S.C. R. P. Admin. Law. Ct. 36

As amended through June 24, 2024

Rule 36 - Record on Appeal

A.Time for Service and Filing. Within forty-five (45) days of the date of the notice of assignment to an administrative law judge, the agency with possession of the Record shall file an original and one (1) electronic copy of the Record with the Court and serve one (1) copy on each party to the appeal, unless the time for filing the Record is extended by the Administrative Law Judge assigned to the appeal. In appeals from decisions of the Department of Employment and Workforce, the Department must file and serve the Record within thirty (30) days of the date of the notice of assignment. In preparing the Record, the agency must comply with the provisions of Rule 6(B) regarding privacy protection. The time for filing the Record on Appeal is not tolled if the case is subsequently reassigned to another administrative law judge and runs from the date of the initial notice of assignment.

B. Content. The Record shall consist of the following:

(1) All pleadings, motions, and intermediate rulings;

(2) All evidence received or considered;

(3) A statement of matters judicially noticed;

(4) All proffers of proof of excluded evidence;

(5) The final order or decision which is subject to review;

(6) The transcript of the testimony taken during the proceeding.

C. Order of Record. The Record shall be arranged in the following order: the title page, index, orders, judgments, decrees, pleadings, transcript, exhibits, other materials or documents, and a certificate of service. Each page of the Record shall be numbered consecutively beginning with the index.

D. Title Page. The title page shall contain only the caption, the docket number, and the title "Record on Appeal.".

E. Index. Every Record shall contain an index to the principal matters therein, to include orders, judgments, pleadings, prehearing matters, opening statements, testimony, motions, closing arguments, post-hearing motions, and exhibits. For witness testimony, the index shall show the pages on which direct, cross, redirect, and recross examination begins.

F. Exhibits. Photographs, plats and diagrams, and other paper exhibits shall be inserted in the Record where they can be reduced or drawn to a size which permits them to be printed and inserted in the Record, without folding more than one time. Where exhibits are larger, or do not reasonably lend themselves to accurate reproduction, they need not be included in the Record, but shall be filed separately. All exhibits other than paper exhibits must be delivered to the clerk of the Court.

G. Review Limited to Record. The Administrative Law Judge will not consider any fact which does not appear in the Record.

H. Cover of Record. The cover of the Record must be white in color and contain only the caption and the names, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of counsel.

I. Margins and Bindings. Typewritten papers or reproductions must have a blank margin of an inch and a half on the left and must be securely fastened on the left margin.

S.C. R. P. Admin. Law. Ct. 36

Amended effective 4/18/2022.

2022 Revised Notes

The agency with possession of the record in the contested case (other than Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) cases) must file an original and one electronic copy of the record with the Court within forty-five days of the date the case is assigned to an administrative law judge. This ensures that the agency must file the record only after the appellant has perfected the appeal by filing the notice of appeal and submitting the appropriate filing fee. The agency is responsible for compliance with Rule 6(B) regarding privacy protection. The format of the Record on Appeal is similar to that used in the South Carolina Appellate Court Rules. The administrative law judge's review is limited to those facts appearing in the record. For appeals involving the Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW), a shorter time frame for the filing and service of the Record on Appeal applies. The shorter time frame is designed to expedite the resolution of DEW appeals in accordance with S.C. Code Ann. § 41-35-750, which provides that these appeals must be heard in a summary manner. Rule 36(A) was amended in 2022 to allow DEW thirty days to file the Record on Appeal, instead of the original time frame of twenty days.