Rule 9 - Assembly of the Record; Reproduction of Exhibits; Notice of Assembly; and Transmission of Documents from the Lower Court(a) Assembly. (1) Upon the filing of a notice of appeal, the clerk of the lower court shall promptly review the file and ensure the accuracy of the docket entries and that all documents are properly numbered in order of filing or identified with reasonable specificity. The clerk shall prepare a list of all exhibits filed in the lower court and ensure that all exhibits are properly numbered and labeled. The clerk shall maintain the file until the final disposition of the appeal, unless otherwise ordered by a judge.(2) The lower court or the appellate court or a single justice thereof may order the record to be assembled, and the appellate court or a single justice thereof may order the appeal to be docketed, at any time.(b) Exhibits. The lower court shall make such orders as it deems necessary for the preservation of exhibits, and shall not transmit any exhibit to the appellate court unless pursuant to an order of the appellate court or a justice thereof. The parties may reproduce exhibits for inclusion in the record appendix insofar as necessary to their appeal, pursuant to Rule 18. (c) Impounded materials. When an appeal has been taken in a case in which material has been impounded, the clerk of the lower court shall provide written notification to the appellate court clerk that material was impounded by the lower court when notice of the assembled record is transmitted. Such notification shall specify the materials or portions thereof which were impounded below and shall include a copy of the order of impoundment, if any, or a reference to other authority for the impoundment. Unless otherwise ordered by the appellate court, or otherwise provided in the lower court order of impoundment, material impounded in the lower court shall remain impounded in the appellate courts.(d) Appellant's Obligation. (1) In General. In a civil or criminal case, upon request by the clerk of the lower court, a party shall forthwith perform any act reasonably necessary to enable the clerk to assemble the record.(2) Civil Cases. Notwithstanding any other obligation which these rules may impose, but excepting electronically recorded proceedings governed by Rule 8(b)(1), each appellant in a civil case shall, within 14 days after filing a notice of appeal, deliver to the clerk of the lower court either (A) a transcript or those portions of the transcript of the lower court proceedings which the appellant deems necessary for determination of the appeal,(B) a signed statement certifying that the appellant has ordered such portions , or(C) a signed statement certifying that the appellant has not ordered and does not intend to order the transcript or any portion thereof. (3) Denial of Motion for Post-Conviction Relief in a Criminal Case. Excepting an appellant in a criminal case in which the defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree, and notwithstanding any other obligation these rules may impose, after the direct appeal, each appellant in a criminal case in which the appeal concerns the denial of a motion for post-conviction relief shall, within 14 days after filing a notice of appeal, deliver to the clerk of the lower court an electronically formatted transcript of the lower court proceedings related to the appellant's underlying conviction or a statement that such a transcript may not be obtained with due diligence, is not relevant, or has been ordered and not yet produced. In lieu of a copy of the transcript, the appellant may file with the clerk of the lower court a certification that a copy of the transcript is available in the appellate court. The certification shall include the appellate court docket number of the case in which the transcript is available. The clerk of the lower court shall transmit the transcript of the lower court proceedings or the certification to the appellate court when notice of the assembled record is transmitted.(e) Duty of Clerk; Transmission. (1) Unless otherwise ordered by the lower court or the appellate court or a single justice thereof pursuant to Rule 9(a)(2), the clerk of the lower court shall complete the assembly of the record and transmit notice of the assembled record to the parties and the clerk of the appellate court either: (A) within 21 days from the later of (i) the clerk's receipt of the transcript of proceedings, if any, in the lower court; or(ii) the clerk's receipt of notice from the appellant that no transcript will be ordered; or(iii) the expiration of the time for filing any other notice of appeal after the filing of a first notice of appeal pursuant to Rule 4(a); or(B) if the parties notify the clerk of their intent to file an agreed statement as to the record on appeal pursuant to Rule 8(d), within 21 days of the lower court's approval of the statement.(2) The notice of assembly transmitted to the appellate court shall be accompanied by the following: (A) a completed appellate court entry statement;(B) a copy of the notice of assembly issued to the parties;(C) a copy of the notice(s) of appeal;(D) a copy of the docket entries;(E) the written notification regarding impounded materials as required by Rule 9(c);(F) a list of all the exhibits; and,(G) in criminal cases, any electronically formatted transcript, if a transcript is necessary for the appeal.(3) In case of an order to transmit, transmission shall be effected when the clerk of the lower court mails or otherwise forwards a copy of the notice of assembly and other information as required in this rule to the clerk of the appellate court.(4) The clerk of the lower court shall indicate, by endorsement on the face of the notice of assembly, the date upon which it is transmitted to the appellate court.Amended May 15, 1979, effective 7/1/1979; amended effective 5/1/1994, June 26, 2002, effective 9/3/2002; amended October 31, 2018, effective 3/1/2019.