(A) Appeals from any decision, order, judgment, or sentence entered by a magistrate
judge in a misdemeanor criminal case, including petty offenses, as to which the
defendant has consented to proceed before a magistrate judge shall be governed by
Fed. R. Crim. P. 58.
(B) Upon receipt of the notice of appeal, the Clerk shall docket the appeal and assign the
case to a district judge.
(C) Unless excused by order of the district judge, every appellant shall be responsible for
preparation of a typewritten transcript of the proceedings before the magistrate judge
from which an appeal has been taken. If such transcript has been prepared from an
audio tape recording, the transcript shall be submitted to the magistrate judge for
certification of its accuracy. After certification by the magistrate judge, the transcript
shall be forwarded to the Clerk for filing, and the Clerk shall promptly notify the
parties of the filing. A copy of the record of such proceedings shall be made
available, at the expense of the court, to a person who establishes by affidavit the
inability to pay or give security therefor.
(D) Within 15 days of the date on which the transcript is filed in the Clerk’s office, or if
there is to be no transcript, within 15 days of the filing of the notice of appeal, the
appellant shall serve and file a brief which shall enumerate each reversible error
claimed to have occurred in the proceedings before the magistrate judge. Within 15
days of service of appellant’s brief, the appellee shall serve and file a brief. The
appellant may serve and file a reply brief within 7 days of service of appellee’s brief.
(E) The district judge to whom the appeal is assigned may hear oral argument or may
decide the appeal on the briefs. Requests for oral argument shall be made at the time
briefs are filed and shall be granted at the discretion of the district judge.
