KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District has amended two of its special rules. Special Rule IV has been amended with the aim of speeding up the process of submitting exhibits on appeal to the Western District. Supreme Court Rule 30.05 provides that in criminal cases exhibits are due on the day the case is set for hearing unless the Court requests them earlier. Supreme Court Rule 81.16(c) provides that in civil cases exhibits are due by the date the reply brief is due or when the court so directs. The Western District has amended its Special Rule IV to provide that in both civil and criminal cases parties shall submit their exhibits at the time they file their initial briefs. Thus, the Appellant’s exhibits are due when the Appellant files the Appellant’s brief. Likewise, Respondent’s exhibits are due when the Respondent files the Respondent’s brief.
The Western District has also amended its Special Rule XII relating to electronic filing requirements. First, subsection (E) relating to electronic filing of confidential cases has been eliminated because enhancements to Missouri’s electronic filing system have made it unnecessary to submit documents in confidential cases by electronic mail attachment. Subsection (F) relating to notice is now subsection (E). Second, subsection (D) has been amended to increase the number of paper copies of briefs required from three (3) to four (4). Finally, subsection (B) has been amended to provide that the electronic version of a transcript shall be prepared and submitted in full page format. The paper copy of the transcript should continue to be submitted in page reduction format.
The amended rules shall be effective on January 1, 2015. Both the current and amended versions of Special Rule IV and Special Rule XII are available for viewing on the Missouri Courts website (courts.mo.gov) by clicking on the Court Rules link.