Amendments to the appellate rules
Amendments to the appellate rules
The Florida Supreme Court, on its own motion, recently adopted amendments to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.200 (The Record) intended to implement mandatory statewide electronic records on appeal. The Court invites all interested persons to comment on the amendments, which are reproduced in full below, as well as online at http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/opinions.shtml. The Court specially requests comments from The Florida Bar’s Appellate Court Rules Committee, the Florida Courts Technology Commission (in consultation with the Appellate Court Technology Committee), the Florida Association of Court Clerks and Comptrollers, and the Florida Court Reporters Association. All comments must be filed with the Court on or before July 13, 2015. If filed by an attorney in good standing with The Florida Bar, the comment must be electronically filed via the E-Filing Portal in accordance with In re Electronic Filing in the Supreme Court of Florida via the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, Fla. Admin. Order No. AOSC13-7 (Feb. 18, 2013). If filed by a nonlawyer or a lawyer not licensed to practice in Florida, the comment must be electronically filed via e-mail in accordance with In re Mandatory Submission of Electronic Copies of Documents, Fla. Admin. Order No. AOSC04-84 (Sept. 13, 2004). Electronically filed documents must be submitted in Microsoft Word 97 or higher. Any person unable to submit a comment electronically must mail or hand-deliver the originally signed comment to the Florida Supreme Court, Office of the Clerk, 500 South Duval Street, Tallahassee 32399-1927; no additional copies are required or will be accepted.
IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO RULE OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE 9.200, CASE NO. SC15-765
RULE 9.200. THE RECORD
(a) Contents.
(1) Except as otherwise designated by the parties, the record shall consist of the originalall documents filed in the lower tribunal, all exhibits that are not physical evidence, and any transcript(s) of proceedings filed in the lower tribunal, except summonses, praecipes, subpoenas, returns, notices of hearing or of taking deposition, depositions, and other discovery. In criminal cases, when any exhibit, including physical evidence, is to be included in the record, the clerk of the lower tribunal shall not, unless ordered by the court, transmit the original and, if capable of reproduction, shall transmit a copy, including but not limited to copies of any tapes, CDs, DVDs, or similar electronically recorded evidence. The record shall also include a progress docket.
(2) In family law, juvenile dependency, and termination of parental rights cases, and cases involving families and children in need of services, the record shall include those items designated in subdivision (a)(1) except that the clerk of the lower tribunal shall retain the original orders, reports and recommendations of magistrates or hearing officers, and judgments within the file of the lower tribunal and shall include copies thereof within the record.
(32) Within 10 days of filing the notice of appeal, an appellant may direct the clerk to include or exclude other documents or exhibits filed in the lower tribunal. The directions shall be substantially in the form prescribed by rule 9.900(g). If the clerk is directed to transmit less than the entire record or a transcript of trial with less than all of the testimony, the appellant shall serve with such direction a statement of the judicial acts to be reviewed. Within 20 days of filing the notice, an appellee may direct the clerk to include additional documents and exhibits.
(43) The parties may prepare a stipulated statement showing how the issues to be presented arose and were decided in the lower tribunal, attaching a copy of the order to be reviewed and as much of the record in the lower tribunal as is necessary to a determination of the issues to be presented. The parties shall advise the clerk of the lower tribunal of their intention to rely on a stipulated statement in lieu of the record as early in advance of filing as possible. The stipulated statement shall be filed by the parties and transmitted to the court by the clerk of the lower tribunal within the time prescribed for transmittal of the record.
(5) Where any court record, as defined in Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420(b)(1)(A), of proceedings in the lower tribunal has been made or maintained in one of the following electronic formats: fully searchable indexed PDF; fully-searchable non-indexed PDF; or, non-searchable PDF
(A) the record, as defined in subdivision (a)(1) through (a)(3), shall be comprised of the electronic form of those items described in subdivision (a)(1) that were created or maintained in the aforementioned electronic formats; or
(B) where the parties elect to prepare a stipulated statement in accordance with subdivision (a)(4), the stipulated statement and its attachments shall be filed electronically in one of the aforementioned electronic formats.
(b) Transcript(s) of Proceedings.
(1) [No Change]
(2) Within 30 days of service of a designation, or within the additional time provided for under subdivision (b)(3) of this rule, the approved court reporter, civil court reporter, or approved transcriptionist shall transcribe and file with the clerk of the lower tribunal the designated proceedings and shall serve copies as requested in the designation. If a designating party directs the approved court reporter, civil court reporter, or approved transcriptionist to furnish the transcript(s) to fewer than all parties, that designating party shall serve a copy of the designated transcript(s) on the parties within 5 days of receipt from the approved court reporter, civil court reporter, or approved transcriptionist. The transcript of the trial shall be filed with the clerk separately from the transcript(s) of any other designated proceedings. The transcript of the trial shall be organized in consecutively numbered volumes not to exceed 200 pages each, and each page shall be numbered consecutively. Each volume shall be prefaced by an index containing the names of the witnesses, a list of all exhibits offered and introduced in evidence, and the pages where each may be found. The pages, including the index pages, shall be consecutively numbered, beginning with page 1.
- (3) – (4) [No Change]
(c) [No Change]
- (d) Duties of Clerk; Preparation and Transmittal of Electronic Record.
(1) The clerk of the lower tribunal shall prepare the record as follows:
(A) The clerk of the lower tribunal shall assemble the record on appeal and prepare a cover page and a complete index to the record. Consistent with Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420(g)(8), the index shall indicate any confidential information in the record and if the information was determined to be confidential in an order, identify such order by date or docket number and record page number. The clerk of the lower tribunal shall not be required to verify and shall not charge for the incorporation of any transcript(s) into the record. The transcript of the trial shall be incorporated at the end of the record, kept separate from the remainder of the record on appeal and shall not be renumbered by the clerk. The progress docket shall be incorporated into the record immediately after the index.
(B) The remainder of the record, including all supplements and any transcripts other than the transcript of the trial, shall be consecutively numbered. The record shall be organized in consecutively numbered volumes not to exceed 200 pages each. The cover sheet of each volume shall contain the name of the lower tribunal and the style and number of the case. Any volume of the record that is prepared in paper format shall be securely bound. All pages of the remainder of the record, including the cover page, the index, and the progress docket, shall be consecutively numbered. The first page shall be the cover page that includes the name of the lower tribunal, the style and number of the case, and the caption RECORD ON APPEAL in 48 point bold font. All remaining pages, including all supplements and any transcripts other than the transcript of the trial, shall continue the pagination of the cover page, the index, and the progress docket.
(C) The record, or portions of the record, prepared in accordance with subdivision (a)(5) shall be organized, numbered, and formatted in accordance with subdivision (d)(1)(A)-(d)(1)(B), except that each such volume shall be prepared in electronic format as a PDF file having the indexing and searching characteristics of the electronic items comprising that volume of the record. The index and progress docket shall also be included as a separate indexed, fully searchable PDF file. The entire record, except for the transcript of the trial, shall be compiled into a single PDF file. The PDF file shall include all filings in their unredacted form. The PDF file shall be:
(i) text searchable;
(ii) paginated to exactly match the pagination of the index; and
(iii) bookmarked, consistently with the index, such that each bookmark states the date, name, and record page of the filing and the bookmarks are viewable in a separate (and/or side) window.
(2) The clerk of the lower tribunal shall prepare a complete index to the record and shall attach a copy of the progress docket to the index. The transcript of the trial shall be converted into a second PDF file. The PDF file shall be:
- (i) text searchable; and
(ii) paginated to exactly match the pagination of the index of the transcript of the trial filed under subdivision (b)(2).
(3) The clerk of the lower tribunal shall certify and transmit the record to the court as prescribed by these rules and transmit the record and the transcript of the trial to the court by uploading the PDF files:
(A) via the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal; or
(B) in accordance with the procedures established by the appellate court’s administrative order governing transmission of the record.
(e) – (f) [No change]
(g) Return of Record. In civil cases, the record shall be returned to the
lower tribunal after final disposition by the court.
