Section 2154. Designation of Contents of Reproduced Record

(a) General rule.—Except when the appellant has elected to proceed under Subdivision (b) of this rule, or as otherwise provided in Subdivision (c) of this rule, the appellant shall not later than 30 days before the date fixed by or pursuant to Rule 2185 (service and filing of briefs) for the filing of his or her brief, serve and file a designation of the parts of the record which he or she intends to reproduce and a brief statement of issues which he or she intends to present for review. If the appellee deems it necessary to direct the particular attention of the court to parts of the record not designated by the appellant, the appellee shall, within ten days after receipt of the designations of the appellant, serve and file a designation of those parts. The appellant shall include in the reproduced record the parts thus designated. In designating parts of the record for reproduction, the parties shall have regard for the fact that the entire record is always available to the court for reference and examination and shall not engage in unnecessary designation.

(b) Large records.—If the appellant shall so elect, or if the appellate court has prescribed by rule of court for classes of matters or by order in specific matters, preparation of the reproduced record may be deferred until after the briefs have been served. Where the appellant desires thus to defer preparation of the reproduced record, the appellant shall, not later than the date on which his or her designations would otherwise be due under Subdivision (a), serve and file notice that he or she intends to proceed under this subdivision. The provisions of Subdivision (a) shall then apply, except that the designations referred to therein shall be made by each party at the time his or her brief is served, and a statement of the issues presented shall be unnecessary.

(c) Children’s fast track appeals.

(1) In a children’s fast track appeal, the appellant shall not later than 23 days before the date fixed by or pursuant to Rule 2185 (service and filing of briefs) for the filing of his or her brief, serve and file a designation of the parts of the record which he or she intends to reproduce and a brief statement of issues which he or she intends to present for review. If the appellee deems it necessary to direct the particular attention of the court to parts of the record not designated by the appellant, the appellee shall, within 7 days after receipt of the designations of the appellant, serve and file a designation of those parts. The appellant shall include in the reproduced record the parts thus designated. In designating parts of the record for reproduction, the parties shall have regard for the fact that the entire record is always available to the court for reference and examination and shall not engage in unnecessary designation.

(2) In a children’s fast track appeal, the provisions of Subdivision (b) shall not apply.

Official Note

Based in part upon former Supreme Court Rule 44, former Superior Court Rule 36 and former Commonwealth Court Rule 88. The prior statutory practice required the lower court or the appellate court to resolve disputes concerning the contents of the reproduced record prior to reproduction. The statutory practice was generally recognized as wholly unsatisfactory and has been abandoned in favor of deferral of the issue to the taxation of costs phase. The uncertainty of the ultimate result on the merits provides each party with a significant incentive to be reasonable, thus creating a self-policing procedure.

Of course, parties proceeding under either procedure may by agreement omit the formal designations and accelerate the preparation of a reproduced record containing the material which the parties have agreed should be reproduced.

See Rule 2189 for procedure in cases involving the death penalty.

The provisions of this Rule 2154 amended through December 1, 1982, effective December 1, 1982, 12 Pa.B. 4332; amended July 7, 1997, effective in 60 days, 27 Pa.B. 3503; amended January 13, 2009, effective as to all appeals filed 60 days or more after adoption, 39 Pa.B. 1094. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (338843) to (338844).

Notation

Explanatory Note—1979

The principal criticism of the new Appellate Rules has been the provisions for deferred preparation of the reproduced record, and the resulting procedure for the filing of advance copies of briefs (since the page citations to the reproduced record pages are not then available) followed by the later preparation and filing of definitive briefs with citations to the reproduced record pages. It has been argued that in the typical state court appeal the record is quite small, with the result that the pre-1976 practice of reproducing the record in conjunction with the preparation of appellant’s definitive brief is entirely appropriate and would ordinarily be followed if the rules did not imply a preference for the deferred method. The Committee has been persuaded by these comments, and the rules have been redrafted to imply that the deferred method is a secondary method particularly appropriate for longer records.