Rule 30 - Appendix to the Briefs(a) Joint Appendix; Duty of the Parties. Counsel have a duty to confer and attempt to reach an agreement concerning a possible joint appendix. In the absence of an agreement, the parties may file separate appendices to their briefs.(b) Contents of the Appendix. Except as otherwise required by this Rule, matters not necessary to the decision of the issues presented by the appeal must be omitted.(1) Transcripts. Copies of all transcripts that are necessary to the Supreme Court's or Court of Appeals' review of the issues presented on appeal must be included in the appendix.(2) Documents Required for Inclusion in Joint Appendix. In addition to the transcripts required by Rule 30(b)(1), the joint appendix must contain: (A) Complaint, indictment, information, or petition (including all amendments);(B) All answers, counterclaims, cross-claims, and replies, and all amendments thereto;(C) Relevant pretrial orders;(D) Relevant jury instructions given to which exceptions were taken, and excluded when offered;(E) Verdict or findings of fact and conclusions of law with direction for entry of judgment thereon;(F) Any relevant report of a hearing master, commissioner, or other referee;(H) All judgments or orders being challenged on appeal;(I) All notices of appeal; and(J) Proof of service, if any, of: (i) the summons and complaint;(ii) written notice of entry of the judgment or order appealed from;(iii) post-judgment motions enumerated in Rule 4(a); and(iv) written notice of entry of an order resolving any post-judgment motions enumerated in Rule 4(a).(3) Appellant's Appendix. If a joint appendix is not prepared, appellant's appendix to the opening brief must include those documents required for inclusion in the joint appendix under this Rule, and any other portions of the record necessary to determination of issues raised in appellant's appeal.(4) Respondent's Appendix. If a joint appendix is not prepared, respondent's appendix to the answering brief may contain any transcripts or documents which should have been but were not included in the appellant's appendix, and must otherwise be limited to those documents necessary to rebut appellant's position on appeal which are not already included in appellant's appendix.(5) Reply Appendix. The appellant may file an appendix to the reply brief which must include only those documents necessary to reply to respondent's position on appeal.(6) Presentence Investigation Report. If a copy of appellant's presentence investigation report is necessary for the Supreme Court's or Court of Appeals' review in a criminal case, appellant or respondent must file a motion with the clerk of the Supreme Court within the time period for filing the party's appendix, requesting that the court direct the district court clerk to transmit the report to the clerk of the Supreme Court in a sealed envelope. The motion must demonstrate that the report is necessary for the appeal.(c) Arrangement and Form of Appendix. The appendix must be in the form required by Rule 32(b), must be bound separately from the briefs, and must be arranged as set forth in this Rule. Documents filed electronically must be filed in a searchable Portable Document Format (PDF), except that exhibits and attachments to a filed document that cannot be imaged in a searchable format may be scanned. (1) Order and Numbering of Documents. All documents included in the appendix must be placed in chronological order by the dates of filing beginning with the first document filed, and must bear the file stamp of the district court clerk, clearly showing the date the document was filed in the proceedings below. Transcripts that are included in the appendix must be placed in chronological order by date of the hearing or trial. If the docket sheet or court minutes are included in the appendix, they need not be file stamped and must be placed at the end of the appendix. Each page of the appendix must be numbered consecutively in the lower right corner of the document.(2) Page Limits. Each volume of the appendix must contain no more than 250 pages.(3) Cover. The cover of an appendix must be white and must contain the same information as the cover of a brief under Rule 32(a), but must be prominently entitled "JOINT APPENDIX," or "APPELLANT'S APPENDIX," or "RESPONDENT'S APPENDIX" or "APPELLANT'S REPLY APPENDIX." The cover page shall leave room in the upper right quadrant for the file stamp.(4) Indexes to Appendix. The party filing the appendix must prepare both an alphabetical index and a chronological index identifying each document in the appendix with reasonable definiteness, and indicating the volume and page of the appendix where the document is located. These indexes must be filed contemporaneously with the appendix as a separate document. The cover of the indexes must contain the same information as the cover of a brief under Rule 32(a).(d) Exhibits. Copies of relevant and necessary exhibits must be clearly identified, and must be included in the appendix as far as practicable. If the exhibits are too large or otherwise incapable of being reproduced in the appendix, the parties may file a motion requesting the court to direct the district court clerk to transmit the original exhibits. The court will not permit the transmittal of original exhibits except upon a showing that the exhibits are relevant to the issues raised on appeal, and that the court's review of the original exhibits is necessary to the determination of the issues.(e) Time for Service and Filing of Appendix. A joint appendix must be filed and served no later than the filing of appellant's opening brief. An appellant's appendix must be served and filed with appellant's opening brief. A respondent's appendix must be served and filed with respondent's answering brief. If a reply brief is filed, any reply appendix must be served and filed with the reply brief.(f) Filing and Service. A party represented by counsel must file the appendix electronically, unless nonelectronic filing has been approved by the court. Unless electronically filed, one paper copy and USB flash drive version of the appendix must be filed with the clerk and served on all parties. A paper copy and USB flash drive version of the appendix must be served on all parties not represented by counsel.(g) Filing as Certification; Sanctions for Nonconforming Copies or for Substantial Underinclusion.(1) Filing an appendix constitutes a representation by counsel that the appendix consists of true and correct copies of the papers in the district court file. Willful or grossly negligent filing of an appendix containing nonconforming copies is an unlawful interference with the proceedings of the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals, and subjects counsel, and the party represented, to monetary and any other appropriate sanctions.(2) If an appellant's appendix is so inadequate that justice cannot be done without requiring inclusion of documents in the respondent's appendix which should have been in the appellant's appendix, or without the court's independent examination of portions of the original record which should have been in the appellant's appendix, the court may impose monetary sanctions.(h) Costs. Each party must, initially, bear the cost of preparing its separate appendices. The appellant must, initially, bear the cost of preparing a joint appendix; where several parties appeal from the same judgment or any part thereof, or there is a cross-appeal, the initial expense of preparing a joint appendix must be borne equally by the parties appealing, or as the parties may agree. (i) Pro Se Party Exception. This Rule does not apply to a party who is not represented by counsel. A pro se party must not file an appendix except as otherwise provided in these Rules or ordered by the court. If the court's review of the complete record is necessary, the court will direct the district court to transmit the record as provided in Rule 11.Replaced; effective 9/1/1996; as amended effective 10/1/2015; amended effective 8/15/2024.