PART VIII — DELIBERATION AND DISPOSITION
Rule 72. Judgment, relief, costs, interest, and appellate sanctions
Separate judgment
The Clerk must enter a separate Supreme Court judgment when the Court finally disposes of a case. The judgment controls the operative relief; an opinion supplies the reasons. If the two appear inconsistent, a party must promptly seek clarification under Rule 74 rather than act on an inferred remedy.
Available dispositions
Within its lawful authority, the Court may:
affirm;
reverse;
vacate;
modify;
remand with instructions;
dismiss or quash;
answer an accepted certified question;
grant or deny authorized original or extraordinary relief; or
enter another disposition supplied by law.
The Court may use different dispositions for separate parties, claims, judgments, or issues.
Scope of relief
Relief must be no broader than necessary to resolve a matter within the Court’s jurisdiction. A remand instruction must identify what remains open and what is conclusively decided. The Court may direct entry of a particular judgment only when the record and governing law permit that result without fact finding reserved to another tribunal.
Money judgments and interest
An appellate judgment does not create an interest rate or payment obligation not supplied by law.
On affirmance of a money judgment, lawful interest continues from the date and at the rate governing the judgment below.
On modification, reversal, or remand for entry of a money judgment, the judgment or mandate must state the interest treatment if governing law resolves it.
Payment-plan and delinquency interest remain governed by active statute and the judgment entered below.
Appellate costs
Unless law or the judgment provides otherwise:
on affirmance, appellate costs are taxed against the appellant or petitioner;
on reversal or vacatur, appellate costs are taxed against the appellee or respondent;
on a mixed disposition, the Court equitably allocates or denies costs;
certified-question costs are governed by Rule 51(g); and
costs for or against the State or a public officer are allowed only to the extent law permits.
Taxable items and procedure
Taxable appellate costs are limited to:
Supreme Court filing fees actually paid and not refunded or waived;
a charge for an appellate record, transcript, or court reporter authorized by law;
an expert-witness expense authorized by 7 R. Stat. § 132.201 or another statute; and
another item expressly made taxable by law.
Attorney fees are not costs unless a statute or other controlling law authorizes them. The Clerk may include docket-verifiable filing fees automatically. A party seeking any other item must file an itemized and documented bill within three days after judgment; an opposition is due within two days after service. The Court or Clerk, subject to review, settles the amount for inclusion in the mandate.
Lawful appellate sanctions
After notice and an opportunity to respond:
the Court may quash an appeal that does not lie or was taken against good faith or merely for delay and award only the damages permitted by 7 R. Stat. § 132.404;
in a civil matter, the Court must award the relief required by 7 R. Stat. §§ 132.301 or 132.302 when the applicable statutory predicates are found or proved, subject to §§ 132.303 through 132.304 and the safe harbor in Rule 61(i);
the Court may refer attorney or other misconduct to the body having lawful jurisdiction.
The sanction order must identify the authority, conduct, findings, recipient, amount or restriction, and allocation between party and counsel. Advocacy for a good-faith change in law, an unsuccessful argument, or a correctable technical defect is not by itself sanctionable.
No double recovery
Costs, damages, attorney fees, restitution, and compensation may not duplicate recovery for the same loss. A disciplinary sanction and a case sanction serve different purposes, but the Court must consider prior punishment when proportionality requires.
Criminal matters
No cost, fee, damages award, or monetary sanction may be imposed on a criminal defendant or appointed counsel except as governing law expressly permits and after the process that law requires.