Miss. R. App. P. 25

As amended through March 21, 2024

Rule 25 - Filing and Service

(a)Filing. Papers required or permitted to be filed shall be filed with the clerk of the Supreme Court and no motion, brief, motion for rehearing or other document, or any copy shall be sent by an attorney directly to any individual justice except as provided in Rule 8(c).

(1)Electronic Filing. Electronic filing is governed by the Appellate E-Filing Administrative Procedures.

(2)Conventional Filing. Conventional filing may be accomplished by mail addressed to the clerk, but filing shall not be timely unless the papers are received by the clerk within the time fixed for filing, except that briefs and record excerpts shall be deemed filed on the day of mailing by first class mail with postage prepaid, or any more expeditious form of delivery. For briefs and record excerpts to be deemed filed on the day of mailing, they must be accompanied by a certificate signed by the person who will actually mail the brief or record excerpt. The certificate shall specify the document filed, the number of copies filed, and the date the paper will be deposited in the United States mail addressed to the clerk. Papers received by the clerk of the Supreme Court without a certificate of filing shall be deemed filed when received by that clerk.

(3)Conventional Filing by Facsimile Transmission of Unopposed Procedural and Emergency Motions. Conventional filing of unopposed procedural and emergency relief motions may be accomplished by facsimile (fax) transmission. A document longer than five pages shall not be filed without prior leave of the clerk.

Each facsimile transmission shall be accompanied by a facsimile cover page which states the date of the transmission, the name and telephone number of the person transmitting the document, the name and facsimile telephone number of the person to whom the document is being transmitted, the docket number and style of the case in which the document is to be filed, the style of the document being filed, and the number of pages being transmitted, excluding the cover page.

A facsimile fee shall be required for filing a document by facsimile transmission.

Only one copy of the document shall be transmitted; the clerk will provide any additional copies required by these rules or an order of the appropriate appellate court, and the cost of copying shall be assessed against the filing party. Papers filed by facsimile transmission shall be deemed filed when the official date and time stamp of the clerk is affixed to the transmission. The facsimile signature shall be deemed an original signature. The filing party shall retain possession of the original executed document for submission to the Court if there is a dispute over authenticity.

A paper may be filed by facsimile transmission only if it can be served on opposing counsel by facsimile transmission. Service of a paper by facsimile transmission is complete when the person transmitting the paper receives confirmation of receipt of the transmission by the facsimile machine of the person served.

The proof of service for a paper served by facsimile transmission shall state the facsimile telephone number of the person to whom the paper was transmitted. A copy of the transmission report to opposing counsel shall be attached to the transmitted document. The person transmitting the document shall further certify that the facsimile fee and any required filing fee have been mailed to the clerk contemporaneously with the facsimile transmission.

Failure to comply with the facsimile requirements of this rule may result in the imposition of sanctions; the document transmitted may be stricken or deemed not filed, or other appropriate action may be taken.

(4)Completion of Filing. Except as provided above, when these rules or an order of an appellate court requires multiple copies of a document to be filed, filing shall not be deemed complete until all required copies are filed. If a motion is filed with a single justice as permitted by Rule 8, the justice may permit the motion to be filed with that justice, in which event the justice shall note on the motion the date of filing and shall forward the motion to the clerk of the Supreme Court.

(b)Service of All Papers Required. Copies of all papers filed by any party and not required by these rules to be served by the clerk shall, at or before the time of filing, be served by a party or person acting for that party on all other parties to the appeal. Service on a party represented by counsel shall be made on counsel. In all cases a copy of any brief on the merits shall be served on the judge who presided at the trial and, in criminal cases, with the office of the District Attorney.

(c)Manner of Service. Service may be personal, by mail, by electronic means in conformity with procedures established by the Court, or, in limited instances, by facsimile transmission. Personal service includes delivery of the copy to a clerk or other responsible person at the office of counsel. Service by mail is complete on mailing. A paper may be served by facsimile transmission only if it can be filed by facsimile transmission and only if the person to be served is an attorney who has consented to receive facsimile transmissions. An attorney may consent by including the attorney's facsimile telephone number in the letterhead or signature/address block of a paper the attorney files in the case. Consent may be rescinded by serving and filing notice to the other parties to the appeal or review and to the clerk of the Supreme Court. Service of a paper by facsimile transmission is complete when the person transmitting the paper receives confirmation of receipt of the transmission by the facsimile machine of the person served.

(d)Proof of Service. Papers presented for filing shall contain an acknowledgment of service by the person served or proof of service in the form of a statement of the date and manner of service and of the names of the persons served, certified by the person who made service. Proof of service may appear on or be affixed to the papers filed. The clerk may permit papers to be filed without acknowledgment or proof of service but shall require such to be filed promptly. The proof of service for a paper served by facsimile transmission shall state the facsimile telephone number of the person to whom the paper was transmitted.

Miss. R. App. P. 25

Amended 6/21/1996; amended effective 6/27/2002; amended June 6, 2013; amended October 17, 2018, effective 10/25/2018.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE HISTORICAL NOTE

Effective June 27, 2002, Rule 25(b) was amended to delete a reference to the District Attorney "who prosecuted the case." 822-823 So.2d XVII (West Miss.Cases 2002).

Effective June 21, 1996, Rule 25(a) was amended to redesignate rehearing "petitions" as "motions." 673-678 So.2d XL (West Miss. Cases 1996).

Effective January 1, 1995, Miss.R.App.P. 25 replaced Miss.Sup.Ct.R. 25, embracing proceedings in the Court of Appeals. Rule 25 was further amended to provide for filing by facsimile transmission. 644-647 So.2d LIX-LXI (West Miss.Cases 1994).

Comment

Electronic filing in most appellate matters became mandatory on January 1, 2014. Under Section 1.D. of the Appellate E-Filing Administrative Procedures, "all briefs. motions, responses, and compliance documents ... must be filed electronically." Section 4 exempts sealed and confidential cases, pro se litigants, and documents other than briefs. motions, responses and compliance documents, all of which must be filed conventionally.

Rule 25 is substantially patterned after Fed. R. App. P. 25. It enlarges upon former practice to provide that for conventional filing service by mail is complete on mailing. Filing of briefs and record excerpts is deemed to take place on the day of mailing if they are sent by first class mail with postage prepaid or any more expeditious form of delivery. Other papers are deemed filed when filed with the clerk.

Unlike the federal rule, this rule does not permit papers to be filed with a single justice as a matter of course. It restricts such filings to requests for emergency stay relief under Rule 8(c).