 in this guide: Interlocutory Applications, for more detail.