Shareholder, DeGrand & Wolfe, P.C.
On March 30, 2016, the Illinois Supreme Court entered a supervisory order in a case involving the timeliness of a notice of appeal filed (and file-stamped) via a self-service kiosk made available through the Cook County Clerk's office.
In Daniel v. Ripoli, 2015 IL App (1st) 122607-U, the appellate court reviewed the issue of appellate jurisdiction on rehearing after having already ruled on the merits of the appeal (as well as a cross-appeal). The appellate court determined that the record failed to adequately demonstrate appellate jurisdiction over the primary appeal where the notice of appeal was filed at such a kiosk and the record did not contain other evidence of filing, such as a notice of filing or certificate of service. The potential for abuse and the absence of meaningful security measures in connection with the use of the kiosks, the court held, rendered the clerk's file-stamp, standing alone, insufficient to establish that the notice of appeal was timely surrendered to the "exclusive control of the clerk." Id. ¶ 73. The appellate court thus dismissed the primary appeal for want of appellate jurisdiction, and affirmed the trial court's ruling with respect to the issues raised on cross-appeal. Id. ¶¶ 87, 110. See ALA Blog Post, Illinois Appellate Court Rules That Filing Via Kiosk Fails to Establish Timely Notice of Appeal (Jan. 4, 2016).
The Illinois Supreme Court on March 30, 2016, denied the appellant's petition for leave to appeal but entered a supervisory order directing the appellate court to vacate its jurisdictional ruling and consider the appeal on the merits. It is unclear whether the supreme court's supervisory order signals an implicit recognition of the reliability of file-stamps obtained from such kiosks. Additionally, it remains to be seen whether the appellate court will address the jurisdictional issue on further consideration, and/or whether the appellate court will merely reinstate its prior merits-based ruling, which was entered before it reconsidered the issue of appellate jurisdiction.
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