Section 3-4.Filing Appearance

Section 3-4 tells filers where an appearance goes and who has to be told about it. Appearances are filed with the clerk of the court location where the matter is pending. Beyond that, the rule sets different notice duties depending on the type of case, and it applies whether the appearance is a brand-new one or one filed in addition to or in place of an appearance already on file.

In civil or family actions, whoever files the appearance has to mail or deliver a copy to all counsel and self-represented parties already on the case. In summary process actions, the defendant’s attorney — or the defendant, if unrepresented — has to send a copy to the plaintiff’s attorney or the plaintiff. In delinquency or family-with-service-needs proceedings, the respondent’s attorney or guardian ad litem sends a copy to the prosecutorial official and everyone else of record; in child protection proceedings, the copy goes to the petitioner’s attorney and everyone else of record. In criminal cases, the defendant’s attorney sends a copy to the prosecuting authority.