Requirements for an appeal on the record of proceedings
An appeal on the record of proceedings under Rule 8C is an appeal where you may include a transcript. If you have already tried an expedited appeal and an agreed statement of the case, you must file this type of appeal.
Filing an appeal on the record of proceedings
To start an appeal on the record of proceedings, you must file a document with the title “Appeal on the Record of Proceedings” in the trial court. The appellant must file and serve the appeal on the record of proceedings within 30 days after filing the notice of appeal, or, if an appeal has been unsuccessfully made under Rule 8A or 8B, within 30 days after the end of those proceedings. This document must include a statement that you plan to proceed under Rule 8C and, if a transcript will be necessary, a request for the audio recording of the trial proceedings, unless this request for the recording was previously made in the notice of appeal. The request for the recording must be made on the required court form and include the $50.50 fee. If the District Court where your case was heard uses For the Record (FTR) to record cases, you will need to follow Trial Court Administrative Order 19-1 to review the audio recording of your case and obtain a transcript.
You must file and serve a document called “Designation for Transcription” within 15 days of receiving notice from the clerk that the recording is available, or, if you previously received the recording, within 15 days of filing the appeal on the record of proceedings. This document must include, among other items, information about which specific portions of the recording should be included in the transcript and the transcriber who was agreed on by the parties or, if the parties can’t agree, a request for the clerk to pick the transcriber. Rule 8C(c)(1) includes a full list of the information that must be included in the transcription designation.
If you’ve asked for the whole recording to be transcribed, you must send a copy of the recording to the transcriber within the same 15 days required for filing and serving the transcription designation, with an order to transcribe the whole recording. The order must include, among other items, a statement that the original copy of the transcript should be sent to the trial court clerk and the number of copies to send you. You must promptly file with the trial court clerk and serve a copy of the order on the other parties. If you haven’t asked for the whole recording to be transcribed, Dist./Mun. Cts. R.A.D.A. 8C(c)(1)-(2) explains the procedure for the appellee to counter-designate additional parts of the recording to be transcribed.
You must file 6 additional copies of the appeal on the record of proceedings in the trial court within 30 days of notice from the trial court clerk that the original transcript has been received. When the court receives those copies, the clerk sends those 6 copies, along with 6 copies of the docket entries, to the Appellate Division. When the Appellate Division receives the appeal, it will send you notice of receipt of the appeal and a briefing schedule. It will include your Appellate Division docket number.
The briefing schedule will tell you to serve a copy on the other parties, and file 6 copies in the Appellate Division, of your appellant's brief and the appendix (including any transcript) within 30 days of the notice. The appellee must serve 1 copy, and file 6 copies, of its brief within 20 days of service of the appellant’s brief. You may then serve 1 copy, and file 6 copies, of a reply brief within 14 days of service of the appellee’s brief. The Appellate Division will send the parties notice of the time and place for the oral argument.
See Dist./Mun. Cts. R.A.D A. 8C for more information.
For more information on the next steps after filing, please see Appeal a District Court civil case to the Appellate Division.