APPELLATE PROTOCOL
Effective October 16, 2015
I.
II.
Appeals by Other Parties.................................1-3
Appeals by the Program...................................3-4
I.
Appeals by Other Parties
A. All incoming documents relating to an appeal shall be
immediately directed to the attention of the program’s
appellate
coordinator
or,
in
the
coordinator’s
absence,
to
the
individual
designated
by
the
supervising attorney in consultation with the circuit
director to perform the coordinator’s duties in the
coordinator’s absence.
B. Upon
receiving
an
appeal-related
document,
the
appellate coordinator shall immediately (within 24
hours) determine whether the appeal relates to a new
or pending appeal and proceed as follows:
1.
New Appeals.
In the case of a new appeal, the
coordinator shall (1) complete and submit a
report of appeal and (2) fax or scan and email a
copy
of
the
appellate
document(s)
to
the
appellate team assistant.
In the event the
document(s) is/are too large to transmit via fax
or e-mail, the coordinator shall call or email
the appellate team assistant to determine how the
document(s) will be transmitted.
a.
Documents to be transmitted by all programs.
i.
All documents served by opposing counsel
and/or the court;
ii. Notice of Appeal or Petition and Appendix
(if not served by opposing counsel);
iii. Copy of order appealed (if not served by
opposing counsel);
iv. Designation to the Court Reporter or Order
for
Transcription
(if
not
served
by
opposing counsel);
v.
Motion to appoint appellate counsel (if
applicable and not served by appellate
counsel); and
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vi.
Order appointing appellate
applicable and not served
counsel).
counsel (if
by appellate
All of these documents should be served on the
program and are available in the file of the
clerk of the circuit court, if they have been
filed.
Electronic
copies
are
acceptable
to
provide for our files.
b.
2.
By rule, all clerks must provide a copy of the
entire record and transcripts to the GAL. If
the circuit has not gone paperless, then the
entire paper record must be served. If they do
not and state they only have to provide an
index, please direct them to the director of
appeals. We must have a paginated, appellate
record.
We cannot look at the lower court
docket and recreate the record.
Pending Appeals.
In the case of a pending
appeal,
the
coordinator
shall
e-mail
the
appellate team assistant to advise that the
program received a new document in the appeal
within 24 hours of receipt.
The
email
shall
reference
the
child(ren)’s
initials and case number(s) and shall state the
title of the document received and the date
reflected in the certificate of service.
The document should be forwarded to the appellate
team unless specifically told otherwise by the
assigned appellate attorney. Neither the program
attorney,
case
coordinator,
or
appellate
coordinator shall assume any appellate document
is a courtesy copy.
The assigned appellate
attorney must also be contacted immediately
(within 24 hours) to ascertain if they need the
document(s) or item(s) served, and if so, send it
within 5 business days unless the appellate
attorney states they need it sooner.
The appellate team shall be responsible
updating the status of the case in tracker.
for
Any questions regarding the appeal, including but
not limited to requests for extension, requests
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to remand, supplement the record, or concerning
concession of error, must be directed to the
assigned appellate attorney.
II.
Appeals by the Program
In order to maximize the statewide program’s limited
resources and to assure consistency in arguments presented on
appeal, no program may initiate an appeal or file or join a
petition, response, or brief without prior approval of the
Director of Appeals.
When a program desires to appeal a final or non-final order
of a dependency court, the responsible program attorney shall
discuss the case and the proposed appeal with his/her
supervising attorney and program director.
Such discussion(s)
shall, at a minimum, include consideration of:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
The applicable standard of review;
The facts of the case;
The record made during the proceedings leading up to
the order to be appealed;
Any gaps in the record;
The desired remedy;
How the desired remedy furthers the best interests of
the child(ren) and how the child(ren)’s interests may
evolve while the case is on appeal;
Whether the outcome of the appeal will have a broader
effect on matters of statewide policy and, if so,
how; and
The cost to the program and/or the statewide program.
If the supervising attorney and director decide to consult
the appellate team about the proposed appeal, they shall set up
a staffing with the Director of Appeals and the responsible
regional counsel. Prior to the staffing, they program attorney
shall fax/email to the Director of Appeals:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
A copy of the order at issue in the proposed appeal;
A copy of the most recent GAL report, if any;
A copy of the most recent case plan, if any;
A copy of the transcript or a digital recording of
the proceeding(s) from which the order emanated, and
The petition or motion that the order at issue
emanated from.
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The Director of Appeals and/or their designee will review
the documents submitted and staff the issue with the responsible
regional counsel, supervising attorney and the assigned program
attorney before making a final determination as to whether the
appeal will be filed.
When the program initiates an appeal, the appellate team
shall be responsible for creating a report of appeal and for
updating the status of the appeal in the tracker. The circuit
program attorney is responsible for perfecting the appeal. The
appellate attorney will provide the program attorney with the
notice of appeal, designation and directions to the clerk, which
will be filed with the circuit court clerk.
Additionally the
program attorney must serve the court reporter the designation.
Once the appeal is perfected, an appellate team member will
be responsible for briefing and arguing all aspects of the case
in the appellate court unless other arrangements have been made
by the Director of Appeals. Any questions regarding the appeal,
including but not limited to requests for extension, requests to
remand, to supplement the record, or concerning concession of
error, must be directed to the assigned appellate attorney.
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