(a) All files and records of the court must remain in the custody of the clerk, and
records or papers in the court’s files may not be taken from the clerk’s custody
without the court’s written permission, and then, only after a receipt has been
signed by the person obtaining the record or paper.
(b) The clerk must mark and have safekeeping responsibility for all exhibits marked
and identified at trial or hearing. Unless there is some special reason why the
originals should be retained, the court may order exhibits to be returned to the
party who offered the exhibits upon the filing of true copies of the exhibits in
place of the originals.
(c) Unless the court orders otherwise, the clerk must continue to have custody of the
exhibits until the judgment has become final and the deadlines for filing a notice
of appeal and motion for a new trial have passed, or appeal proceedings have
terminated.
(d) If no appeal is taken, after final judgment has been entered and the deadline for
filing a notice of appeal and a motion for a new trial have passed, or upon the
filing of a stipulation waiving the right to appeal and to a new trial, any party
may, upon 21-days’ prior written notice to all parties, withdraw any exhibit
originally produced by it unless some other party or person files prior notice with
the clerk of a claim to the exhibit. If a notice of claim is filed, the clerk must not
deliver the exhibit unless both the party who produced it and the claimant consent
in writing, or until the court has determined who is entitled to the exhibit.
(e) If exhibits are not withdrawn within 21 days after the clerk notifies the parties to
claim the exhibits, the clerk must destroy or otherwise dispose of the exhibits as
ordered by the court.
