Appeals may be consolidated by order of the supreme court upon its own motion or upon motion of a party, or by stipulation of the parties to the several appeals. The clerk of the trial court shall mail or send by third-party commercial carrier a copy of the notice of appeal to the clerk of the supreme court and to counsel of record for each party other than the appellant, or, if a party is not represented by counsel, to the party's last known address. In criminal cases, habeas corpus proceedings, or post-conviction proceedings, the clerk shall also send a copy of the docket entries to the clerk of the supreme court. The clerk shall note on each copy sent the date on which the notice of appeal was filed. Failure of the clerk to send the notice does not affect the validity of the appeal.
Service is sufficient notwithstanding the death of a party or the party's counsel.
The clerk shall note in the docket the names of the parties to whom copies are sent, and the date they were sent. The title of the action is not to be changed in consequence of the appeal. Rule 3 is patterned after Rule 3, Fed. P. Nothing other than the timely filing of the notice of appeal in the trial court is required to give the Supreme Court jurisdiction over the appeal. After the party files the notice, the clerk of the trial court sends copies to the Clerk of the Supreme Court and to the opposing parties.