Paper Filing Requirements in the Illinois Supreme Court and Illinois Appellate Courts: Summary of Changes

Published on February 16, 2018 by and Gary Chyi, Esq
Filed under Appellate Practice
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Gary comes to Counsel Press with experience in filing numerous criminal and civil appeals in multiple federal courts after eight years in private practice and two years clerking for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Author's Bio

Gary Chyi, Esq.

Effective March 1, 2018, the Illinois Appellate Court, First District will join the Illinois Supreme Court, the Second, Third, and Fifth Districts and the Workers' Compensation Commission Division in requiring the filing of paper copies alongside all electronically filed briefs.

Mandatory e-filing in all appellate courts in Illinois began on July 1, 2017, pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Order M.R. 18368. This followed the e-filing pilot program in the Illinois Supreme Court, which had been active since 2012 on a separate system.

On July 1, all e-filing in the Illinois Supreme and Appellate Courts migrated to the current eFileIL system. Initially, only the Illinois Supreme Court required paper copies of electronically filed briefs, petitions for rehearing, petitions for leave to appeal, and answers to petitions for rehearing or leave to appeal to be filed with the court within five days of acceptance of the electronic filing (Rule 8 of the Electronic Filing Procedures & User Manual). The Supreme Court reduced the number of paper copies to be filed from 20 to 13, but required that those copies bear the electronic file stamp generated by the e-filing system in addition to the correctly-colored cover as required by Illinois Supreme Court Rule 341.

Other appellate courts in Illinois followed suit. Currently, the Second (Rule 101(c)), Third (Administrative Order 72, September 28, 2017) and Fifth (November 14, 2017 Administrative Order) Districts require litigants to file five paper copies of all electronically filed briefs with the court, under the correctly-colored cover and bearing the court's electronic file stamp, within five days of acceptance of the electronically filed brief. All cases statewide before the Workers' Compensation Commission Division of the Illinois Appellate Court must file ten paper copies (September 12, 2017 Administrative Order) instead of the five required by the other districts, bearing the court's electronic file stamp and with the correctly-colored cover.

Beginning March 1, 2018, the First District will require six paper copies of briefs and appendices, with the correctly-colored cover and bearing the court's electronic file stamp, within five days of acceptance of the electronically filed brief, per Rule 39 (as adopted January 30, 2018).

Please contact me with any questions about preparing and filing any appeal. Counsel Press provides a full spectrum of appellate services. Our Chicago, IL office focuses on rule-compliant appellate filings in the Illinois and Wisconsin Appellate and Supreme Courts, as well as the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. We offer unparalleled in-depth expertise nationwide in all State and Federal Courts through our local offices.

Tagged: Supreme Court of Illinois, Court Technology, Electronic Briefs, Appellate Practice, Appellate Services