Request for Comment
Rescinding Appeals Court Standing Order
THE APPEALS COURT PROPOSES RESCINDING
ITS STANDING ORDER GOVERNING THE FILING
OF AN APPENDIX CONSISTING OF THREE OR MORE VOLUMES
The Appeals Court proposes to rescind its Standing Order Governing the Filing of an Appendix Consisting of Three or More Volumes. The Standing Order provides that, when such an appendix is filed, the appellant is to file only two complete sets initially, and shall retain the remaining sets until the Appeals Court Clerk's Office asks for them. The Standing Order was adopted in 1998. At that time, the Appeals Court was located in the high rise courthouse in Pemberton Square, where storage space was limited; additionally, the Court faced a serious backlog of briefed and unargued appeals, which exacerbated storage problems.
Conditions have changed. In its current quarters in the John Adams Courthouse, the Clerk's Office has ample storage space. More importantly, the reduction of its backlog has lessened overall storage concerns; the number of briefed and argued appeals is far less than a decade ago.
The Clerk's Office also noted that, under the Standing Order, when parties were asked to supply the remaining sets of appendices (usually at the time their case is reached for oral argument or consideration on briefs), some appellants had not yet reproduced those sets. This resulted in delay in supplying the additional sets to the Court.
The effect of the rescission will be that, regardless of the size of the appendix, all copies required to be filed under Mass. R.A.P. 18 and 19 will be filed at the same time.
The Appeals Court welcomes comments on the proposed change. Comments should be submitted by November 10, 2008, and should be addressed to Ashley Ahearn, Clerk, Massachusetts Appeals Court, One Pemberton Square, Suite 1-200, Boston, MA 02108.