Navigating the Indiana Rules of Appellate Procedure

Understanding the Indiana Appellate Process

The appellate process is a fundamental aspect of the Indiana judicial system, designed to ensure that justice prevails throughout litigation. By providing an opportunity for review of trial level decisions, the process plays an essential role in upholding the law and protecting individuals’ rights. The appellate system helps to guard against arbitrary or unjust results by subjecting lower court rulings to careful examination by higher court judges.
In Indiana, the process supports the notion that the main objective of any legal proceeding is to do justice. It is rooted in the principle that courts exist not merely to resolve conflicts between parties, but to resolve them according to the law in the pursuit of fairness. To ensure this, the appellate system performs a valuable function in the Indiana judicial process .
The process is not limited to appellate courts, but rather includes the entire appeals mechanism in the state. Each court in the state plays a specific part in the process, with defendants, plaintiffs, and trial-level judges all taking steps to initiate an appeal when necessary.
Due to the importance of the appellate process in the state courts, proper navigation of the rules is essential to the success of any appeal. Failure to follow the rules for the process could limit or even eliminate the possibility of securing relief by way of a last appeal. With proper skill and understanding of the requirements for appeal, however, those who have had their rights or interests negatively impacted can preserve their ability to seek relief on review.

Key Rules for the Indiana Appellate Procedure

While the above overview of the Indiana Appellate Timeline provides an overall framework for the Indiana appellate process, there are also a handful of important rules that govern how an appeal is handled. A few of those are as follows:

Notice of Appeal: One of the most important and basic rules is that a party must actually file a notice of appeal in order to appeal. In many cases, this means filing a notice of appeal within 30 days of a final judgment or order with the clerk of the lower trial court.
FILING Document: In addition to the filing requirement, there are also certain filing and formatting requirements that can be very technical in nature. For example, you must file a copy of the final judgment being appealed. You must also take care to file documents in the correct court and with the correct clerk.
Comment: The Indiana Appellate rules also govern the comments section of the brief and how to use it. For instance, Rule 46(A)(1)(a) explains that in the comment section of an appellant’s brief should include briefly why the issues should be reviewed by the court, and then the appellant can outline the standard of review. The comment section is not a place for an appellant to present an additional argument in favor of their position, but rather a place for legal foundations of the argument favoring the appellant’s position.
Citations: In addition to the comments sections, citations are also highly regulated by the Indiana Appellate Rules, including how to cite legal opinions, treatises, transcripts, etc.
Timelines: There are also strict timelines for when briefs should be filed. For instance, an Appellant should file their appellant brief within 30 days of service of the Appellee brief.

Steps to File an Appeal in Indiana

When someone loses at trial, they often ask how to file an appeal. The process for filing an appeal is methodical and sometimes a bit confusing. Appellee’s counsel is usually aware of the process, but the losing part often has no idea what to do. Here’s my advice about how to begin a case on appeal.
The Notice of Appeal is the first step in the actual filing of an appeal. The time limit for filing a Notice of Appeal is 30 days after the Final Judgment is entered. However, if a Motion to Correct Errors is filed, the time period is extended. A Motion to Correct Errors must be filed within 30 days of the Final Judgment. Filing the Motion to Correct Errors deems the Notice of Appeal to be timely filed, even if it is not. Therefore, it is important to file the Motion to Correct Errors by the deadline to ensure your notice of appeal is also deemed filed timely.
The fee for filing a notice of appeal is $250. A check or money order is required. Cash is not accepted. The filing fee is due when the Notice of Appeal is filed.
A transcript is a required part of the record on appeal. However, if less than the entire transcript will be needed for the appeal, the appellant is able to designate which part of the transcript is needed. The appellee may also designate parts of the transcript to be included. If a party fails to designate parts of the transcript, the complete transcript must be provided.
All transcripts must be filed within 60 days of the Notice of Appeal. With a few exceptions, like electronic transcripts and deposit material, transcripts evolve from notes made by the court reporter during a court proceeding. Court reporters are independent contractors required to maintain a list of cases on which they prepared transcripts. The list must include the date of the proceeding, the court, the title of the case, and the appeal number after filing.
The clerk has 60 days to prepare the appellate record. The clerk is supposed to determine what has been included in the transcript, then notify parties. The parties then have 10 days to supplement the record. Next, the appellate court clerk has 10 days to send notice to parties, advising that the record is complete and showing the due dates for the briefs.
Following the issuance of notice of completion of the record, the appellant has 30 days to file the appellant’s brief. The brief must be submitted electronically and filed with the court. Briefs in criminal, civil, and family law cases are no more than 50 pages, double-spaced. Briefs in other appeals are restricted to no more than 35 pages.
The appellee’s brief is due 30 days after the appellant’s brief was originally due. It can be no more than 50 double-spaced pages.
The appellant has 20 days to file a reply brief. If the Appellee adds parts of the transcript, the Appellant gets 15 additional days to file a reply brief. Any transcript additions by the Appellee should be made in color.

Common Issues Raised in Indiana Appeals

When you enter the appellate arena here in Indiana, certain pitfalls may be waiting for you. The first and most glaring pitfall is the Appellate Rules. The Indiana Rules of Appellate Procedure provide a detailed framework that directs you to the path of success in your appeal. However, if you fall off the path it can lead to devastating results.
The second pitfall is the record. Your record is the key to your appeal and will be reviewed by the Indiana Court of Appeals to determine if the trial court made a mistake. There are several different types of records, and if you order the wrong one, the cost can become unbearable, but the horrible legal outcome makes it worthwhile to pay. Your record should include the filing, hearing, and trial transcripts, as well as certain pleadings and exhibits. However, your record also includes the clerk’s certificate and the certification of record by your appellate counsel or pro se appellant. This certificate by counsel or pro se appellant certifies that your appendix contains all the parts of the record essential to meet the issues presented on appeal. If counsel or the pro se appellant certifies that the appendix is complete , but it is not, the appendices are stricken on appeal and costs can be over $1,000 just to meet the issue presented for review on appeal. Before you order your record meticulously read through the Indiana Rules of Appellate Procedure so you know exactly which type of record and which parts of the record are required for your appeal. An incomplete record would be on of the most common challenges faced in Indiana appeals.
The third common pitfall is the screen time of your appeal. The Indiana Court of Appeals has a set period of time within which an appeal and any cross-appeal must be completed. If the appeal is not concluded within the time period set by the Court, then you will lose. Therefore, it is important to understand which proceedings can be stayed and the time period within which the Court of Appeals must act. A perfect example of this is the time frame within which the trial court must grant a party’s motion to correct error, and the time frame within which a party must file their notice of appeal, in order for them to run concurrently. This terminological interplay can trip-up many lawyers, and as a result, valuable time has lapsed on their appeal.

Recent Amendments to the Indiana Appellate Rules

Recently, the Indiana Supreme Court amended the Indiana Rules of Appellate Procedure, with the new rules having gone into effect on January 1, 2017. As summarized in the official Court opinion addressing the amendments, the amendments include the following:
I. All references to the "Clerk of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals," found throughout the Rules, have been replaced with the term, "Clerk of Courts."
II. [Rule 9(b)] This amendment requires that the petitioner for review serve a copy of the petition on the other party or parties in the trial court.
III. [Rule 24(B)(3)(c)] This amendment clarifies that a request for oral argument is timely only if it is made in the Cross-Respondent’s Petition to Transfer, Reply to Response, or Response to Petition to Transfer, where appropriate.
IV. [Rule 27(A)(5)] This amendment allows the appellant only one motion to stay briefing pending final disposition of a petition to transfer.
V. [Rule 50(F)(2)] This amendment eliminates the distinction between civil and criminal opinions for purposes of issuing publication orders.
VI. [Rule 50(G)] This amendment requires counsel for a party to give at least ten (10) days written notice before moving for publication of any opinion. The prior rule required seven days notice.
VII. [Rule 56(A)(3)] This amendment provides that motions for extension of time must be filed before the expiration of the period sought to be extended, unless the delay was beyond the reasonable control of the party seeking an extension. The prior rule established a strict deadline by which extension motions must be filed, but did not provide for exceptions.
VIII. [Rule 57(B) and 57(C) and (D)] This amendment requires that motions shall be served on "all parties" instead of "all parties and members of the Court of Appeals."

Practical Suggestions for Successful Appeals

Understanding the Indiana Rules of Appellate Procedure is only half the battle. You can have such a tight grasp on the rules that you follow them to the letter but then still lose the appeal. Common examples of things to keep in mind include:
Legal Writing
You may be the most brilliant legal mind in the world and know your case inside and out, but if you cannot translate that to writing, it’s not worth much. The very first step after determining whether to appeal is to fully review the trial court order for any potential errors. This review should start with your legal argument and the standard of review to determine whether you have a timely basis for appeal before moving on to the supporting facts.
Your brief needs to be as short as possible, while still addressing any issues important to your client. As stated in Rule 22, the standard of review is an especially important component of your written argument. Remember to state that standard of review plainly in the first paragraph. Also , make sure to define any terms of art you use, such as burden of proof and clearly identify any legal precedent.
No matter how many times you may have read the document you are appealing, make sure the court has those documents as well. The Trial Rule governs what the appellant must include in the Appendix Volume. Rule 50 provides a list of materials to include, such as pleadings, transcripts and jury instructions to be respected. It can be very helpful to include a short summary of any incomplete pages cut from the record and your reasons for this decision. In civil cases for purposes of costs, you can append previous filings in the record.
The Importance of Oral Argument
After the hard work writing your brief, make sure to take it a step further by being ready for oral argument. Arguments can go very quickly and any attorney can benefit from brushing up on strategies.
Overall, using these tips can help guide you to an appropriate and successful appeal.