Rule 5.03 Clerk's Authority on Motion

The clerk of the appellate courts can decide certain simple motions without needing a judge to step in. This works only when nobody objects to the request. The clerk can approve requests to extend a deadline, fix mistakes in a brief, swap out one party for another in the case, or pull back a brief so it can be corrected.

If the clerk approves one of these motions, the decision gets written down on the case's official record, called the appearance docket. This keeps track of what happened and when, so everyone involved in the case can see the order was made.

This rule exists to speed things up. Simple, uncontested requests do not need to wait for a judge's attention. The clerk can handle routine paperwork issues quickly, which keeps cases moving forward without unnecessary delays.