The Massachusetts Judicial Branch

Massachusetts Appeals Court

Clerk's Guide to Appeals for Lawyers & Self-Represented Litigants

Civil Cases

A. What if I am dissatisfied with the trial court's judgment?
B. How do I appeal the trial court judgment?
C. What is a notice of appeal?
D. Do I have to do anything else when I file my notice of appeal?    
E. When I get the transcript, what do I do?
F. What does the trial court clerk's office do with the transcript?
G. What does "assemble the record" mean?
H. How do I docket my appeal?   
I.  What happens when my appeal is docketed?
J. What is a brief?
K. What is a record appendix?
L. What do I do after I prepare my brief and appendix?
M. How do I serve and file my brief and appendix?
N. What if I need more time to serve and file my brief and appendix?
O. What happens after I serve and file my brief and record appendix?
P. I have been served with the appellee's brief.  May I file any more briefs with the Appeals Court?
Q. When will my appeal be decided?
R. How long does the three judge panel have to issue a decision?
S. If I am not happy with the Appeals Court decision, can I appeal my case to another court?

Criminal Cases

A. Can I appeal if I have been convicted of a crime?
B. How do I appeal?
C. If I do not have an attorney, can an attorney be appointed to represent me?
D. What if I want to represent myself on appeal?
E. What happens after the transcript has been prepared?
F. Is there a fee to enter a criminal appeal?
G. Should I then follow the instructions as set out in Sections I through S above in preparing, filing and serving my brief?

Obligations of an Appellee

A. What is an appellee?
B. What do I have to do?
C. What if I want to file a brief?
D. May I also file a record appendix?
E. May I file a reply to the appellant's reply brief?


Civil Cases

A.   What if I am dissatisfied with the trial court's judgment?

     If you are dissatisfied with the trial court's judgment, you do have a right to appeal if final judgment has entered, that is, if your case is over in the trial court. 

B.  How do I appeal the trial court judgment?

     The first step is to file a notice of appeal in the clerk's, register's or recorder's office of the court in which your case was heard.  The deadline for filing a notice of appeal can be as short as ten days.  For most cases, the deadline is thirty days after the final judgment is entered on the docket.  As soon as you get a judgment, you need to find out what the deadline is for filing an appeal and where you need to file it.  It is important that you read and follow the Massachusetts Rules of Appellate Procedure or other rules that apply to your case.

C. What is a notice of appeal?

     A notice of appeal is a written statement prepared by you that has the name of your case, the trial court docket number, and states your intention to appeal the judgment.  The notice of appeal should have your name and the date of the judgment that you are appealing.  See Exhibit 1.

D.  Do I have to do anything else when I file my notice of appeal?   

     Yes.  If there was a trial in your case in which people testified and evidence was taken, you will need to have a transcript of the trial.  You should contact the trial court clerk's office to get the information as to how to order the trial transcript and whom you must pay.  If you are indigent, you may file a motion in the trial court, supported by a current affidavit of indigency, asking to have the cost of the transcript paid by the Commonwealth.  

     If your case was decided just on the papers filed, for example motions, other pleadings, and perhaps exhibits, and no witnesses testified, it is not necessary to order a transcript.  Whether or not you order a transcript, you are required to file a certificate in the lower court clerk's office stating that either a transcript is necessary for your appeal and you have ordered it, or that no transcript is necessary for the appeal.   See Mass.R.A.P. 9 (c)(2). 

E. When I get the transcript, what do I do?

     When you receive the transcript, make a copy for yourself, for the trial court clerk's office and for each opposing counsel or party.  You must file a copy of the transcript with the trial court clerk's office and let them know that they may now assemble the record.  It is a good idea to do this in writing with a copy of your letter to all opposing counsel or parties.

F.  What does the trial court clerk's office do with the transcript?

     Once you file a copy of the transcript with the trial court clerk's office, that office will "assemble the record", send it to the Appeals Court, and send notice to all parties involved that this has been done.  It is important that the trial court clerk's office has your current address and phone number.

G.  What does "assemble the record" mean?

     All the original pleadings, exhibits, and the transcript, if any, will be kept by the trial court.  All that is sent to the Appeals Court is a copy of the trial court docket, a list of exhibits, if any, and a copy of your notice of appeal.  When you prepare your record appendix, see Section K, you will ask the trial court for copies of the pleadings, etc.  There is a charge for the copies.  You can use your copies if they do not have your writing or notes on them.

H.  How do I docket my appeal?   

     Within ten days of receiving notice from the trial court clerk, you must pay your docket fee to the Appeals Court.  The docket fee is $300 per appealing party.  If you and your spouse are both appealing, the fee is $600.  Your money order is made payable to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  You may pay in person or mail your money order to:

        Appeals Court Clerk's Office
        John Adams Courthouse
        One Pemberton Square, Suite 1200
        Boston, MA 02108

It is very important that your money order is received within the ten days following receipt of the record assembly notice or you will be late and unable to docket your appeal without paying an additional fee and asking a single justice of the Appeals Court to allow you to docket your appeal late.


 I.  What happens when my appeal is docketed?

    After you docket your appeal by paying the docket fee, the Appeals Court clerk's office will send you a Notice of Entry with your docket number in the Appeals Court.  It will not be the same as your trial court docket number.  You are now the appellant in the case.  The other side is the appellee.   

     You should immediately review the Massachusetts Rules of Appellate Procedure (Mass.R.A.P.).  Under the rules, you have  forty days to serve and file your brief and record appendix.

     As a self-represented litigant, you are bound by the same rules and are held to the same standards as a party who is represented by an attorney.  Commonwealth v. Jackson, 419 Mass. 716, 719 (1995).

 J.  What is a brief?

     An appellate brief sets forth the facts of your case as it developed below in the trial court, contains a legal argument with references to legal authorities (case citations, statutes, rules, and regulations), and a conclusion stating what relief you want from the Appeals Court.

     Mass.R.A.P. 16, 19, and 20 govern the content and format of an appellate brief. Your principal appellate brief must have a blue cover, must be securely bound on the left hand side and cannot be longer than 50 pages.  The cover of the brief should have the name of the case, the Appeals Court docket number, the name of the trial court, the title of the document (i.e., Appellant's Brief), and your name, address, and telephone number.

Contents of the Brief

    • Table of contents with page references to pages in the brief where the content appears.
    • Table of cases alphabetically arranged, with page references to pages in the brief where the case citation appears.  This table should also include statutes and other legal authorities with appropriate page references. Mass.R.A.P. 16(a)(3).  Citations must be to the official Massachusetts Reporter volume.
    • Statement of the issues is a brief summary of the issues that you raise in your brief and discuss in the argument section.  Mass.R.A.P. 16(a)(2). 
    • Statement of the case is a procedural history of what happened to your case.  It is helpful to have page references to the record appendix to support your statement of the case.  Mass.R.A.P. 16(a)(3).
    • Statement of the facts.  Your statement of the facts should be an objective description of the facts of your case as it developed and proceeded in the trial court.  Every fact included in this statement must have support in the record appendix and must be followed by a page reference to the appendix or transcript where that fact appears.  Mass.R.A.P. 16(a)(3) and 16(e).
    • Summary of the argument is necessary only if your argument section is longer than 24 pages.  This section is a brief summary of the arguments made later in the brief and should have a page reference to the pages at which each point argued appears later in the brief.  Mass.R.A.P. 16(a)(4).
    • Argument.  This section contains the legal argument that supports the issues you are raising on appeal.  It must be supported by legal authority such as appellate cases, statutes, and regulations.  Mass.R.A.P. 16(4). You must use official case citations, such as 383 Mass. 201 (1981) and 53 Mass. App. Ct. 350 (2001).
    • If you rely upon a statute or regulation, you must attach a copy of that statute or regulation at the end of your brief.  See Addendum (below). 
    • Conclusion.  This is a concise statement of the relief that you are asking the court to give you.
    • Use of pseudonyms or initials for name of sexual assault victims.  M.G.L. c. 265, § 24C prohibits the disclosure of the name of the victim of certain sexual assault crimes. If the case involves any type sexual assault, it is better practice to use a pseudonym or initials when referring to the victim or complainant. If the name of the victim appears in the record appendix, you must black out the name.
    • Mass.R.A.P. 16(k) certificate of compliance.  The last page of every brief must contain a statement that you have complied with the Massachusetts Rules of Appellate Procedure that pertain to the filing of briefs. See Exhibit 3.
    • Addendum is not part of your record appendix.  The addendum must be physically attached to the end of your brief and should include copies of any statutes, rules, regulations, or local ordinances that you refer to in your brief.  It must also contain a copy of the judgment or order that you are appealing.  Mass.R.A.P. 16(f).
    • Format.  Your principal brief may not be longer than fifty pages.  The fifty page limit does not include the table of contents, the table of authorities, and the addendum.  You must have one and one half inch margins on the left and the right, and one inch top and bottom margins.  Your brief must be typed in black ink, double spaced, on 8.5 by 11 inch white paper and the type must be clear.  On a word processor use Courier New font, 12 point size; on a typewriter use pica type.  Mass.R.A.P. 20.  Notably, any footnotes must use the same font and point size.
    • Certificate of Service signed under penalties of perjury showing the date and way in which you have served opposing counsel and the address at which service was made.  Mass.R.A.P. 13.  See Exhibit 2.  One copy of the certificate of service must be filed with the Appeals Court at the time that you file your brief.  

K.  What is a record appendix?

     A record appendix is a copy of the lower court pleadings, exhibits, and transcript.  The Appeals Court does not receive any of the papers or exhibits from the trial court.  It is your responsibility as the appellant to provide this court with every document and/or transcript that you believe is necessary to decide your appeal.  However, you may not include anything in your record appendix that was not filed in the trial court.  At a minimum, the appendix must contain a copy of the lower court docket, the first pleading filed in the case, a copy of any pleading that you refer to in your brief, and a copy of the judgment or order that you are appealing, even though you have already included the judgment or order in your addendum.

     Format.  The appendix, if it is bound separately from your brief, must have a white cover containing the same information that is on the cover of your brief.  The pages must be consecutively numbered and the documents it contains should be placed in the same order as they were filed in the trial court.  The appendix must have a table of contents which identifies each document and lists the page number of the appendix at which it starts.  For example, A1, A2, etc.  The appendix cannot be more than one and one half inches thick.  If it is, it must be broken into separate volumes of appendix.  Mass.R.A.P. 20(a).

     Insertion and reference to impounded materials.  If the entire case has been impounded by a court, the cover of the record appendix must clearly indicate that the record appendix is impounded.  If only some of the documents you wish to include in the record appendix have been impounded, you should file those documents in a separate appendix volume and the cover of that volume must clearly indicate that it contains impounded material.  Mass.R.A.P. 18(g). 

L.  What do I do after I prepare my brief and appendix?

     After you have prepared your brief and appendix you must make enough copies to file seven copies with the court, to serve two upon each opposing party, and to keep at least one copy for yourself.  Mass.R.A.P. 19(b)(1).  You are allowed to divide the exhibits and transcript(s) into separate volumes, suitably indexed.  If you do this, you may file five copies of exhibits and serve one, and file two copies of the transcript and serve one.

M.  How do I serve and file my brief and appendix?

     Your brief and appendix must be served and filed within forty days after the entry of your appeal in the Appeals Court.

You may hand deliver the briefs and appendices or you may mail them to both the court and the opposing party.  Mass.R.A.P. 19(a) and (b)(1).  A certificate of service, showing that you have served the opposing counsel with the date, manner of service, and the name and address of the person served must be filed with the Appeals Court at the time that you file your brief and appendix with the court.  Mass.R.A.P. 13.  See Exhibit 2.

N.  What if I need more time to serve and file my brief and appendix?

     If for some reason you cannot meet the forty day deadline in which to serve and file your brief and appendix, you may file a motion with the Appeals Court asking for more time.  The motion should say why you need more time and how much more time you need.  Mass.R.A.P. 14(b).  A copy of the motion must be served upon the opposing party and you must file a certificate of service, see Exhibit 2, with the motion you file with the court.  Mass.R.A.P. 15(a)-(c).  If you serve by first class mail, it is complete upon mailing.  Mass.R.A.P. 13 (c).  That means the date you mail is considered to be the date the other party is served.

O. What happens after I serve and file my brief and record appendix?

     The opposing party, the appellee, has thirty days after service of your brief and record appendix to file the appellee's brief.  Mass.R.A.P. 19(a).  An appellee does not have to file a brief, but most do.   If an appellee does not file a brief, she/he will ordinarily not be allowed to present oral argument if one is scheduled.  Mass.R.A.P.19(c).

P.  I have been served with the appellee's brief.  May I file any more briefs with the Appeals Court?

     Yes.  You have the right to file a reply brief within fourteen days of service of the appellee's brief.  The reply brief has a gray cover, cannot be longer than twenty pages, and is to only reply to the arguments made in the appellee's brief.  Mass.R.A.P. 16 (c) and (h).

Q. When will my appeal be decided?

     After all briefs have been filed, the briefs will be reviewed by the Appeals Court.  Your appeal may either be scheduled for oral argument before a panel of three Appeals Court judges or it may be decided on the briefs by a panel of three Appeals Court judges without oral argument.  Whether to schedule oral argument or to decide the appeal just on the briefs filed is a decision that is made by the court.

     You may expect that your appeal in a civil case will be scheduled for argument or referred to a panel for decision on the briefs approximately six months after the appellee's brief is filed.

R.  How long does the three judge panel have to issue a decision?

     While there is no time period set by law or the Massachusetts Rules of Appellate Procedure, the panel usually issues its decision within 130 days of receiving the case.  

S.  If I am not happy with the Appeals Court decision, can I appeal my case to another court?

     Yes.  You can do two things.  If you believe that the Appeals Court overlooked or misunderstood the argument in your brief, you may file a petition for rehearing.  The petition is in letter form addressed to the most senior judge on the three judge panel.  The petition for rehearing must be served and filed within fourteen days of the issuance of the decision.  Seven copies are filed with the Clerk of the Appeals Court.  There is no fee for a petition for rehearing.  Mass.R.A.P. 27.

     You may also, within twenty days of the issuance of the Appeals Court decision, file an application for further appellate review with the Supreme Judicial Court.  The fee for an application for further appellate review is $200 and you should review Mass.R.A.P. 27.1 before you file the application.

     If you need more time than provided by the rules to file either the petition for rehearing or application for further appellate review, you should file a motion to stay issuance of the rescript.  The motion is filed with the Clerk of the Appeals Court and should ask that the issuance of the rescript be stayed to a particular date and why additional time is warranted.  Mass.R.A.P. 23. 

Criminal Cases

A.  Can I appeal if I have been convicted of a crime?

     If you have been convicted of a crime and sentenced, you may appeal to the Appeals Court.  Only first degree murder convictions go directly to the Supreme Judicial Court.

B.  How do I appeal?

     File a notice of appeal with the trial court clerk's office within thirty days of the date of your conviction and sentencing, whichever is later.  See Exhibit 1.

C.  If I do not have an attorney, can an attorney be appointed to represent me?

     When you were arraigned, a probation officer most probably interviewed you to learn about your financial situation.  If your income fell below a certain amount, an attorney would have been appointed to represent you at trial.  That attorney probably will not represent you on appeal, but if you are indigent, a new attorney may be appointed to represent you on appeal and you can file a motion for appointment of counsel with your notice of appeal.

D.  What if I want to represent myself on appeal?

     You may do so, but you must follow the Rules of Appellate Procedure.  At the time you file the notice of appeal, you must also order the trial transcript.  If you have been found to be indigent, you may file a motion with the trial court to waive the cost of the transcript.  If you are not indigent, you must pay for the transcript yourself.  You should contact the clerk of the trial court to make sure that you are proceeding correctly and that the transcript is being prepared.

E.  What happens after the transcript has been prepared?

     The court reporter or the transcriber will file the original transcript with the clerk of the trial court.  A copy will be made for you and for the prosecutor.  The clerk of the trial court will then "assemble the record" by sending two attested copies of the trial court docket, a list of exhibits, and the original and a copy of the trial transcript to the appellate court.  Mass.R.A.P. 8 and 9(d).

F.  Is there a fee to enter a criminal appeal?

     No.  Upon receipt of the assembled record, the Clerk of the Appeals Court will enter the appeal on the docket.  You will receive notice of the date of entry and the Appeals Court docket number.

G.  Should I then follow the instructions as set out in Sections I through S above in preparing, filing and serving my brief?

     Yes, but you will not have to file two copies and serve one copy of the transcript, if any, as it has been forwarded to the Appeals Court by the lower court Clerk's Office.  As the appellant in criminal case, you are still responsible for preparing, filing and serving your brief and record appendix.

Obligation of an Appellee

 A.   What is an appellee?

     If you did not file the notice of appeal, but you are responding to the appeal, you are called the appellee.

 B.   What do I have to do?

     An appellee is permitted but not required to file a brief. If you do not file a brief, you will not be permitted to argue your side if oral argument is scheduled.

 C.   What if I want to file a brief?

     You have the right to do so.  The appellant must serve you with a copy of his/her brief and appendix.  You will then have thirty days to serve and file a copy of your appellee's brief.  Your brief will have a red cover and must follow the format as set forth in Section J above. 

 D. May I also file a record appendix?

     No.  If you think that the appellant has left out important parts of the record below that you want the appellate court to consider when deciding the appeal, you must file a motion for leave to file a supplemental appendix explaining what additional pleadings you wish to include.

 E.   May I file a reply to the appellant's reply brief?

     Not unless this is a cross appeal and you filed a notice of appeal below in the lower court and you have also paid a docket fee to enter your cross appeal in the Appeals Court.  See Section P above for the format of a reply brief.