Article II. Appeals Process
§ 5-201 Starting an appeal – Notice of appeal.
A. All appeals are initiated by the filing of a notice of appeal and the payment of the filing fee with the Court Clerk within the time periods set forth in Section 5-107.
B. A notice of appeal shall include:
1. The notice of appeal form that shall be the first page and shall be dated and signed by the attorney for appellant or by appellant, if self-represented.
2. The notice of appeal form must include a brief description of the errors that the party is asserting the Tribal Court made in their decision or order. These errors must conform to one (1) of the errors described in Section 5-301.
3. The notice of appeal must include a copy of the Tribal Court’s final written decision or nonfinal written order (with authorization to appeal).
C. When a party files an untimely appeal, the appeal must be accompanied by a written request to accept a late appeal and provide an explanation as to why there is good cause for the Appellate Panel to accept the late appeal.
D. Upon receipt of the notice of appeal and the filing fee, the Court Clerk shall file stamp the notice of Appeal and transmit the original to the Appellate Panel.
E. The Court Clerk is responsible for serving copies of the notice of appeal on the parties and the Tribal Court Judge.
F. The filing of the notice of appeal shall automatically stay the effect of the final decision or nonfinal order of the Tribal Court.
G. At least three (3) judges from the Appellate Panel shall review the notice of appeal to consider whether it complies with this rule.
H. The Appellate Panel shall have ten (10) calendar days to decide whether the notice of appeal complies with this rule or request further information from the parties.
I. If the Appellate Panel determines that the notice of appeal meets the timelines for the appeal and the requirements of this section, the case will proceed on appeal.
J. If the Appellate Panel determines the notice of appeal is untimely or legally insufficient, or that a required filing fee has not been paid, the appeal will be rejected, and the matter will be closed. In some cases, the Appellate Panel may decide the defect in the notice of appeal can be corrected in which case the party will be given a prescribed amount of time to attempt to correct the defect. (Res. 2023-04; Res. 2020-42 Exh. C)