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.

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.