Copy of Video Three- Notice of Appeal-720p-b6dd45d0-9cd4-48ae-ba5c-2eaea79f69f4

Welcome to a video series by the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts. These short videos are aimed at helping self-represented litigants, otherwise called people without lawyers, with civil appeals. You should know that this video content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. You must speak with a lawyer if you need legal advice. This is video #3 in our civil appeals series for the Illinois Appellate Court. In this video, we will discuss how to start your appeal by filing a document called the Notice of Appeal. Keep watching for more information! This video will focus on explaining the Notice of Appeal. We’ll first define some terms that you may hear when filing paperwork for your appeal. Then, we’ll talk about what the Notice of Appeal is and when it is due. We will also go over e-filing requirements in Illinois. And finally, we’ll give you some contact information on where to go for more information. We want to take a moment to define some terms that we will be using in this video that may be unfamiliar to you. The Circuit Court, also called a trial court, is where the judge assigned to your case made an order or judgment that is the basis of your appeal. The Appellate Court is a court of review. A person has the right to request a review of a circuit court judge’s decision by the Appellate Court, with or without the assistance of a lawyer. Appellant - If you are filing the appeal, you are considered the appellant and that is true no matter what side of the case you were on in the circuit court; for example, if you were the petitioner or the respondent. Notice of Appeal – This form begins an appeal and it is filed by the appellant. The rest of this video will explain this form and the required steps. This is a simplified overview of the multiple steps involved in a civil appeal. The highlighted bubble in yellow shows the current step that will be discussed in this video. There are additional videos in this series that cover the remaining steps required in an appeal. Additionally, you can find more information about the steps necessary to complete an appeal on the Court’s website. So, what is the Notice of Appeal? It is a document filed by the appellant to begin an appeal of a circuit court judge's order or judgment. The filing of the Notice of Appeal tells the circuit court and the other party that the appellant is appealing and what relief is being requested from the appellate court. You should know that it does not cost anything to file a Notice of Appeal. The appellant, however, will be responsible for paying other fees for filing documents for the appeal, such as the record on appeal and the docketing statement. The first video in this series discusses all of the fees for an appeal and who is responsible for paying them, as well as fee waivers if you are unable to pay. Please watch video #1 for more information about fees. We want to take a moment to explain the different courts and clerk’s offices, because this can be confusing for some people. The appellant will need to file documents for the appeal in the clerk’s office in both the Circuit Court and the Appellate Court. In general, in order to begin an appeal, the appellant will need to file a Notice of Appeal in the circuit court clerk’s office where the order or judgment was issued. There are 24 circuits in Illinois and each Circuit Court has its own clerk’s office. There are five appellate districts in Illinois and each court has its own clerk’s office. Contact information for the clerk's office is available on the court's website. Filing documents in both courts can be confusing for appellants and can lead to delays in your appeal if items are incorrectly filed. This chart summarizes the documents that are filed in each of the respective clerk’s offices. As a reminder, if you received a fee waiver or an e-filing exemption in the circuit court, you must reapply in the appellate court. They do not automatically transfer for your appeal. To begin an appeal, the appellant will file the Notice of Appeal into their existing circuit court case with the clerk of the circuit court. You will need to e-file your Notice of Appeal unless you have an e-filing exemption. These are the general steps the appellant should follow when filing the Notice of Appeal. Once the Notice of Appeal is filed, within 7 days, the appellant will need to serve it on the other party, or their lawyer, if they have one and file in the appellate court proof of service. The appellant will receive an appellate court case number from the Clerk of the Appellate Court. As previously mentioned, there is an important exception for filing the Notice of Appeal. This applies to appeals from final orders issued by state administrative agencies. For those cases only, the appellant will file a Petition for Review directly with the Appellate Court. Administrative appeals have special rules, outlined in Illinois Supreme Court Rule 335, that you’ll need to follow. If this applies to you, contact your Appellate clerk’s office and consult the Illinois Supreme Court Rules for further information. We will cover Administrative Appeals more in-depth in another video in this series. It is very important for you to recognize how significant deadlines are for your appeal. We simply cannot stress the importance of deadlines enough. All documents that you will need to submit for your appeal have very strict deadlines. If you do not submit your documents on time, you may lose the right to appeal. For most appeals, the deadline for filing the Notice of Appeal is within 30 days of entry of the order or judgment that you are appealing. There are some cases that have shorter deadlines. If you are unsure about the deadline for your case, you should reach out to your local Appellate clerks’ office and consult the Illinois Supreme Court Rules. So, you may be asking, what if I miss the deadline for filing the Notice of Appeal for my case? It is never a good idea to miss a deadline for your appeal. However, if this happens, the appellant will need to file a motion with the Appellate Court asking for leave to file a late Notice of Appeal and explaining why you missed the original deadline. The motion must be filed within 30 days of the original deadline for the Notice of Appeal. It must include a proposed order and it must be served on the other party or their lawyer if they have one. It is important to know that the Court will review the Motion and consider the reasons why the deadline was missed. However, the Court does not have to grant your motion. So, it is very important to meet all deadlines for your appeal from the outset. We will cover Motions more in-depth in another video in this series. If you are interested in learning more about Motions, please be sure to watch that video. If you are confused about deadlines or have questions about your appeal, it is your responsibility to proactively reach out to the appellate clerk’s office. Their staff can confirm due dates and can help direct you to information that you’ll need for your appeal. All of the forms and instructions that you’ll need to complete your appeal, including the Notice of Appeal, are available on the Court’s website. They are available for download from a computer or smart device. The Notice of Appeal comes with a “Getting Started” page, which outlines important information you should know, such as the Illinois Supreme Court Rules that govern its submission. The Notice of Appeal also includes detailed “How To” instructions that explain each step in completing the form. The instructions are written in simple language to help you understand what information is being requested and why. Please be certain to consult these instructions when completing your form. The Notice of Appeal form itself is available for you to complete and submit to the court. The form also has very brief instructions in the left hand margin to help guide you through completion. Finally, the Notice of Appeal has a proof of service page within it. This is important because when you file any document with the court, you must serve, or send, a copy of that filing to the other side or their lawyer if they have one. Serving the other party is a required step and you must complete the proof of service page to show how you sent the document to them. Now that you know where to locate the instructions and form that you’ll need for your Notice of Appeal, let’s discuss how to file it with the court. As a reminder, E-filing is mandatory in all Illinois courts and there are only a few exceptions to this rule. As discussed earlier in this video, you will need to e-file your Notice of Appeal into your existing circuit court case. Video #2 in this series covers e-filing. Please be certain to watch that video for more information on how to e-file your documents or how to request an e-filing exemption if you qualify. These resources may help you with your appeal. The Civil Appeals Self-Help website has many resources for you to review, including: Comprehensive appellate guides and overviews that help explain procedure and rules; A detailed frequently asked questions guide that discusses all stages of an appeal; and step-by-step E-filing guides to help you file your appeal. You can also find the appellate clerk’s contact information and all of the forms that you’ll need to complete your appeal on the court’s website. Here is the contact information for the Appellate Resource Program at the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts. Please feel free to contact our office for more information. Thank you for watching and stay tuned for additional videos on civil appeals for people without lawyers.