SECTION I: GENERAL PROVISIONS | Rule 3

Rule 3. Definitions; Uniform Terminology

3.1. Definitions

(a) Appellant means a party taking an appeal to an appellate court.

(b) Appellate court means the courts of appeals, the Court of Criminal Appeals, and the Supreme Court.

(c) Appellee means a party adverse to an appellant.

(d) Applicant means a person seeking relief by a habeas corpus in a criminal case;

(e) Petitioner means a party petitioning the Supreme Court or the Court of Criminal Appeals for review.

(f) Relator means a person seeking relief in an original proceeding in an appellate court other than by habeas corpus in a criminal case.

(g) Reporter or court reporter means the court reporter or court recorder.

(h) Respondent means:

(1) a party adverse to a petitioner in the Supreme Court or the Court of Criminal Appeals; or

(2) a party against whom relief is sought in an original proceeding in an appellate court.

3.2. Uniform Terminology in Criminal Cases

In documents filed in criminal appeals, the parties are the State and the appellant. But if the State has appealed under Article 44.01 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the defendant is the appellee. Otherwise, papers should use real names for parties, and such labels as appellee, petitioner, respondent, and movant should be avoided unless necessary for clarity. In habeas corpus proceedings, the person for whose relief the writ is requested is the applicant; Code of Criminal Procedure article 11.13.

Notes and Comments

Comment to 1997 change: The definition of court below and the reference to “suing out a writ of error to the court of appeals,” are deleted as those terms are no longer used in these rules. Other changes are made.