IN RE APPELLATE-MOTION ELECTRONIC-FILING PILOT PROJECT AND APPELLATE-BRIEF ELECTRONIC-FILING PILOT PROJECT
SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
September 15, 2016
2016 Ark. 314
Opinion Delivered September 15, 2016
On June 18, 2015, we announced we would implement an electronic filing system in this court and the court of appeals, and we authorized the establishment of an appellate motion electronic-filing pilot project “as a first step toward mandatory electronic filing in the appellate courts.” See In re Appellate Motion Electronic-Filing Pilot Project, 2015 Ark. 282, at 1 (per curiam). Pursuant to that order, on September 21, 2015, this court and the court of appeals began accepting motions, petitions, and responses to motions and petitions, via the eFlex electronic-filing system. That began a one-year period of transition to mandatory electronic filing, which will end on September 21, 2016. See
Today, the court also authorizes the establishment of an appellate-brief electronic filing pilot project as a second step toward comprehensive mandatory electronic filing in the appellate courts. Upon the Administrative Office of the Courts’ completion of the technical
Attorneys should be aware of the file size limitations of the eFlex system as the system will not accept files that exceed those limitations. The current file size limit is 10 MB per file uploaded with an aggregate limit of 30 MB per filing. In other words, an appellate brief that is 30 MB in size can be divided into three separate 10 MB files and submitted to the eFlex system as one filing. The Administrative Office of the Courts is currently working to enlarge the file size limits to better accommodate appellate briefs, and we hope those changes will be implemented soon.
To reduce the file size of electronic briefs, briefs submitted to the eFlex system in portable document format (PDF) should be converted to that format directly from the word processing applications from which they were created, rather than creating the PDF files by scanning the briefs. If the addendum must be scanned to obtain it in electronic form, it should be scanned in black and white at a resolution of 300 dots per inch (DPI) to reduce file size. Files may also be reduced or compressed using Adobe Acrobat or other applications.
Parties electing to file briefs electronically shall be required to file three paper copies of each brief, and the paper copies will be due five calendar days from the date the electronic brief is filed. Proof of service of a paper copy on opposing counsel and the trial court must
Should there be any irreconcilable discrepancies between Administrative Order Number 21 and the Rules of the Supreme Court,
We strongly encourage attorneys who practice in the appellate courts and who have not yet obtained an eFlex account to do so. Attorneys who have not yet acquired an eFlex account should follow the AOC‘s registration requirements available at https://courts.arkansas.gov/administration/acap/efile to obtain an account.
We amend and republish sections (a) and (b) of
(a) Writing required. All motions, petitions, and responses filed in the appellate courts must be in writing and comply with the requirements of
Rule 4-1(a) in regard to the style of briefs. All motions, petitions, and responses, except for those that require the payment of any fee or that are case initiating, shall be filed using the electronic filing system provided by the Administrative Office of the Courts. However, persons proceeding pro se and persons with disabilities or special needs that prevent electronic filing shall be entitled to submit conventional paper filings.(b) Number of copies. No paper copies are required for electronic filings. For conventional paper filings in the Supreme Court, eight (8) clearly legible copies on 8 1/2” x 11” paper must be provided at the time of filing. For conventional paper filings in the Court of Appeals, fourteen (14) clearly legible copies on 8 1/2” x 11” paper must be provided at the time of filing.