Me. R. App. P. 5
Appellant's counsel may add portions to this standard transcript by utilizing the requisite Judicial Branch form. Appellant's counsel shall delete from the standard transcript any portion not necessary for purposes of the appeal.
Within 7 days after receipt of appellant's transcript order, appellee's counsel may order additional portions of the transcript by utilizing the requisite Judicial Branch form.
A copy of any transcript order not filed as part of, or contemporaneously with, the notice of appeal shall be filed with the Clerk of the Law Court and served on each other party, or if a party is represented, counsel for a represented party.
In the case of an indigent appellant, the cost of the transcript shall be paid for by the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services. An indigent appellant is an appellant who has been determined indigent (i) by the trial court before verdict pursuant to M.R.U. Crim. P. 44(b), (ii) by the trial court after verdict pursuant to M.R.U. Crim. P. 44A(b), or (iii) by a Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court pursuant to M.R.U. Crim. P. 44A(c).
If the appellant intends to urge on appeal that a finding or conclusion is unsupported by the evidence or is contrary to the evidence, the appellant shall include in the record a transcript of all evidence relevant to such finding or conclusion.
If any appellee deems a transcript of other parts of the proceedings to be necessary, the appellee shall, within 7 days after the service of the appellant's transcript order form, file with the Clerk of the Law Court and serve on the appellant a designation of additional parts of the transcript to be included. Unless within 7 days after service of such designation the appellant has ordered such parts, and has so notified the appellee, the appellee may within the following 7 days either order the parts or move in the Law Court for an order requiring the appellant to do so.
The statement shall include a copy of the judgment appealed from, a copy of the notice of appeal with its filing date, and a concise statement of the points to be relied on by the appellant. If the statement conforms to the truth and is sufficiently complete, the trial court shall approve it for certification to the Law Court as the record on appeal.
Me. R. App. P. 5
Advisory Note - October 2012
The amendment is a technical change to recognize the new title for what is now called the Office of Transcript Production and to make the reporter reference consistent with the definition in Rule 16(4).
Advisory Note - July 2012
The amendment to Rule 5(a) clarifies that the term "reporter," as used in the Appellate Rules, includes the services of the Office of Transcript Production.
The amendments to Rule 5(c) and 6(c), below, require parties to file condensed transcripts in accordance with M.R. Civ. P. 5(i)(2) as part of the record on appeal.
Advisory Note - November 2011
Rule 5(b)(i) addresses financial responsibility for transcript production. Upon the establishment of the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services, the funds allocated for the representation of indigent persons were transferred from the Judicial Branch to the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services. This amendment clarifies that transcripts produced for those indigent parties represented by court-appointed or court-assigned counsel are to be paid for by the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services.
Advisory Notes - July 1, 2010
These amendments to Rule 5(d) clarify procedures in several respects.
First, as stated in M.R. App. P. 16(1) the references to appellant or appellee refer to the parties to the action, whether represented by counsel or not.
Second, Rule 5(d) only applies when a hearing was not recorded or, if the hearing was recorded, a transcript cannot be prepared because of a failure of the recording. If a transcript can be prepared, but the appellant elects not to purchase a transcript, the rule does not apply.
Third, the amendment ends current confusion about timing and trial court notice of the need to review and act on a proposed 5(d) statement. The amended rule requires that the draft statement and any responding objections or amendments be filed with the trial court at the same time that they are served on the other party. Further the timing is shortened so that the trial court will be more likely to have a fresher memory of the event. The proposed statement must be filed with the trial court and served on the other party no later than 21 days after entry of judgment or 14 days after filing the notice of appeal, whichever is sooner. It is anticipated that the trial court would act on the statement to approve it, or approve it with amendments, as expeditiously as possible, so that the statement could be filed as part of the record on appeal. The trial court would have discretion to reject a statement upon a finding that it did not accurately reflect the record upon which the trial court's decision was based.
Advisory Notes - September 10, 2001
This amendment [to Rule 5(b)(2)(A) ] clarifies that a copy of any additional transcript order by an appellee shall be filed with the clerk of the Law Court so that the Law Court will have all necessary materials should any dispute arise requiring a Law Court order.
Advisory Notes - January 1, 2001
Rule 5(a) adopts contents of record provisions following current practice under M.R. Civ. P. 74(a) and M.R.U. Crim. P. 39(a). The contents of the record addressed means the original court file, the exhibits filed in the trial court, the transcript of any proceedings that have been transcribed and a copy of the docket entries. The rule also specifies that whenever the term "reporter" is used in the rules, it refers to a court reporter or an electronically recorded record. Subdivision (a) essentially defines the record on appeal. However, all portions of the record need not necessarily be transmitted to the Law Court. What must be transmitted to the Law Court is separately governed by Rule 6.
Rule 5(b)(1) addresses the appeal transcript in criminal cases. It follows very closely M.R.U. Crim. P. 39(b) but extends from 5 days to 7 days the time within which an appellee must designate and order additional portions of the transcript beyond that designated by the appellant or beyond the standard transcript. Because the record and transcript in criminal cases tends to be more uniform, and because of the significant number of indigent appeals, the criminal transcript provisions are drawn more narrowly and specifically than the counterpart civil transcript provisions in Rule 5(b)(2).
Rule 5(b)(2) addresses transcripts in civil cases. Subparagraph (A) is a combination and condensation of the provisions of M.R. Civ. P. 74(b)(1), (2), & (3). It requires that the appellant file, with the notice of appeal and transcript order form, a statement of the issues the appellant intends to present on appeal and serve the other parties a copy of the transcript order form and the statement of issues on appeal. The statement of the issues is for initial guidance for developing the record and transcript orders, and does not preclude a party from raising on appeal other issues that have been properly preserved in the trial court.
If the appellant is making a sufficiency of the evidence challenge to the result, the appellant must include in the record a transcript of evidence relating to the finding or conclusion challenged on sufficiency evidence grounds.
The time within which an appellee must designate other parts of the transcript is reduced from 10 days in present practice to 7 days. This makes the designation requirements consistent with the designation requirements for criminal appeals which are raised from 5 to 7 days.
Rule 5(b)(2)(B) closely tracks the provisions of M.R. Civ. P. 74(b)(4). As presently organized, this only applies to civil appeals. It requires that appropriate financial arrangements be made for preparation of the transcript within 7 days after filing of the notice of appeal. The paragraph also provides that in the event acceptable financial arrangements are not made or required deposits are not paid, the court reporter or the electronic recording division may consider the order canceled and so inform the Clerk of the Law Court. When such occurs, the appeal proceeds without a transcript.
Rule 5(c) authorizes ordering of condensed transcripts. It follows M.R. Civ. P. 74(b)(5). There is no similar provision in the criminal rules. However, 5(c) authorizing condensed transcripts, applies to both civil and criminal appeals.
Rule 5(d) addresses circumstances when a transcript cannot be prepared. It tracks the language of M.R. Civ. P. 74(c) and M.R.U. Crim. P. 39(b). The initial service and response times are changed from present practice of 30 days and 10 days to 28 days and 7 days which follows the general effort to make times for action and response follow in defined numbers of weeks from the date of the triggering event.
Rule 5(e) regarding correction or modification of the record follows the language or current M.R. Civ. P. 74(e) and M.R.U. Crim. P. 39(g).
Rule 5(f) regarding the record on an agreed statement of facts follows the current language of M.R. Civ. P. 74(d) and M.R.U. Crim. P. 39(i). Note that, even though the statement is agreed to, the statement must be submitted to the trial court for approval as the record on appeal to the court. This helps assure that any statement of appeal to the Law Court, even if prepared by agreement of the parties, accurately reflects the challenged trial court action.
Restyling Notes - June 2017
The restyling of Rule 5 reflects significant editing and internal numbering particularly with regard to reference of the transcript in civil cases. Of particular note, a reference to transcripts for appeals by indigent parents in Title 22 child protection cases is added to track the provision relating to transcripts in criminal cases for indigent defendants.
Because Rule 1B includes the definition of a reporter as including the Office of Transcript operations, the similar definition is removed from Rule 5(a).
In Rule 5(b)(1)(A), the standard transcript in criminal cases is expanded to include closing arguments in jury trials and hearings on motions to suppress or motions in limine if rulings on such motions are to be at issue in appeal and sentencing hearings if sentencing is an issue on appeal.
As with the amendment to Rule 2, the requirement that the notice of appeal include an issues statement is removed from Rule 5.
In discussion of the civil transcripts in Rule 5(b)(2)(B) (iii), reference is made directly to M.R. Civ. P. 91(f)(2), addressing the circumstances in which, for indigent parties, a recording or statement in lieu of a transcript may be submitted in lieu of a transcript for parties whose requests are approved by the trial court pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 91(f).
Rule 5(c) is expanded to address transcript formatting and copying of transcripts. The Rule is clarified to allow transcript formatting choices as permitted by the Office of Transcript Operations.
Advisory Note - May 2018
The amendments to Rule 5(b) make clear that the appellant must order any portions of the transcript that the appellant wishes to include in the record on appeal by using one of the methods permitted by Rule 2A(d), which is simultaneously amended to permit the use of either the online form or the official paper form.
Advisory Note - June 2019
The Court uses both print and electronic versions of transcripts in its consideration of appeals. The electronic versions of transcripts that are ordered with a notice of appeal are provided to the Court pursuant to Rule 6(c)(1). The Court has not, however, had access to electronic versions of transcripts that are filed in the trial court before the notice of appeal and then transmitted to the Law Court with the clerk's record.
This amendment to Rule 5(b) requires the appellant to ensure that the Court receives electronic versions of all transcripts that are part of the record on appeal, whether the transcripts were filed in the trial court and transmitted to the Law Court or were filed directly with the Law Court. For transcripts by an official court reporter or by a transcriber of electronic recordings, the appellant should contact the reporter or transcriber and ask that the electronic versions of the transcripts be emailed to the Clerk of the Law Court. For other transcripts, the appellant should contact the court reporter or transcriber who created the transcript to ask that the electronic version be transmitted directly to the Clerk of the Law Court. If that fails, however, the appellant may, with the agreement of all parties or with leave of the Court, email an electronic copy that is available to the appellant.
Electronic versions of transcripts must be text-based .pdf files that are searchable and may not be scans of the transcripts even if those scans are made searchable through character recognition software.