Rule 12. Briefs. (1) Brief of the appellant. The brief of the appellant shall contain under appropriate headings and in the order here indicated:
a. A table of contents, with page references, and a table of cases (alphabetically arranged), statutes and other authorities cited, with references to the pages of the brief where they are cited;
b. A statement of the issues presented for review;
c. A statement of the case. The statement shall first indicate briefly the nature of the case and its procedural disposition in the court below;
d. A statement of the facts relevant to the issues presented for review, with references to the pages or the parts of the record at which material facts appear;
e. A statement of the standard of review as to each issue raised, together with a citation of authority;
f. An argument. The argument shall be preceded by a summary. The summary shall contain a succinct, clear, and accurate statement of the arguments made in the body of the brief and not be a mere repetition of the argument headings. The argument shall contain the contentions of the appellant with respect to the issues presented, and the reasons therefor, with citations to the authorities, statutes, and pages of the record relied on;
g. A short conclusion stating the precise relief sought; and
h. The judgment, order, findings of fact, conclusions of law, or decision in question, together with the memorandum opinion, if any, in support thereof.
(2) Answer brief of the appellee. The answer brief of the appellee shall conform to the requirements of section (1)(a) through (g) of this rule, except that a statement of the issues or of the case need not be made unless the appellee is dissatisfied with the statement of the appellant.
(3) Reply brief. The appellant may file a brief in reply to the brief of the appellee, and if the appellee has cross-appealed, the appellee may file a brief in reply to the response of the appellant to the issues presented by the cross-appeal. The reply brief must be confined to new matter raised in the brief of the appellee. No further briefs may be filed except with leave of court.
(4) Briefs in cases involving cross-appeals. If a cross-appeal is filed, the party who first files a notice of appeal, or in the event that the notices are filed on the same day, the plaintiff in the proceeding below, shall be deemed the appellant for the purposes of this rule and rules 11 and 13, unless the parties otherwise agree or the court otherwise orders. The brief of the appellee shall conform to the requirements of section (1)(a) through (h) of this rule. The cross-appellant shall file the cross-appeal brief combined in a single document with the answer brief, the appellant shall file the cross-appeal answer brief combined in a single document with the reply brief, and the cross-appellant shall file the cross-appeal reply brief within 14 days after service of the cross-appeal answer brief. Word limitations in combined briefs that raise or respond to cross-appeals shall not exceed those word limitations set forth in rule 11(4).
(5) Appendix. If desired, parties may attach an appendix to their briefs, or may submit a separately-bound appendix, to provide the judgment or order from which appeal is taken, challenged jury instructions (whether given or offered but not given), statutes and other legal sources, or to reference matters from the record necessary to their argument. The appendix shall include a table of contents and colored page separators. Given that the court has available to it the entire record, parties are advised to include in their appendix only those documents essential to their arguments.
(6) Notice of Supplemental Authorities. When pertinent and significant authorities come to the attention of a party after the party's brief has been filed, or after oral argument but before decision, a party may promptly advise the clerk of the supreme court, by "Notice of Supplemental Authority," with copies to all parties, setting forth the citation(s) without argument. The notice shall reference either the page of the brief or the point argued orally to which the citation(s) pertain.
(7) Brief of amicus curiae. A brief of an amicus curiae may be filed only upon invitation or leave of the supreme court granted on motion. A motion for leave shall identify the interest of the applicant, state the reasons why a brief of an amicus curiae is desirable, identify the party whose position amicus supports, provide the date upon which the brief can be filed, and indicate whether the other party consents to the request.
(8) References in briefs to parties. References to parties by such formal designations as "appellant" and "appellee" shall be minimal. It promotes clarity to use names or descriptive terms such as "John," "Sue," "the employee," "the injured person," or "the taxpayer."
(9) References in briefs to the record. Whenever a reference is made in the briefs to the record, the reference must be to particular parts of the record, suitably designated, and to specific pages of each part, e.g., Answer, p. 7; Motion for Summary Judgment, p. 3; Transcript, p. 231. Intelligible abbreviations may be used. If reference is made to an exhibit, reference shall be made to the pages of the transcript on which the exhibit was identified, offered, and received or rejected.
(10) Over-length and supplemental briefs and costs. Motions to file over-length and supplemental briefs will not be routinely granted. Motions to file such briefs must be supported by an affidavit demonstrating extraordinary justification.
(11) Disk copy of briefs. Original briefs filed under this rule and under rule 14 shall include a digital copy prepared on a Read Only Digital Video Disk (DVD-R), in Portable Document Format (PDF). This rule shall not apply to hand-written briefs or to those typed on a typewriter. Failure to include the DVD-R with the original brief shall not be grounds for dismissal or for refusal to file the brief.
History: En. Sup. Ct. Ord. No. AF 07-0016, July 3, 2007, eff. October 1, 2007.
