Rule 57. Electronic Filing and Service

The number of copies of documents to be supplied to the Supreme Court has been increased to 10. Court Comment to Amendment of Rule 57 Effective January 1, 2024 Rule 57 has been amended to account for the appellate courts' migration to a new case-management system in March 2022. References in the rule to the appellate courts' legacy system have been removed in favor of more generic terminology. The rule has been updated to account for technological advances and to provide for consistency in terminology. Additionally, Rule 57(h)(2) has been amended to reflect changes in the number of hard copies of e-documents each appellate court requires. Rule 5(e), Rule 21(d), Rule 27(d), Rule 31(b), and Rule 39(e), Ala. R. App. P., have also been amended to correspond with the amendment to Rule 57(h)(2). Finally, Rule 57(e)(5) has been added to require the use of bookmarks in documents to be e-filed. Prior to this amendment, Rule 57(e), relating to the format of documents to be e-filed, did not include any instructions regarding the inclusion of bookmarks. Bookmarks are a type of link visible in the "Bookmarks" panel in the navigation pane of common PDF viewers. Bookmarks can be added to PDF documents using word processing software, such as Microsoft Word, or PDF document viewing and editing software, such as Adobe Acrobat, which are generally accessible and commonly used by filers. Bookmarks allow the court to quickly locate the different areas of a petition, motion, or brief and particular documents in an appendix or list of exhibits. As a result, bookmarks are helpful for any reviewer of an e-document. Filers therefore shall include bookmarks in documents to be e-filed.

Committee Notes

Note from the reporter of decisions: The order amending, effective October 1, 2010, Rule 11(a)(3), Rule 25, Rule 26(a), Rule 31, and Rule 32(a)(7), rescinding Rule 11(a)(4), and adopting Rule 57, the Committee Comments to Amendment to Rule 11(a) Effective October 1, 2010, the Committee Comments to Amendment to Rule 25 Effective October 1, 2010, the Committee Comments to Amendment to Rule 26(a) Effective October 1, 2010, the Committee Comments to Amendment to Rule 31 Effective October 1, 2010, the Committee Comments to Amendment to Rule 32(a)(7) Effective October 1, 2010, and the Committee Comments to Adoption of Rule 57 Effective October 1, 2010, is published in that volume of Alabama Reporter that contains Alabama cases from 44 So. 3d. Note from the reporter of decisions: The order amending Rule 3(d)(1), Rule 11(c), Rule 39(d)(4), and Rule 57(j)(1), effective August 1, 2015, and adopting the Committee Comments to the amendments to Rule 3(d)(1), Rule 11(c), and Rule 39(d)(4) is published in that volume of Alabama Reporter that contains Alabama cases from 160 So. 3d. Note from the reporter of decisions: The order amending Rule 31(b) and Rule 57(h)(2), effective immediately, is published in that volume of Alabama Reporter that contains Alabama cases from __ So. 3d. Note from the reporter of decisions: The order amending Rule 5(e), Rule 21(d), Rule 27(d), Rule 31(b), Rule 39(e), and Rule 57, Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure, and adopting the Court Comment to the amendment of Rule 57, effective January 1, 2024, is published in that volume of Alabama Reporter that contains Alabama cases from __ So. 3d.