Me. R. App. P. 2A

As amended through September 25, 2024

Rule 2A - NOTICE AND FILING OF APPEAL

(a)Commencing Appeal. Review of any criminal or civil judgment, order, or ruling of the District Court, the Superior Court, any Unified Criminal Docket, the Probate Courts, or a single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court that is by law reviewable by the Law Court shall be by appeal.

(b)Notice and Appearances.

(1)Notice. The appeal shall be commenced by filing a notice of appeal with the clerk of the trial court from which the appeal is taken. A notice of appeal shall be filed in conformity with the rules then in effect for the trial court from which the appeal is taken. The notice of appeal shall be signed by each appellant or the appellant's attorney. The notice of appeal shall specify the party taking the appeal and designate the judgment or part thereof appealed from. A copy of the notice of appeal shall be served on the other parties to the trial court proceeding.

(2)Appearances.

(A) Criminal Appeals. In criminal appeals, a member of the Maine bar or unrepresented party filing the notice of appeal shall be deemed to be representing the appellant unless new counsel appears or counsel withdraws pursuant to M.R.U. Crim. P. 44(a)(2) and 44B; and the member of the Maine bar or unrepresented party representing the appellee in the trial court at the time the appeal is filed shall be deemed to be representing the appellee unless new counsel appears or counsel withdraws pursuant to M.R.U. Crim. P. 44(a)(2) and 44B.

(B)Civil Appeals. In civil appeals, member of the Maine bar or unrepresented party filing the notice of appeal shall be deemed to be representing the appellant unless new counsel appears or counsel withdraws. member of the Maine bar representing a party who has not filed a notice of appeal in the trial court shall be deemed to be representing that party in the appeal unless new counsel appears, counsel withdraws, or the party elects not to participate in the appeal. An unrepresented party, other than the appellant, in the trial court proceeding at the time the appeal is filed shall be deemed to be appearing in the appeal unrepresnted unless counsel appears or the party elects not to participate in the appeal.

(C)Visiting attorneys. A visiting attorney permitted to practice in the trial court pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 89(b) or M.R.U. Crim. P. 55 may not appear in the Law Court without permission of the Law Court and payment of the designated fee. The provisions of M.R. Civ. P. 89(b) shall govern the appearances of visiting attorneys in the Law Court.

(c)Filing Fee.

(1) No filing fee is required for appeals in criminal cases. The required filing fee for appeals in civil cases shall be paid to the clerk of the trial court at the time of the filing of the notice of appeal, or pursuant to M.R.E.C.S. 39 if applicable in the trial court from which the appeal is taken.

(2) A person who believes that he or she cannot afford to pay the filing fee may file a request to have the fee waived pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 91 and M.R.E.C.S. 39(B) if applicable in the trial court from which the appeal is taken. If the request to have the filing fee waived is denied, the party who sought the waiver shall pay the filing fee in full within 7 days after the entry of the order denying the request for waiver of the filing fee, or the appeal shall be dismissed by the trial court.

(d)Transcript Order. If an appellant intends to include any portions of the transcript in the record on appeal, that appellant must order those portions either by using the online transcript order form found on the Judicial Branch website, www.courts.maine.gov/programs/oto/index.html, or by using the official Judicial Branch paper order form.

(1) To use the online transcript order form on the Judicial Branch website, the appellant must

(A) complete all information required on the online form, including the dates of the proceedings that the appellant wishes to have transcribed;

(B) file the confirmation sheet with the notice of appeal; and

(C) serve a copy of the confirmation sheet on the other parties.

(2) To use the official Judicial Branch paper transcript order form, the appellant must

(A) complete all required information on the form, including the dates of the proceedings that the appellant wishes to have transcribed;

(B) sign the form;

(C) file the form with the notice of appeal; and

(D) serve a copy of the form on the other parties.

(e)Insufficient Filing. If a notice of appeal or transcript order is not signed, the appeal shall not be accepted for filing. If the appeal is not accepted for filing, the provisions of M.R.E.C.S. 35(D)-(E) shall control if applicable in the trial court from which the appeal is taken. If the Maine Rules of Electronic Court Systems do not apply in the trial court, the trial court clerk shall docket the receipt and return of the non-accepted documents, and then return all documents to the party who filed them. Documents that are returned to the party who filed them shall not be deemed as filed for the purpose of calculating compliance with time limits.

(f)Criminal Appeals: Particular Requirements.

(1) In a criminal case, when a court imposes any sentence on a defendant (A) after trial, or (B) after a plea to murder or a Class A, B, or C crime, with a term of one year or more that is not agreed to pursuant to M.R.U. Crim. P. 11A, the defendant shall be advised by the trial court of the right to appeal. If a criminal defendant not represented by counsel so requests, the trial court shall cause a notice of appeal to be prepared and filed on behalf of the defendant forthwith.

(2) A notice of appeal filed by the State in a criminal case shall be accompanied by a written approval of the appeal signed by the Attorney General, pursuant to Rule 21(b), or a representation that the Attorney General has approved the appeal and a written approval will be filed within 7 days. The State shall serve a copy of the written approval on the other parties, in addition to the notice of appeal and transcript order form as required by Rules 2A(b) and (d). The clerk of the trial court shall file the approval, note the filing in the criminal docket, and mail a date-stamped copy of the approval to the defendant or, if the defendant is represented by counsel, to the attorney for the defendant. If the Maine Rules of Electronic Court Systems apply in the trial court, the clerk of the trial court need not take the actions set forth in the preceding sentence.

(g)Trial Court Clerk Actions.

(1) The trial court clerk shall notify (A) the Clerk of the Law Court and (B) the court reporter or Office of Transcript Operations of the filing of the notice of appeal and transcript order form. The trial court clerk shall cause the notice of appeal and transcript order form to be transmitted to the attorney of record of each party other than the appellant, or, if a party is not represented by an attorney, then to the last known address of that party. This notification is sufficient notwithstanding the death or incapacity of the party or of the party's attorney prior to or subsequent to the mailing of the notification.

(2) Unless the notice of appeal and transcript order form are transmitted to the attorneys of record or parties not represented by an attorney pursuant to the Maine Rules of Electronic Court Systems, the clerk shall note in the docket the names of the parties to whom the clerk mails the copies, with date of mailing.

(3) The trial court clerk's failure to comply with Rule 2A(g)(1) does not affect the validity of the appeal, but no appeal shall be deemed to be filed and commenced in the Law Court pursuant to Rule 3(a)(2) until the Clerk of the Law Court receives notification of the notice of appeal from the trial court clerk.

(4) In any action based on the Maine Tort Claims Act, 14 M.R.S. §§8101 et seq., whether the action involves the State or a local government, the trial court clerk shall cause any notice of appeal that is filed to be transmitted to the Attorney General at the same time as the notice is transmitted to the parties to the action.

Me. R. App. P. 2A

Adopted June 6, 2017, effective 9/1/2017; amended April 18, 2018, effective 5/1/2018; amended October 8, 2021, effective 10/8/2021; amended July 13, 2022, effective 7/13/2022.

Restyling Notes - June 2017

The revision of Rule 2 applies restyling practice to add significant separations and internal numbering to what were long paragraphs in the original Rule. The original rule has also been divided into three distinct Rules. Rule 2A addresses the notice and filing of the appeal. Rule 2B addresses the time for taking an appeal. Rule 2C addresses cross-appeals, multiple appeals, and bonds in civil cases.

Rule 2A is reorganized to address first the commencement of the appeal, then the notice of the appeal, then the filing fee and transcript order. The Rule also clarifies the trial court clerks' actions when filings are insufficient and, in Rule 2A(c), specifies what may happen when a waiver of the filing fees is requested but is denied, indicating that when there is a denial, the filing fee must be paid within 7 days after the denial or the appeal would be dismissed by the trial court clerk. The 7-day payment or dismissal requirement is drawn from M.R. Civ. P. 91(d) which applies in all circumstances when a fee waiver is denied.

The requirement of former Rule 2(a)(2) that notices of appeal in civil actions include a statement of the issues is removed.

Rule 2A(b)(2) adds requirements for appearances to participate in criminal or civil appeals that the unrepresented party or attorney representing each party other than the appellant in the trial court shall be deemed to be representing that party on the appeal unless new counsel appears, or counsel withdraws, or a party elects not to participate in the appeal.

Rules 2A(b), (d), and (f)(2) add the requirement that the appellant must serve on the other parties the notice of appeal, transcript order form, and, when applicable, written approval of the Attorney General or a representation that the Attorney General's approval has been obtained and will be filed within 7 days.

Rule 2A(e) clarifies that the documents returned by the trial court clerk as insufficient are not deemed as filed for purpose of calculating compliance with any time limits.

Rule 2A(f) includes, with slight modification, what were formerly paragraphs 3 and 4 in Rule 2(a).

Rule 2A(g) is a restyling of what is currently Rule 2(a), paragraph 5 with the addition of several separations and internal numbering. A requirement that the trial court clerk mail a copy of the docket sheet to the Clerk of the Law Court is added to Rule 2A(g)(2).

Advisory Note - May 2018

The amendment permits, but does not require, an appellant with access to the internet to use the Judicial Branch's online transcript order form to order any transcript. Currently, the online form can be used to order transcripts for reference but not for appeals. The online form will allow the appellant to print a document that confirms the order and contains all details of the order. The appellant must then file that confirmation form with the notice of appeal and serve a copy on the other parties.

The Judicial Branch prefers that parties use the online form. Using the online form will ensure that the appellant has provided all necessary information for the transcript order and will make the process of ordering and producing the transcript more efficient.

Advisory Note - October 2021

Rule 2A(b)-(g) is amended to recognize the implementation of an electronic case management and filing system by the Maine Judicial Branch and the adoption of the Maine Rules of Electronic Court Systems.

Advisory Committee Note - July 2022

Subdivision (b)(1) is amended to remove the unnecessary provision containing a requirement that the notice of appeal contain a notice to the other parties that they must file an appearance in order to be heard in the appeal. No notice of appearance was required by any other rule.

Subdivision (b)(2) is amended to clarify that when an appeal is docketed in the Law Court, only members of the Maine bar are deemed to represent parties in the appeal. An out-of-state attorney admitted in the trial court as a visiting attorney must seek permission from the Law Court to appear in the appeal. If a notice of appeal is signed by only a visiting attorney, the notice of appeal is a nullity and will be dismissed by the Law Court. See M.R. Civ. P. 89(b) (requiring members of the Maine bar to sign all papers filed with the court); M.R.U. Crim. P. 55(a) (same).

Subdivision (b)(2)(C) is adopted to clarify that visiting attorneys may not appear in an appeal without permission of the Law Court. The subdivision makes any appearance by a visiting attorney subject to M.R. Civ. P. 89(b), whether the appeal is from a civil or criminal matter.