Opinion
July 1, 2005.
Under the authority vested in this Court to provide by rule for the procedure employed in all courts of this state and this Court's inherent authority to supervise the administration of all courts of this state, Rules 12, 34, and 44 of the Indiana Rules of Appellate Procedure are amended to read as follows (deletions shown by striking and new text shown by underlining):
INDIANA RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE
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Rule 12. Transmittal of The Record
A. Clerk's Record. Unless the Court on Appeal orders otherwise, the trial court clerk shall retain the Clerk's Record throughout the appeal. A party may request that the trial court clerk copy the Clerk's Record, or a portion thereof, and the clerk shall provide the copies within thirty (30) days, subject to the payment of any usual and customary copying charges.
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Rule 34. Motion Practice
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(C) Response. Any party may file a response to a motion within ten (10) fifteen (15) days after the motion is served. The fact that no response is filed does not affect the Court's discretion in ruling on the motion.
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Rule 44. Brief And Petition Length Limitations
A. Applicability. This Rule governs the length of briefs, Petitions for Rehearing, Petitions to Transfer to the Supreme Court, and Petitions for Review of a Tax Court decision by the Supreme Court.
B. Oversized Brief. A motion requesting leave to file any oversized brief or Petition shall be filed at least fifteen (15) days before the brief or Petition is due. The motion shall state the total number of words requested, not pages.
C. Items Excluded From Length Limits. The text of the following shall not be included in the page or word length limits of this rule:
Cover information
Table of contents
Table of authorities
Signature block
Certificate of service
Word count certificate
Appealed judgment or order of trial court or Administrative Agency, and items identified in Rule 46(A)(10).
Headings and footnotes are included in the length limits.
D. Page Limits. Unless a word count complying with Section E is provided, a brief or Petition may not exceed the following number of pages:
Appellant's brief: thirty (30) pages
Appellee's brief: thirty (30) pages
Reply brief (except as provided below): fifteen (15) pages
Reply brief with cross-appellee's brief: thirty (30) pages
Brief of intervenor or amicus curiae: fifteen (15) pages
Petition for Rehearing: ten (10) pages
Brief in response to a Petition for Rehearing: ten (10) pages
Petition to Transfer or for Review: ten (10) pages
Brief in response to a Petition seeking Transfer or Review: ten (10) pages
Reply brief to brief in response to a Petition seeking Transfer or Review: three (3) pages
Brief of intervenor or amicus curiae on transfer or rehearing: ten (10) pages
Petitioner's brief after Review of a Tax Court decision is granted: thirty (30) pages
Response brief after Review of a Tax Court decision is granted: thirty (30) pages
Reply brief after Review of a Tax Court decision is granted: fifteen (15) pagesE. Word Limits. A brief or Petition exceeding the page limit of Section D may be filed if it does not exceed, and the attorney or the unrepresented party preparing the brief or Petition certifies that, including footnotes, it does not exceed, the following number of words:
Appellant's brief: 14,000 words
Appellee's brief: 14,000 words
Reply brief (except as provided below): 7,000 words
Reply brief with cross-appellee's brief: 14,000 words
Brief of intervenor or amicus curiae: 7,000 words
Petition for Rehearing: 4,200 words
Brief in response to a petition for Rehearing: 4,200 words
Petition to Transfer or for Review: 4,200 words
Brief in response to a Petition seeking Transfer or Review: 4,200 words
Reply brief to brief in response to a Petition seeking Transfer or Review: 1,000 words
Brief of intervenor or amicus curiae on transfer or rehearing: 4,200 words
Petitioner's brief after Review of a Tax Court decision is granted: 14,000 words
Response brief after Review of a Tax Court decision is granted: 14,000 words
Reply brief after Review of a Tax Court decision is granted: 7,000 wordsF. Form of Word Count Certificate. The following are acceptable word count certifications: "I verify that this brief (or Petition) contains no more than (applicable limit) words," and "I verify that this brief (or Petition) contains (actual number) words." The certification shall appear at the end of the brief or Petition before the certificate of service. The attorney or the unrepresented party certifying a word count may rely on the word count of the word processing system used to prepare the brief or Petition.
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These amendments shall take effect January 1, 2006.
The Clerk of this Court is directed to forward a copy of this Order to the clerk of each circuit court in the state of Indiana; Attorney General of Indiana; Legislative Services Agency and its Office of Code Revision; Administrator, Indiana Supreme Court; Administrator, Indiana Court of Appeals; Administrator, Indiana Tax Court; Public Defender of Indiana; Prosecuting Attorney's Council; Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission; Indiana Supreme Court Commission for Continuing Legal Education; Indiana Board of Law Examiners; Indiana Judicial Center; Division of State Court Administration; Indiana Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program; the libraries of all law schools in this state; the Michie Company; and the West Group.
The West Group is directed to publish this Order in the advance sheets of this Court.
The Clerks of the Circuit Courts are directed to bring this Order to the attention of all judges within their respective counties and to post this Order for examination by the Bar and general public.
DONE at Indianapolis, Indiana, this _______ day of July, 2005.
All Justices concur.