The Supreme Judicial Court has adopted amendments to the Maine Rules of Appellate Procedure, which will become effective on November 1. These rules reflect a significant amount of work by the Maine Appellate Rules Committee, of which I currently have the honor of serving as chair. The amendments introduce changes that should substantially benefit practitioners and the Court.
Some of the most significant changes include the following:
- Electronic Filing. Most documents will now be filed and served with the Law Court electronically. With the rollout of a uniform electronic filing system across Maine courts proceeding slowly, the amendments allow for email filing with the clerk’s office. Filing will be deemed effective the date the clerk receives the email, even if filed after business hours. Paper copies of briefs, appendices, and certain other documents will still be required, but up to 7 days after the clerk of the Law Court has indicated that the electronically filed brief has been accepted by the Court.
- Motions. Before filing a motion, the parties will be required to confer so that the moving party can disclose the opposing party’s position. The rules also now specify procedures for (1) motions that request emergency or expedited action by the Court, and (2) motions for reconsideration of orders, which are now more clearly distinguished from motions for reconsideration of decisions of the Law Court. Further, the new rules enlarge the time for responses to motions to 14 days (rather than the current 7).
- Page numbering. For the Court’s convenience in reviewing briefs and appendices electronically, the pages of briefs and appendices must now be sequentially numbered beginning with the cover page and using only Arabic numerals (including for the table of contents and table of authorities). (The page number may be suppressed on the cover page.)
Practitioners should bear these changes in mind beginning next month.