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Key Facts
- Federal level: An appellate brief presents legal arguments about a decision using the record created below.
- Federal level: Rule 28 specifies the principal contents of an appellant’s and appellee’s briefs.
- Federal level: The appellant ordinarily files an opening brief, the appellee responds, and the appellant may reply.
- Federal level: Rules 31 and 32 govern federal briefing time and form, subject to other rules, court orders, and local requirements.
- Federal level: A brief must support factual statements with appropriate record citations and legal propositions with authority.
An appellate brief is a written presentation asking a reviewing court to reach a particular result. Unlike a trial presentation, it works from an existing record and focuses on claimed legal or procedural error.
The brief serves several jobs at once. It establishes appellate jurisdiction, identifies the questions presented, organizes the relevant history, states the governing law, applies that law to the record, and specifies the requested disposition.
The opening brief defines the appeal
Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 28 lists the required components of an appellant’s brief. They include a corporate disclosure statement when Rule 26.1 requires one, tables, a jurisdictional statement, issues presented, a concise statement of the case, a summary of argument, the argument, and a conclusion stating the precise relief sought.
The argument section must contain the appellant’s contentions, reasons, citations to authorities, and citations to the parts of the record relied on. It must also state the applicable standard of review for each issue.
A standard of review describes how the appellate court examines the type of decision at issue. The standard can affect how an argument is framed because legal conclusions, factual findings, and discretionary rulings are not all reviewed in the same manner.
The appellee answers and the appellant may reply
The appellee’s brief generally follows the same Rule 28 structure but may omit parts when the appellee is satisfied with the appellant’s presentation. Its central task is to answer the appellant’s asserted grounds for changing the judgment.
A reply brief responds to the appellee’s brief. Rule 28 states that an appellant may file a reply and that, unless the court permits, no further brief may be filed.
In a cross-appeal, Rule 28.1 changes the sequence and labels. It provides for a principal and response brief by the appellant, a principal and response brief by the appellee, and a reply by the appellant.
Record citations connect argument to what happened below
An appellate court does not conduct a new trial. Record citations allow judges to locate the testimony, exhibit, filing, order, or docket entry relevant to an assertion.
Rule 28 requires appropriate references to the record in the statement of the case and record citations in the argument. Rule 30 separately governs the appendix to the briefs and identifies materials it must contain.
The distinction between the record and the appendix matters. The record is the official body of material from the lower court, while the appendix is a selected collection supplied for convenient appellate review.
Form and filing rules affect usability
Rule 32 governs the form of federal appellate briefs, appendices, and other papers. It addresses matters such as covers, binding, paper size, typography, line spacing, margins, length, and certificates of compliance.
Rule 25 governs filing and service. Electronic filing is required for represented parties unless a court permits otherwise, while exceptions and local procedures can affect particular filings.
Rule 31 supplies the default briefing schedule. A court order, local rule, or a different rule can alter the timing in a particular category of case.
Local circuit rules still matter
The Tenth Circuit publishes local rules, forms, and administrative guidance alongside the Federal Rules.
The Tenth Circuit’s current briefing page directs filers to comply with federal and local rules and includes court-specific guidance about attachments, typography, copies, and oral-argument requests.
