Rule 3. Appeal as of right - How taken

Appeal as of right — How taken.

(a) Filing the notice of appeal.

(1) In civil cases, an appeal permitted by law as of right shall be taken to an appellate court by filing a notice of appeal with the clerk of the trial court within the time allowed by Rule 4. The appellant shall cause a sufficient number of additional copies of the notice of appeal to be marked filed with the date of filing noted thereon and certified as a true copy by the clerk of the trial court for service on the persons and parties as provided by (d)(1) or d(3) of this rule. Appeals by permission from interlocutory orders shall be taken in the manner prescribed by Rule 5. The notice of appeal may be filed electronically with the trial court clerk through the trial court’s electronic-filing system. If the notice of appeal is filed electronically, the appellant is not required to provide the additional copies required by this rule.

(2) In criminal cases, an appeal permitted by law as a matter of right to an appellate court shall be taken by filing a written notice of appeal with the clerk of the trial court within the time allowed by Rule 4, or by the defendant's giving an oral notice of appeal at the time of sentencing, which oral notice shall be noted of record; provided, that a pre-trial appeal by the State shall be taken by filing a written notice of appeal in the manner, and within the time, specified by the rule of criminal procedure providing for such appeals. The notice of appeal may be filed electronically with the trial court clerk through the trial court’s electronic-filing system. On the date the notice of appeal is filed, the clerk of the trial court shall serve copies of the notice of appeal on the persons specified by (d)(2) or d(3) of this rule.

(b) Joint or consolidated appeals. If two or more persons are entitled to appeal from a judgment or order and their interests are such as to make joinder practicable, they may file a joint notice of appeal, or may join in appeal after filing separate timely notices of appeal, and they may thereafter proceed on appeal as a single appellant. Appeals may be consolidated by order of the appellate court upon its own motion, or upon motion of a party, or by stipulation of the parties to the several appeals.

(c) Form and content of notice of appeal. The notice of appeal shall specify all parties taking the appeal and each adverse party against whom the appeal is taken; shall designate the judgment, order, or part thereof appealed from; and shall name the court to which the appeal is taken. Such designation of judgment or order shall not, however, limit the scope of appellate review. An appellant may not use the terms "et al." or "etc." to designate multiple appellants or appellees in lieu of naming each appellant or appellee If the notice of appeal names the wrong appellate court to which the appeal is taken, such designation shall be treated as a clerical mistake and corrected accordingly. The necessary clerical steps shall be taken to docket the appeal and to file the record and briefs in the appropriate appellate court.

(d) Service of the Notice of Appeal.

(1) In civil cases, the appellant shall serve a copy of the notice of appeal on each adverse party, but the copy need not contain the clerk’s filing notations. In civil cases, the clerk of the trial court shall, on the date the notice of appeal is filed, serve a true copy of the notice of appeal, or any amendment thereto, as required in (a)(1) above, personally or by mailing a copy thereof to each of the following: the clerk of the appropriate appellate court; the court reporter who reported the evidence; counsel of record for each party, or, if a party is not represented by counsel, to the party at the party’s last known address. Service shall be sufficient notwithstanding the death of the party or the party’s counsel. In civil cases, the copy of the notice of appeal to the clerk of the appellate court will be accompanied by payment of the docket fee as provided in Rule 35A(a)(1).

(2) In criminal cases, the clerk of the trial court shall serve the notice of appeal, whether oral or written, upon each of the following: the clerk of the appropriate appellate court; the court reporter who reported the evidence; the defendant; the defendant's appellate counsel; the district attorney of the circuit in which the trial court is situated; and the Attorney General. The copy of the notice of appeal to the clerk of the appellate court shall be accompanied by the docket fee as provided in Rule 35A(b) of these rules, if applicable, unless the appellant failed to pay the docket fee at the time the notice of appeal was filed.

(3) If the notice of appeal is filed electronically in a civil case or in a criminal case, the appropriate appellate court clerk may be served with the notice by electronic means. If the attorney for the party to be served or the party to be served is a registered user of the trial court’s electronic-filing system or if the party has elected to receive notice by electronic means pursuant to Rule 4.I(C) of the Alabama Rules of Judicial Administration, service may be made by electronic transmittal in accordance with that system or rule. Service of the notice by electronic means shall be complete on transmission of the electronic document. The clerk of the trial court may serve the court reporter who reported the evidence by electronic mail, by personal service, or by mail. If an attorney or a party is not a registered user of the trial court’s electronic-filing system, then the clerk of the trial court shall provide notice of the filing of the notice of appeal pursuant to (d)(1) or (d)(2) of this Rule. If the notice of appeal is filed electronically, the party responsible for payment of the docket fee shall remit that fee directly to the clerk of the appropriate appellate court as provided in Rule 35A(a)(1) or Rule 35A(b). The clerk of the trial court is not required to certify as a true copy an electronically filed notice of appeal.

(e) Filing the docketing statement. Each notice of appeal to an appellate court, at the time it is filed with the trial court, shall be accompanied by the appropriate 'Docketing Statement' (Form 24, 25, or 26). An electronically filed notice of appeal shall be accompanied by an electronically filed docketing statement. If the notice of appeal is given orally in a criminal case, the docketing statement shall be filed within 7 days (1 week) after the oral notice of appeal is given. However, the appellant's failure to file the docketing statement with the notice of appeal shall not affect the validity of the notice of appeal. The appellant, or if the appellant is represented by counsel, then the appellant's attorney, shall complete and sign the docketing statement before it is filed with the court. If the notice of appeal is tendered to the clerk of the trial court without a properly completed docketing statement, the clerk shall accept the notice of appeal and shall inform the person filing it of the requirements of this rule, and the appellant, or, if the appellant is represented by counsel, then the appellant's attorney, shall promptly file a properly completed docketing statement. The clerk of the trial court, when serving the notice of appeal as specified in this rule, shall attach thereto a copy of the docketing statement, if available. If, on the date the notice of appeal is served, the docketing statement is not available, it shall be served on those persons on whom the notice of appeal was served as soon as it becomes available. For the failure to comply with the requirements of this rule, the appellate court in which the appeal is pending may make such orders as are just, including an order staying the proceedings until the docketing statement is filed or, after proper notice, an order dismissing the appeal; and, in lieu of any orders or in addition to any orders, the court may treat the failure to comply with the requirements of this rule as contempt of court. [Amended 10-14-76, eff. 1-16-77; Amended 10-2-78, eff. 12-2-78; Amended 2-6- 84, eff 4-1-84; Amended 8-27-91, eff. 10-1-91; Amended 11-17-93, eff. 2-1-94; Amended 11-19-96, eff. 1-1-97; Amended eff. 8-1-2000; Amended 5-7-2015, eff. 8-1-2015, Amended 9-20-2016, eff. 1-1-2017; Amended 7-1-2019, eff. 10-1-2019.]

Committee Notes

Committee Comments Timely filing of the notice of appeal is a jurisdictional act. It is the only step in the appellate process which is jurisdictional. Rule 4(a) sets forth the relevant time periods for timely filing notice of appeal in civil appeals. Rule 4(b) sets forth the relevant time period for filing timely notice of appeal in criminal appeals. Failure of an appellant to take any step other than the timely filing of a notice of appeal with the clerk of the trial court does not affect the validity of the appeal, but is ground only for such action as the appellate court deems appropriate, which may include dismissal of the appeal. Sanctions for such failures are set out in Rules 2 and 48. Subdivision (c) provides that erroneous designation of the appellate court to which the appeal is taken is treated as merely a clerical mistake and may be corrected accordingly. Further, any steps necessary to effectuate the change in appellate courts shall be taken. This is in accordance with the existing Alabama practice under Code of Ala., § 12-1-4. The intent of this rule is to provide a uniform and simplified method of taking an appeal, and it is contemplated that a single notice will be filed. The requirement of a citation on appeal required by Title 7, § 801, is eliminated and the holdings in cases such as Mid-State Homes v. Roberts, 288 Ala. 86, 257 So.2d 333, are superseded. The form and content of a typical notice of appeal are set out in the Appendix of Forms to these rules in Forms 1 and 11, and Rule 50 specifically provides that the forms contained in the Appendix of Forms are sufficient. In accordance with the existing practice under Title 7, § 804, even parties not joining in the appeal are given a copy of the notice of appeal. In criminal cases, the appellant and his counsel shall also be sent a copy of the notice so that they will know it has been received by the clerk and sent to the other parties. Although notice of appeal is the only jurisdictional act to c