PART V — JURISDICTION AND COMMENCEMENT
Rule 41. Appellate jurisdiction, finality, standing, and mootness
Appellate jurisdiction
The Court exercises appellate jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases on the terms provided by the Constitution, statute, and these Rules. Review proceeds as:
an appeal as of right when law grants that right;
a statutory appeal within original jurisdiction when law so classifies it;
discretionary review by petition for review or certiorari;
review of an authorized interlocutory order; or
an extraordinary writ in aid of appellate jurisdiction.
Final judgment
Unless law authorizes interlocutory review, appellate review lies only from a final judgment or order that ends the proceeding on the merits and leaves nothing for the lower tribunal except execution, compliance, or a purely ministerial act.
Multiple claims or parties
An order resolving fewer than all claims or parties is not final merely because it uses the word “final.” Review requires a lawful final-judgment certification, an independently appealable order, or an authorized discretionary or extraordinary-review route.
Aggrieved party
Only a person adversely affected by the judgment or order may seek review. A prevailing party may defend the judgment on any preserved ground supported by the record but may obtain more favorable relief only through a timely cross-appeal or cross-petition.
Justiciability
The Court does not issue an advisory opinion. A party must maintain a concrete dispute and a legally redressable interest throughout review, except when the Constitution or statute assigns the Court a non-case function such as a certified question or impeachment trial.
Mootness
A party must notify the Court within twenty-four hours after learning of a fact that may make the case moot. The Court may request briefing on:
continuing legal consequences;
voluntary cessation;
an issue capable of repetition yet likely to evade review;
substitution of a public officer; or
the proper disposition of the judgment below.
Jurisdictional inquiry
The Court must examine jurisdiction on its own initiative. A party may raise a jurisdictional defect at any time. The Court may order a response, request the record, dismiss, transfer, convert the remedy as law requires, or postpone the issue to merits briefing.
Scope of review
Review is limited to the judgment or order identified and issues fairly included in a properly presented question, except that the Court may consider jurisdiction, controlling intervening law, or fundamental error apparent from the record.