Upon marking the exhibits and the photographs and photocopies thereof, counsel shall also prepare a list of the exhibits, in sequence, with a descriptive notation sufficient to identify each separately numbered exhibit, and shall furnish copies of the list to opposing counsel and the court at the commencement of the trial or other proceeding. During the proceeding, the trial judge or the judge's designee shall enter on the exhibit list each exhibit that is offered and admitted into evidence, noting the date and time. The party introducing the exhibit shall be responsible for its safekeeping throughout the proceeding and during any appellate proceedings. (See the form styled "Exhibit List" appearing in the appendix to these rules.)
At the conclusion of the proceeding, the judge or the judge's designee shall assemble in proper order all of the photographs and photocopies of exhibits in a fiat file or other suitable container and file them and the exhibit lists with the clerk. If the case is appealed, the photographs and photocopies of exhibits and the exhibit list shall be included in the clerk's portion of the record on appeal. The photographs shall be placed on pages in the clerk's record by suitable attachment or adhesive method. The pages in the clerk's record containing the photographs and the photocopies of exhibits shall be numbered consecutively in the upper right corner.
The clerk shall not be required to include the exhibit itself as part of the record on appeal, unless ordered by the appellate court to do so. If the appellate court orders the exhibit, the party retaining custody thereof shall, upon notice, deliver the exhibit forthwith to the clerk of the trial court for certification and transmittal to the appellate court.
If a case is not appealed, then a party who submitted photographs and/or photocopies of exhibits may reclaim them from the clerk of the trial court on or after the 14th day after the time for appeal has expired, unless a party to the case has previously filed with the clerk a written objection to the removal of such items from the custody of the clerk. An objecting party shall state precisely the reasons for the objection and shall serve a copy of the objection on each party. The court may overrule an objection on motion of any party or on motion of the clerk.
If the photographs and photocopies of exhibits are not reclaimed from the clerk of the trial court within 28 days after the time for appeal has expired, then the clerk may dispose of them in any manner authorized for the destruction or disposition of court records, unless a written objection has been filed as provided above. If an objection is overruled, as provided above, parties shall be allowed 14 days from the date of the overruling in which to reclaim their photographs and photocopies of exhibits from the clerk before the clerk shall take any action to dispose of them.
Ala. R. Rcdg. Ct. Proc. 3