Rule 45 - Duties of the Clerk(a) General Provisions. The clerk of the Supreme Court shall take the oath and give the bond required by law, and shall serve as clerk for the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals shall be deemed always open for the purpose of filing any proper paper, of issuing and returning process, and of making motions and orders. The office of the clerk shall be open during business hours on all days except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays specified in Rule 26.(b) The Docket; Other Records Required. The clerk shall keep a book or record known as the docket and shall enter each case in it. Cases shall be assigned consecutive file numbers. All papers filed with the clerk and all process, orders, and judgments shall be entered chronologically in the docket assigned to the case. Entries shall be brief but shall show the nature of each paper filed or judgment or order entered. The entry of an order or judgment shall show the date the entry is made. The clerk shall keep a suitable index of cases contained in the docket. The clerk shall prepare, under the direction of the court, a list of cases awaiting argument or submission.
The clerk shall keep such other books and records as may be required by the Supreme Court.
(c) Notice of Orders or Judgment. Immediately upon the entry of an order or judgment, the clerk shall serve a notice of entry by mail upon each party to the proceeding and shall make a note in the docket of the mailing. Service on a party represented by counsel shall be made on counsel.(d) Custody of Records and Papers. The clerk shall have custody of the records and papers of the Supreme Court and of the Court of Appeals. The clerk shall not permit any original record or paper to be taken from the clerk's custody during the pendency of the appeal except by or on behalf of a party. After the completion of the time for briefing prescribed by Rule 31 and before decision, no party will be permitted to withdraw the record except upon motion accompanied by an affidavit stating that the trial court record retained under Rule 11(e) is not available. After, a mandate has been issued, any member of the bar in good standing may withdraw from the clerk's office any record after paying in advance a fee of $15.00. Incarcerated pro se litigants may withdraw from the clerk's office the appellate record in their cause after paying in advance a fee of $15.00. A reasonable mailing and handling fee of $10.00 will be assessed in the event the record requires mailing to the requesting party. Records containing more than 10 volumes will be assessed actual mailing cost. No record shall be held out of the clerk's office more than 90 days. If the record is held out past the 90 day period, a record delinquency fee will be assessed in the amount of $50.00. The clerk shall maintain a separate accounting dealing solely with records and documents which have been withdrawn from the clerk's files in accordance with this rule. The clerk shall advise the Supreme Court in writing on the first Monday of each month of any records, briefs, or papers which have not been returned in compliance with this rule. The Supreme Court may also take such other action with respect to records as the circumstances warrant, and may require any party failing to return a record to pay the full cost of reproducing the record from other sources. A copy of this rule shall be attached to any records or documents removed from the clerk's office indicating the estimated cost for reproduction. This rule does not apply to those cases which the Supreme Court has delivered to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History pursuant to Section 9-3 -25 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, for which cases the Mississippi Department of Archives and History is solely responsible.Amended effective 1/3/2002;3/9/2010, effective 7/1/2010.Advisory Committee Historical Note
Effective January 3, 2002, Rule 45(d) was amended regarding removal of closed files from the Clerk's office. 803-804 So.2d XXI (West Miss.Cases 2002).
Effective January 1, 1995, Miss.R.App.P. 45 replaced Miss.Sup.Ct.R. 45, providing that the clerk of the Supreme Court shall serve as the clerk for the Court of Appeals. Subsection (b) was further amended to effect a technical change concerning the docket. 644- 647 So.2d LXXXIV-LXXXV (West Miss.Cases 1994).Comment
Rule 45 follows Fed. R. App. P. 45 and prior state practice.
The Rule provides that the clerk of the Supreme Court also serves as the clerk of the Court of Appeals. This is consistent with the general policy under which the administrative structure and employees of the Supreme Court support and serve the Court of Appeals, and consistent with the Supreme Court's general authority to set administrative policies and procedures for the Court of Appeals. Of course, references throughout these rules to the clerk of the Supreme Court include any duly appointed deputy clerk. See Miss Code Ann. 9-4-7(2)(Supp. 1994).
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