Responsibility of Appellant To

Provide Adequate Record for Review (a) It is the responsibility of the appellant to provide an adequate record for review. The appel- lant shall determine whether the entire record is complete, correct and otherwise perfected for pre- sentation on appeal. (b) The failure of any party on appeal to seek articulation pursuant to Section 66-5 shall not be the sole ground upon which the court declines to review any issue or claim on appeal. If the court determines that articulation of the trial court deci- sion is appropriate, it may, pursuant to Section 60-5, order articulation by the trial court within a specified time period. The trial court may, in its discretion, require assistance from the parties in order to provide the articulation. Such assistance may include, but is not limited to, supplemental briefs, oral argument and provision of copies of transcripts and exhibits. (P.B. 1978-1997, Sec. 4007.) (Amended Oct. 18, 2012, to take effect Jan. 1, 2013; amended June 5, 2013, to take effect July 1, 2013; amended July 8, 2015, to take effect Jan. 1, 2016.) COMMENTARY—January, 2013: Subsection (b) was adopted to effect a change in appellate procedure by limiting the use of the forfeiture sanction imposed when an appellant fails to seek an articulation from the trial court pursuant to Section 66-5 with regard to an issue on appeal, and the court therefore declines to review the issue for lack of an adequate record for review. In lieu of refusing to review the issue, when the court determines that articulation is appropriate, the court may now order an articulation and then address the merits of the issue after articulation is provided. The adoption of subsection (b) is not intended to preclude the court from declin- ing to review an issue where the record is inadequate for reasons other than solely the failure to seek an articulation, such as, for example, the failure to procure the trial court’s decision pursuant to Section 64-1 (b) or the failure to provide a transcript, exhibits or other documents necessary for appel- late review.