Free Checklist for Briefs - Federal

CHECKLIST FOR BRIEFS COVER OF BRIEF (Fed. R. App. P. 32(a)(2)): ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Sixth Circuit case number Heading: "United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit" Title of case Nature of proceeding and name of court, agency or board below Title of brief (example "Appellant's Brief") Names(s) and address(es) of counsel filing the brief

CONTENTS (Fed. R. App. P. 28, 6th Cir. R. 28): ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Corporate Disclosure Form Table of Contents Table of Authorities (alphabetically arranged, statutes and other authorities) Statement in support of oral argument ***Page limitation, word or line count begins here. See Fed. R. App. P 32(a)(7) Jurisdictional statement Statement of issues Statement of the case Statement of facts with references to record (Samples below) Summary of argument Standard of review (for each issue which may appear in discussion of each issue or under separate heading placed before discussion of issues) Argument with references of record and citations to case law, statutes and other authorities (Samples below) Signed conclusion ***Page limitation, word or line count ends here. Certificate of Compliance, if required by Fed. R. App. P. 32(a)(7)C) Dated Certificate of Service Addendum (see 6th Cir. R. 30 for required documents)

TYPEFACE AND LENGTH (See Fed. R. App. 32(a)(5) and (a)(7): ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Typeface either proportionally-spaced font at 14 point (such as CG Times or Times New Roman) or monospaced font at 12 point (such as Courier New) Length for principal briefs: 30 pages OR up to 14,000 words (proportional fonts) OR up to 1300 lines (monospaced font) Length for reply brief: 15 pages OR up to 7,000 words (proportional fonts) OR up to 650 lines (monospaced font) Briefs using the 14,000 word or 1300 line limits must include word or line count in certificate of compliance (see Fed. R. App. P. 32(a)(7)(C)) Headings, footnote and quotations count toward word or line limitations For Death Penalty briefs, see 6th Cir. R. 22(c)(8)

MISCELLANEOUS: ___ Footnotes must be same sized text as body of brief ___ Pages serially paginated ___ Text double-spaced ___ Margins: at least 1" on all four sides ___ Pre-Sentence Investigation Reports in criminal appeals, see 6th Cir. R. 10(a)(3) EXAMPLES:

Times New Roman at 14 point

Courier New at 12 point

References to lower court or agency record must be clear. Abbreviations may be used such as R or RE for district court record entry number on docket or TR for transcript or AR for administrative record. Examples: Appellant's Motion for Summary Judgment, RE #21, pp. 2-5 Plaintiff's Trial Testimony, RE #53, p. 1 Plea Agreement, R. 44 TR. 12/5/03 A.R. at 190-191 RE. 33: Trial Tr. 8/30/04 at 7, 89, 112-113 R. 32: Decision on Merits, p. 7