M.R. App. P. 2A

(a) Commencing Appeal. Review of any criminal or civil judgment,

order, or ruling of the District Court, the Superior Court, any Unified Criminal

Docket, the Probate Courts, or a single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court that

is by law reviewable by the Law Court shall be by appeal.

(b) Notice and Appearances.

(1) Notice. The appeal shall be commenced by filing a notice of appeal

with the clerk of the trial court from which the appeal is taken. A notice of

appeal shall be filed in conformity with the rules then in effect for the trial court

from which the appeal is taken. The notice of appeal shall be signed by each

appellant or the appellant’s attorney. The notice of appeal shall specify the

party taking the appeal and designate the judgment or part thereof appealed

from. A copy of the notice of appeal shall be served on the other parties to the

trial court proceeding.

(2) Appearances. (A) Criminal Appeals. In criminal appeals, a

member of the Maine bar or unrepresented party filing the notice of appeal

shall be deemed to be representing the appellant unless new counsel appears

or counsel withdraws pursuant to M.R.U. Crim. P. 44(a)(2) and 44B; and the

member of the Maine bar or unrepresented party representing the appellee in

the trial court at the time the appeal is filed shall be deemed to be representing

the appellee unless new counsel appears or counsel withdraws pursuant to

M.R.U. Crim. P. 44(a)(2) and 44B.

(B) Civil Appeals. In civil appeals, a member of the Maine bar or

unrepresented party filing the notice of appeal shall be deemed to be

representing the appellant unless new counsel appears or counsel withdraws.

A member of the Maine bar representing a party who has not filed a notice of

appeal in the trial court shall be deemed to be representing that party in the

appeal unless new counsel appears, counsel withdraws, or the party elects not

to participate in the appeal. An unrepresented party, other than the appellant,

in the trial court proceeding at the time the appeal is filed shall be deemed to

be appearing in the appeal unrepresented unless counsel appears or the party

elects not to participate in the appeal.

(C) Visiting attorneys. A visiting attorney permitted to practice in

the trial court pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 89(b) or M.R.U. Crim. P. 55 may not

appear in the Law Court without permission of the Law Court and payment of

the designated fee. The provisions of M.R. Civ. P. 89(b) shall govern the

appearances of visiting attorneys in the Law Court.

(c) Filing Fee.

(1) No filing fee is required for appeals in criminal cases. The required

filing fee for appeals in civil cases shall be paid to the clerk of the trial court at

the time of the filing of the notice of appeal, or pursuant to M.R.E.C.S. 39 if

applicable in the trial court from which the appeal is taken.

(2) A person who believes that he or she cannot afford to pay the filing

fee may file a request to have the fee waived pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 91 and

M.R.E.C.S. 39(B) if applicable in the trial court from which the appeal is taken.

If the request to have the filing fee waived is denied, the party who sought the

waiver shall pay the filing fee in full within 7 days after the entry of the order

denying the request for waiver of the filing fee, or the appeal shall be dismissed

by the trial court.

(d) Transcript Order. If an appellant intends to include any portions

of the transcript in the record on appeal, that appellant must order those

portions either by using the online transcript order form found on the Judicial

Branch website, www.courts.maine.gov/programs/oto/index.html, or by using

the official Judicial Branch paper order form.

(1) To use the online transcript order form on the Judicial Branch

website, the appellant must

(A) complete all information required on the online form, including the

dates of the proceedings that the appellant wishes to have transcribed;

(B) file the printed confirmation sheet with the notice of appeal; and

(C) serve a copy of the printed confirmation sheet on the other parties.

(2) To use the official Judicial Branch paper transcript order form, the

appellant must

(A) complete all required information on the form, including the dates

of the proceedings that the appellant wishes to have transcribed;

(B) sign the form;

(C) file the original form with the notice of appeal; and

(D) serve a copy of the form on the other parties.

(e) Insufficient Filing. If a notice of appeal or transcript order is not

signed, the appeal shall not be accepted for filing. If the appeal is not accepted

for filing, the provisions of M.R.E.C.S. 35(D)-(E) shall control if applicable in the

trial court from which the appeal is taken. If the Maine Rules of Electronic Court

Systems do not apply in the trial court, the trial court clerk shall docket the

receipt and return of the non-accepted documents, and then return all

documents to the party who filed them. Documents that are returned to the

party who filed them shall not be deemed as filed for the purpose of calculating

compliance with time limits.

(f) Criminal Appeals: Particular Requirements.

(1) In a criminal case, when a court imposes any sentence on a

defendant (A) after trial, or (B) after a plea to murder or a Class A, B, or C crime,

with a term of one year or more that is not agreed to pursuant to M.R.U. Crim.

P. 11A, the defendant shall be advised by the trial court of the right to appeal.

If a criminal defendant not represented by counsel so requests, the trial court

shall cause a notice of appeal to be prepared and filed on behalf of the defendant

forthwith.

(2) A notice of appeal filed by the State in a criminal case shall be

accompanied by a written approval of the appeal signed by the Attorney

General, pursuant to Rule 21(b), or a representation that the Attorney General

has approved the appeal and a written approval will be filed within 7 days. The

State shall serve a copy of the written approval on the other parties, in addition

to the notice of appeal and transcript order form as required by Rules 2A(b)

and (d). The clerk of the trial court shall file the approval, note the filing in the

criminal docket, and mail a date-stamped copy of the approval to the defendant

or, if the defendant is represented by counsel, to the attorney for the defendant.

If the Maine Rules of Electronic Court Systems apply in the trial court, the clerk

of the trial court need not take the actions set forth in the preceding sentence.

(g) Trial Court Clerk Actions.

(1) The trial court clerk shall notify (A) the Clerk of the Law Court and

(B) the court reporter or Office of Transcript Operations of the filing of the

notice of appeal and transcript order form. The trial court clerk shall cause the

notice of appeal and transcript order form to be transmitted to the attorney of

record of each party other than the appellant, or, if a party is not represented

by an attorney, then to the last known address of that party. This notification

is sufficient notwithstanding the death or incapacity of the party or of the

party’s attorney prior to or subsequent to the mailing of the notification.

(2) Unless the notice of appeal and transcript order form are

transmitted to the attorneys of record or parties not represented by an attorney

pursuant to the Maine Rules of Electronic Court Systems, the clerk shall note in

the docket the names of the parties to whom the clerk mails the copies, with

date of mailing.

(3) The trial court clerk’s failure to comply with Rule 2A(g)(1) does not

affect the validity of the appeal, but no appeal shall be deemed to be filed and

commenced in the Law Court pursuant to Rule 3(a)(2) until the Clerk of the Law

Court receives the notification of the notice of appeal from the trial court clerk.

(4) In any action based on the Maine Tort Claims Act, 14 M.R.S. § 8101

et seq., whether the action involves the State or a local government, the trial

court clerk shall cause any notice of appeal that is filed to be transmitted to the

Attorney General at the same time as the notice is transmitted to the parties to

the action.