Rule 28 — Briefs

Fed. R. App. P. 28

• Source: Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure
• Rule: 28
• TITLE VII: GENERAL PROVISIONS
• Citation: Fed. R. App. P. 28

Text

(a) Appellant’s Brief. The appellant’s brief must contain, under
appropriate headings and in the order indicated:
(1) a disclosure statement if required by Rule 26.1;
(2) a table of contents, with page references;
(3) a table of authorities—cases (alphabetically arranged),
statutes, and other authorities—with references to the pages
of the brief where they are cited;
(4) a jurisdictional statement, including:
(A) the basis for the district court’s or agency’s subject-
matter jurisdiction, with citations to applicable statutory
provisions and stating relevant facts establishing jurisdic-
tion;
(B) the basis for the court of appeals’ jurisdiction, with
citations to applicable statutory provisions and stating
relevant facts establishing jurisdiction;
(C) the filing dates establishing the timeliness of the ap-
peal or petition for review; and
(D) an assertion that the appeal is from a final order or
judgment that disposes of all parties’ claims, or informa-
tion establishing the court of appeals’ jurisdiction on some
other basis;
(5) a statement of the issues presented for review;
(6) a concise statement of the case setting out the facts rel-
evant to the issues submitted for review, describing the rel-
evant procedural history, and identifying the rulings pre-
sented for review, with appropriate references to the record
(see Rule 28(e));
(7) a summary of the argument, which must contain a suc-
cinct, clear, and accurate statement of the arguments made in
the body of the brief, and which must not merely repeat the
argument headings;
(8) the argument, which must contain:
(A) appellant’s contentions and the reasons for them,
with citations to the authorities and parts of the record on
which the appellant relies; and
(B) for each issue, a concise statement of the applicable
standard of review (which may appear in the discussion of

the issue or under a separate heading placed before the dis-
cussion of the issues);
(9) a short conclusion stating the precise relief sought; and
(10) the certificate of compliance, if required by Rule
32(g)(1).
(b) Appellee’s Brief. The appellee’s brief must conform to the re-
quirements of Rule 28(a)(1)–(8) and (10), except that none of the fol-
lowing need appear unless the appellee is dissatisfied with the ap-
pellant’s statement:
(1) the jurisdictional statement;
(2) the statement of the issues;
(3) the statement of the case; and
(4) the statement of the standard of review.
(c) Reply Brief. The appellant may file a brief in reply to the ap-
pellee’s brief. Unless the court permits, no further briefs may be
filed. A reply brief must contain a table of contents, with page ref-
erences, and a table of authorities—cases (alphabetically ar-
ranged), statutes, and other authorities—with references to the
pages of the reply brief where they are cited.
(d) References to Parties. In briefs and at oral argument, counsel
should minimize use of the terms ‘‘appellant’’ and ‘‘appellee.’’ To
make briefs clear, counsel should use the parties’ actual names or
the designations used in the lower court or agency proceeding, or
such descriptive terms as ‘‘the employee,’’ ‘‘the injured person,’’
‘‘the taxpayer,’’ ‘‘the ship,’’ ‘‘the stevedore.’’
(e) References to the Record. References to the parts of the
record contained in the appendix filed with the appellant’s brief
must be to the pages of the appendix. If the appendix is prepared
after the briefs are filed, a party referring to the record must fol-
low one of the methods detailed in Rule 30(c). If the original
record is used under Rule 30(f) and is not consecutively paginated,
or if the brief refers to an unreproduced part of the record, any
reference must be to the page of the original document. For exam-
ple:
• Answer p. 7;
• Motion for Judgment p. 2;
• Transcript p. 231.
Only clear abbreviations may be used. A party referring to evi-
dence whose admissibility is in controversy must cite the pages of
the appendix or of the transcript at which the evidence was identi-
fied, offered, and received or rejected.
(f) Reproduction of Statutes, Rules, Regulations, etc. If the
court’s determination of the issues presented requires the study of
statutes, rules, regulations, etc., the relevant parts must be set
out in the brief or in an addendum at the end, or may be supplied
to the court in pamphlet form.
(g) [Reserved]
(h) [Reserved]
(i) Briefs in a Case Involving Multiple Appellants or Appellees. In
a case involving more than one appellant or appellee, including
consolidated cases, any number of appellants or appellees may
join in a brief, and any party may adopt by reference a part of an-
other’s brief. Parties may also join in reply briefs.
(j) Citation of Supplemental Authorities. If pertinent and signifi-
cant authorities come to a party’s attention after the party’s brief
1
has been filed—or after oral argument but before decision—a party
may promptly advise the circuit clerk by letter, with a copy to all
other parties, setting forth the citations. The letter must state
the reasons for the supplemental citations, referring either to the
page of the brief or to a point argued orally. The body of the letter
must not exceed 350 words. Any response must be made promptly
and must be similarly limited.

Advisory Committee Notes

(As amended Apr. 30, 1979, eff. Aug. 1, 1979; Mar. 10, 1986, eff. July 1, 1986; Apr. 25, 1989, eff. Dec. 1, 1989; Apr. 30, 1991, eff. Dec. 1, 1991; Apr. 22, 1993, eff. Dec. 1, 1993; Apr. 29, 1994, eff. Dec. 1, 1994; Apr. 24, 1998, eff. Dec. 1, 1998; Apr. 29, 2002, eff. Dec. 1, 2002; Apr. 25, 2005, eff. Dec. 1, 2005; Apr. 16, 2013, eff. Dec. 1, 2013; Apr. 28, 2016, eff. Dec. 1, 2016; Apr. 25, 2019, eff. Dec. 1, 2019.)