Recently, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued an order adopting a handful of amendments to the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure.  Here is a brief summary:

• Rule 28(h) has been amended to provide that appellants may now file a reply brief as of right regardless of whether a case is being heard for oral argument. The page limit for reply briefs prepared using proportional type is 15 pages and the word limit for reply briefs using non-proportional type is 3,750 words.  This change also resulted in a number of semantic changes to a number of other rules. 
• Rule 27(b) has been amended to provide an additional three days to deadlines that are calculated from the date of service of some other document (other than the filing of a notice of appeal) when service occurs by electronic mail (if service by electronic mail is allowed by the Rules).
• Rule 9(d) received a substantial rewrite. Here are the highlights:

  • Under the revised Rule 9(d) any exhibit filed, served, submitted for consideration, admitted, or made part of an offer of proof may be included in the record on appeal.  
  • Documentary exhibits may be included in the record on appeal if they do not impact the legibility or original significance of the exhibit.  If a documentary exhibit cannot be included in the record on appeal because inclusion would impact the legibility or original significance, three paginated copies must be filed with the appellate court.  If multiple documentary exhibits are filed with the appellate court, the filing must include an index. 
  • Any tangible items can be made part of the record on appeal by filing a written request with the clerk of superior court that she deliver the exhibit to the appellate court.

These new rules will be effective on April 15, 2013.