(a) Any document, other than a brief (see Rule 341(b)), filed in a reviewing court shall contain a caption that includes:
(1) the number of the case in the reviewing court;
(2) the name of the reviewing court, with identification of district and division, where applicable;
(3) the name of the case as it appeared in the trial court, except that the status of each party in the reviewing court shall also be indicated (e.g., plaintiff-appellant). In the case of an action for direct review in the appellate court of a final administrative decision, the parties shall be designated as petitioner(s) and respondent(s) (see Rule 335);
(4) the name of the court (or agency) from which the case was brought and the docket number in that court (or agency), and when applicable in the Supreme Court, the name of the court (or agency) where the case originated and the docket number in that court (or agency);
(5) the name of the trial judge entering the judgment to be reviewed; and
(6) the title of the document.
(b) In all appeals filed from proceedings under the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code, the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act, or from actions for collection of fees for mental health services, the recipient of services shall be identified by first name and last initial or by initials only. The preferred method is first name and last initial. The alternative method of initials only is to be used when, due to an unusual first name or spelling, the preferred method would create a substantial risk of revealing the recipient’s identity. The name of the involved recipient of services shall not appear on any documents filed with the Appellate Court or any subsequent court.
Adopted December 17, 1993, effective February 1, 1994; amended October 1, 2001, effective immediately; amended June 22, 2017, eff. July 1, 2017.
Commentary
This rule has been added to encourage uniformity and requires the use of complete captions on virtually all documents filed in the reviewing court.
Paragraph (b) was added effective October 1, 2001, to help protect the identities of recipients of mental health services. The amendment requires that only their first name and last initial, or their initials, appear on documents filed with the Appellate Court or any subsequent court. The requirement covers the parties’ briefs, motions, and other similar papers. The amendment does not require deletion of names from the trial record in preparing the record on appeal, nor does it address the means by which the Appellate Court or a subsequent court maintains the confidentiality of documents appearing in the record.