Update: All appellate filings must be filed electronically effective July 1, 2016. Paper copies of briefs must also be filed. The number of paper briefs to be filed is set by standing orders issued by the Courts. The number of paper copies of briefs filed in the Minnesota Supreme Court has now been reduced. You must now file one unbound paper copy of your Supreme Court briefs. That paper copy is due within 3 business days of confirmation that your electronic brief has been accepted.
You should check the Court’s standing orders to learn how many copies of Supreme Court and Court of Appeal briefs are required.
[Address service.]
Original post: Appellate e-filing will be mandatory as of July 1, 2016, for matters that are pending or filed as of that date. Appellate e-filing became an option last year. Now it will be required.
Before e-filing for the first time, you must pass a short online test. The test is not hard. You will pass it if you review the E-filing User Manual and FAQs on the Court’s website. If you don’t pass, you can take the test over again until you do. Don’t leave that for the last minute though. It will be one more headache if you do.
Even though you will be e-filing documents, you are still required to file and serve some paper copies of briefs as well. The number of paper copies required is set by court orders for the Court of Appeals and for the Supreme Court. That number is expected to go down as time goes on. Right now, you must file five copies of briefs in the Minnesota Court of Appeals (4 bound and 1 unbound) and five copies in the Supreme Court (three bound and two unbound). You must also serve two paper copies of briefs on each party.
Even though the new rules still require the filing and service of paper copies of briefs, the rules do give us one break. Paper copies of briefs will not be due until three business after your electronic brief is e-filed. This will give some extra time to deal with copying and binding briefs after the briefs are initially e-filed.
A few changes have been made since appellate e-filing was rolled out last year. Now, you can e-file your notice of appeal, as well as other appellate documents.
Before you e-file for the first time, it will help to review a court document online that lays out the common reasons appellate e-filings are rejected, and solutions. For example, your filing may be rejected if it is not signed and dated. The court website notes that signatures must be in black ink to be readable, or made by using the /s/ designation. (This must be important to the Court since this point is bolded on the webpage.)
Another point: a brief or other filing should not be submitted with an “appendix.” An “addendum” may be attached if it strictly complies with the page limits (for briefs, 50 pages in addition to a copy of the decisions appealed from).
For more of the requirements see all the documents on the key Court webpage.