Preparing the Excerpt of Record

What is an excerpt of record?

The appellant and appellee each prepare an "excerpt of record." Each party selects the most important documents in a case and puts them together in one booklet called the excerpt of record. The excerpt is supposed to highlight the most important documents in a form that is easy for the Supreme Court to use. Do not put all of the documents in the case into your excerpt because the Supreme Court already has the entire record from the Superior Court.

Do you file an excerpt of record with each appeal brief?

The appellant must file an excerpt of record with the opening brief. The appellee may file a different excerpt of record with the response brief if the appellant’s excerpt didn’t include all the required documents. The appellant may file a “supplemental” excerpt of record with the reply brief only to include relevant documents that the other excerpts didn’t include.

What documents should be in the appellant's excerpt of record?

The appellant’s excerpt of record must include both required documents and any others from the Superior Court case that you cite in your appeal brief and that are relevant to the issues on appeal. You must include:

• complaint and answer or petition
• final judgment or order that you are appealing
• other relevant orders
• findings of fact and conclusions of law or other statements showing the Superior Court’s reasoning
• relevant parts of motions, affidavits or oppositions
• parts of the transcript that contains oral rulings or relevant discussions by the Superior Court
  
• specific portions of other documents in the record that the appeal briefs refer to and which are important to the issues on appeal

Does the appellee need to file an excerpt of record?

If the appellant’s excerpt of record contains all the documents required in Appellate Rule 210(c)(2)(A) , then the appellee should not provide them again. The appellee should include any different documents that the response brief refers to and which are important to the appellee’s arguments on appeal.

Does the appellant file another excerpt of record with the reply brief?

The appellant may file an excerpt of record with the reply brief called a “supplemental excerpt.” This is only necessary if the previous excerpts do not contain all the relevant documents from the Superior Court case to support your arguments. Do not include parts of the record that appear in another excerpt filed in the appeal.

Can you include documents that are not in the Superior Court record?

If you want the Supreme Court to review documents that are not in the Superior Court record, file a motion to supplement the record. You must explain why it is appropriate for the Court to consider those documents. For information about filing a motion, see our motions page.

What should the copies look like?

The copies should look exactly like the ones that the Superior Court considered. This means there should not be any notes or markings on the pages. Make sure the copies in the excerpt are clear and are numbered consecutively (1, 2, 3, 4 etc.) so you can refer to them in your brief.

Are there specific formatting requirements for the excerpt of record?

Yes. To understand what documents must be included in your excerpt of record and how to organize it, read

• Appellate Rule 210(c)
• Clerk's Instructions for Preparation of Excerpts (See Appendix near the end of the list of Appellate Rules)

Make sure to follow all requirements for excerpt of record formatting. If you don't format the excerpt of record correctly, the court may reject it. Please read the Top Ten Reasons Why Briefs and Excerpts of Record are Rejected .

When is the excerpt of record due?

It is due at the same time when you file your appeal brief.

• appellant’s opening brief and excerpt of record are due within 30 days from when the case manager sends the Notice of briefing.
  
• appellee’s response brief and excerpt of record are due 30 days after the appellant’s opening brief was filed if you were served by personal delivery or 33 days if it was mailed
  
• appellant’s reply brief and excerpt of record are due 20 days after you are served with the response brief if served by personal delivery or 23 days if it was mailed

If there is a different schedule because the Appellate Court Clerk’s Office rejected one of the appeal briefs, the case manager will send a notice. If your case is expedited under Appellate Rule 218 or another rule, there may be a different timeline. Remember to serve the other side (or their attorney) within the same timeline that you are required to file the brief.

What do you do after preparing the excerpt of record?

After you finish:

• writing and formatting the brief, and
• preparing the excerpt of record

get ready to file the brief and excerpt of record and serve the opposing party.

Rev. 23 July 2007 © Alaska Court System www.courts.alaska.gov Contact Us

You'll need to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view and print documents with this symbol. If you are using a screen reader, get support and information at the Adobe Access website.