Me. R. App. P. 12B
Any brief or appendix filed in a matter listed in this subsection (1)-(5) shall automatically be labeled and filed as "under seal" or "confidential" unless the Chief Justice or other Justice designated to act for the Chief Justice pursuant to Rule 10(a)(4) orders otherwise.
Me. R. App. P. 12B
Advisory Notes - July 1, 2010
Rule 12B is adopted to clarify for litigants and the public the extent to which oral arguments are public and records held by the Clerk of the Law Court are available for inspection and copying. Counsel and parties must be aware that filings that the parties make in the Law Court, including copies of any documents that were also filed in the trial court, are generally available to the public without limitation.
Subdivision (a) provides that any materials that are transmitted by the trial court to the Law Court retain their public or confidential status while in the possession of the Law Court.
Subdivision (b) provides that the Law Court file in appeals, other than appeals from child protection proceedings, is available to the public, except that documents transmitted by the trial court to the Law Court, and documents identifying and providing personal information about parties and witnesses maintain their public or confidential status in the Law Court. Any document filed with the Law Court by a party is available to the public when it becomes part of the Law Court file, even if that document is a copy of a document that is in the trial court record and is confidential there. This subdivision is intended to protect from public inspection the docket sheets, transcript order forms, and notices of appeal in cases with statutory confidentiality requirements, including child protection, adoption, and guardianship proceedings; and presentence investigation reports filed as part of Sentence Review Panel appeals; and other documents entitled to statutory confidentiality that are transmitted by the trial court to the Law Court.
Subdivision (c) provides that briefs are available to the public without limitation in appeals other than appeals from child protection proceedings.
Subdivision (d) provides that the appendix in an appeal is available to the public except in adoption, guardianship, child protection, and some juvenile proceedings; in any proceeding involving the care, custody or support of a minor child; and in any appeal in which the appendix contains a document that is confidential as part of the trial court record. An appellant or appellee should conspicuously label the appendix as confidential if it contains a document that is confidential by law, except in child protection, guardianship, adoption, and juvenile cases, when it is clear from the type of case that the appendix is confidential.
Subdivision (e) states that oral arguments of appeals are public.
Subdivision (f) states that Law Court opinions in appeals and decisions of single justices are public information.
If a party wishes to maintain the confidentiality of information that is otherwise public under this rule, the party may move to seal the information pursuant to Rule 14(c).
The confidentiality of information in a trial court record is determined by applicable statute, rule, or administrative order.
Restyling Notes - June 2017
Rule 12B is subject to minor editing for clarification, with addition of internal numbering, particularly regarding treatment of certain confidential documents, in the restyling process. It includes no substantive changes.
Advisory Note - October 2021
Rule 12B(c)-(d) is amended to provide consistency in public access to briefs and appendices filed in matters that are confidential, nonpublic, or filed under seal in the trial court pursuant to statute, administrative order, or rule.