Cook v. Illinois Department of Corrections

Filing 117

ORDER denying 116 Motion motion to amend record on appeal. Signed by Chief Judge David R. Herndon on 11/2/12. (klh, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
BETTY D. COOK,
Plaintiff,
v.

No. 09-133-DRH

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT
OF CORRECTIONS,

Defendant.
ORDER
Pending

before

the

Court

is

Cook’s

motion

for

modification/clarification/correction of the record (Doc. 116). Specifically, Cook
moves the Court to amend the record to include a record of arbitration. She claims
that this record was not available to her during the trial process. Based on the
following, the Court denies the motion.
The Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure allow for the record on appeal to be
supplemented under certain situations:
If anything material to either party is omitted from or misstated in the
record by error or accident, the omission or misstatement may be
corrected and a supplemental record may be certified and forwarded by
the district court before or after the record has been forwarded.

Fed. R.App. P. 10(e)(2). The purpose of Rule 10(e) is to ensure that the court on
appeal has a complete record of the proceedings leading to the ruling appealed from,
not to facilitate collateral attacks on the verdict. “Rule 10(e) does not give this court
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authority to admit on appeal any document which was not made a part of the record
in the district court.” Borden Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission, 495 F.2d 785, 788
(7th Cir. 1974). Republic Steel Corporation v. Pennsylvania Engineering
Corporation, 785 F.2d 174, 179 n. 6 (7th Cir.1986);United States v. Hillsberg, 812
F.2d 328, 336 (7th Cir.1987).
Here, nothing Cook seeks to add to the record was omitted from the record by
mistake or accident. This Court has no authority to enlarge the record on appeal to
include material that was not before it, and could not have been before it, at the time
its decision was rendered. Accordingly, the Court DENIES Cook’s motion (Doc.
116).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Signed this 2nd day of November, 2012.

Digitally signed by
David R. Herndon
Date: 2012.11.02
13:14:28 -05'00'
Chief Judge
United States District Court

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