AP-200 (2/18) (green cvr) APPELLANT INSTRUCTIONS District Court To Superior Court Appeals Court staff generally can inform you about court procedures, court rules, court records, and forms. Court staff must remain neutral and impartial. They are not allowed to give legal advice. Court staff cannot: advise you how statutes and rules apply to your case, tell you whether the documents you prepare properly present your case, tell you what the best procedures are to accomplish a particular objective, or interpret laws for you. If you need help with your case, you should talk to a lawyer. February 2018 ALASKA COURT SYSTEM website: http://www.courts.alaska.gov/forms/index.htm American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com 251 Copyright 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1996, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2015, and 2018 by Alaska Court System All rights reserved. Permission to reproduce the contents of this booklet, but not for profit, is hereby granted to governmental and non-profit educational institutions. However, reproduction of any part of this booklet for commercial purposes without the express written permission of the Alaska Court System is strictly prohibited. American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com AP-200 (2/18) 1 INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING AN APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT TO THE SUPERIOR COURT 1 NOTICE: Appeals to the superior court are governed by Appellate Rules 600-612. Appeals are complicated, and you should consider seeing a lawyer if you want to appeal. I. DEFINITIONS A. APPEAL. An appeal is a review by a higher court (in this instance, the superior court) of a lower court's (the district court's) final decision or judgment. An appeal is not a new trial. The superior court will not accept any new evidence. The only information the superior court will consider on appeal is the following: 1. the electronic recording of the trial; 2. any items offered as evidence at the trial; 3. the documents in the court file; and 4. legal briefs filed in the appeal. B. APPELLANT. The appellant is the party who files the appeal. C. APPELLEE. The appellee is the party who defends against the appeal. II. COPIES TO OTHER PARTIES The court rules require each party to send to all other parties a copy of any document which that party files with the court. Appellate Rule 602 (j) Proof that this has been done must be shown on or attached to each document you file. It is called proof of service. The forms which the court provides for your use include a certificate of distribution section which, if completed, will satisfy the requirement for proof of service. Note: If another party is represented by an attorney, the documents must be served on the attorney instead of the party. III. TO FILE AN APPEAL A. Who may file an appeal. 1. Criminal Sentence Appeal Any defendant convicted of a misdemeanor who is sentenced to serve more than 120 days in jail may file a sentence appeal on the 1 Appeals from the district court include formal civil appeals, small claims appeals, traffic and other minor offense appeals, criminal merit appeals and sentence appeals. In a criminal, traffic or other minor offense case, you can appeal the disuperior court or the court of appeals. These instructions discuss only the procedures for an appeal to the superior court. The procedures for appealing to the court of appeals are different. You should contact an attorney if you wish to appeal to the court of appeals. Also see footnote 2 about petitions to the Supreme Court for review of sentences. American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com AP-200 (2/18) 2 ground that the sentence is excessive. 2 2 Upon such an appeal, the court may reduce or increase the sentence. 2. All Other Appeals From the District Court Any party in a court case who believes that a) the court applied the law incorrectly, and/or b) the decision or judgment was not supported by the evidence presented, may file an appeal. B. When must an appeal be filed. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days from the date shown in the clerk's certificate of distribution at the bottom of the judgment or final order. Appellate Rule 602(a)(1) If you want to file a notice of appeal after the 30 days, you must file a Request and Order (form AP-135) asking the court to accept your late-filed appeal. Your request must state why your appeal is late. File your request at the time you file your notice of appeal. C. How to File an Appeal. To file an appeal, do the following: 1. Notice. File a Notice of Appeal (form AP-100) with the superior court. 3 The nearest court can tell you the superior court in which your appeal must be filed. You must attach a copy of the district court judgment. 4 2. Filing Fee. You must either: a. Pay a $250 filing fee ($100 if the appeal is from small claims court). Make your check or money order payable to "Clerk of Court." -OR- b. If you cannot afford to pay the filing fee, you may file a Request and Order (form AP-135) asking the court to waive the filing fee. A financial statement (form CR-206) must be filed with the request. File your request at the time you file your notice of appeal. 2 A misdemeanor defendant sentenced to serve 120 days or less in jail may seek review of the sentence by filing a petition for review in the supreme court. The supreme court may or may not agree to review the sentence. The procedures for filing this petition are described in Appellate Rules 403(h) and 215. A notice of intent to file this petition must be filed with the clerk of the appellate courts within 10 days after the date shown in the clerk's certificate of distribution at the bottom of the judgment. If the judgment was mailed to you, you have an additional three days to file your notice. You should contact an attorney for help if you want to do this. 3 See Appellate Rule 602(b)(1) about venue for appeals. 4 Appellate Rule 602(c)(1)(D) American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com AP-200 (2/18) 3 3. Bond. No bond is required for sentence, traffic or criminal merit appeals. In appeals from civil and small claims cases, you must file one of the following at the time you file your notice of appeal: - a $750 cost bond; or - a motion to waive or reduce cost bond; or - a supersedeas bond. a. $750 Cost Bond. The purpose of filing a cost bond is to make sure the opposing paid by you if the appeal is dismissed or if you lose the appeal. IMPORTANT NOTICE: Filing a cost bond will not stop the creditor from seizing your property to collect the judgment. To do this, you must file a supersedeas bond as described in paragraph c below. To meet the cost bond requirement, you can either file a surety bond or make a cash deposit as described below: (1) Surety Bond. This is a document which guarantees payment of money if certain things occur. The person or company that writes the bond is called the surety. The surety guarantees the payment by becoming liable (responsible) for it. Such bonds are generally available from insurance companies or third parties qualified to write surety bonds. There will be a fee. The court system does not provide forms for surety bonds. (2) Cash Deposit. If you want to make a cash deposit with the court instead of filing a surety bond, complete the Cash Deposit on Appeal (form AP-110). Check the first box on the form, fill out the rest of it, acknowledge it before a court clerk or notary public and give it to the clerk along with your money. b. Motion to Waive or Reduce Cost Bond. Appellate Rule 204(c)(1) requires that the cost bond be for $750 unless the superior court fixes a lesser amount. If you think this amount is unnecessarily high because the expected appeal costs (including attorney fees) for the appellee will be considerably less than $750, you may file: (1) a Motion to Waive or Reduce Cost Bond (form AP-120); and (2) an Order Re Cost Bond (form AP-130). American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com AP-200 (2/18) 4 If you believe you cannot afford to post a $750 cost bond, you may file: (1) a Motion to Waive or Reduce Cost Bond (form AP-120); (2) an Order Re Cost Bond (form AP-130); and (3) a Financial Statement (form CR-206). The court will notify you of its decision. If the court orders a cost bond to be