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Appellate lawyers urge court to align remand briefing rules and address rising transcript costs
Summary
Practitioners told the court that when the Court of Appeals retains jurisdiction on remand the burden to obtain transcripts can fall unfairly on appellants; commenters said transcript costs have doubled and urged aligning MCR language with existing rules and shifting transcript costs away from appellants in rare remand cases.
Lisa Speaker and Jacqueline McCann told the court that proposed amendments clarifying review of remand proceedings and supplemental briefing should account for the practical burden of obtaining transcripts and for how courts notify and serve parties.
Lisa Speaker said the cost of transcripts "has gone up substantially in the past year. It's over doubled," and expressed concern that appellants may be required to pay for additional transcripts when the Court of Appeals retains jurisdiction and remands proceedings. She suggested that in rare circumstances where remand follows retainment of jurisdiction, trial courts or the county should bear the cost because the trial court’s handling of the proceeding is typically the reason for retainment.
Jacqueline McCann of the State Appellate Defenders Office said the proposed amendments should align with existing MCR 7.208 and 7.211 processes, and she described practical problems when transcripts and filing-service do not reach appellate counsel promptly. McCann asked the court to consider service-language and timing (for example, whether a longer time frame would better reflect when a party is actually served) so appellants are not disadvantaged by reporter delays.
A justice asked whether timing-language changes (for example, the proposed 56-day benchmark) or service-based language would better account for unpredictable transcript delays; McCann replied that service language is preferable because parties cannot always tell when they have been served and reporters sometimes file late. The exchange closed without further action at the hearing.
