- Components and Order:
Your brief must contain the following components, in the order
listed: - Cover page
- Question(s) Presented
- Table of Contents
- Table of Authorities
- Opinions Below
- Jurisdictional
Statement
- Relevant Provision(s)
of the Law
- Statement of the Case
- Summary of the
Argument
- Argument
- Conclusion
- Appendix, if
applicable
- Honor Code Compliance
Form
- Cover
page:
The Court’s name, parties’ names, nature of proceeding, and document title
should be in all CAPITAL LETTERS. Procedural titles, the docket no
(i.e., "No. ________,"), and counsel’s name and address should
be in INITIAL CAPITAL LETTERS,
also known as "SMALL CAPITALS".
- Titles
of Components of brief:
In the body of your brief, the titles of components of the brief (e.g.,
"Question Presented," "List of Parties," etc.) should
be ...
...CENTERED,
UNDERLINED, IN BOLD FONT, AND IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
In the Table of Contents, components should appear
in ...
...ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, NEITHER UNDERLINED, NOR IN BOLD FONT.
- Headings and Subheadings:
In your Argument, point headings should ...
... BEGIN AT THE LEFT MARGIN, BE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, IN BOLD FONT,
WITH NO UNDERLINING, AND BE SINGLE-SPACED ...
... (except, if there is only one point heading, center it and do not
use a roman numeral).
In your Argument, sub-headings should be ...
... indented one tab space, underlined,
single-spaced, bold, and be capitalized like a normal sentence of text.
In the Table of Contents, point headings should be
...
...TYPED IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, SINGLE-SPACED, WITH NO UNDERLINING AND NOT IN
BOLD FONT.
In the Table of Contents, sub-headings should ...
...appear as they do in your Argument, but with no underlining and not
in bold font.
- Font, Generally:
Briefs should be typed in 12 point Times New Roman font. Do not use any italics.
Instead, underline all case names, signals, and points of emphasis
(e.g., Pennoyer v. Neff, But see Pennoyer, and We
really, really mean this).
- Paragraph:
Double-space everything except headings and block quotes.
- Page Limit:
Excluding the pages of the brief numbered with lower-case Roman
numerals (see below), briefs must be a minimum of 15 pages long and a
maximum of 20 pages long. Thus, the page limit covers everything
from the Opinions Below to the Conclusion.
- Page Formatting &
Numbering:
Use one-inch margins on all sides of each page, and do not justify the
right margin. Either bind your brief on the left side or staple your
brief in the upper left-hand. Except for the cover page, number
all pages, centered, within the bottom margin of each page. Do
not number the cover page. Use lower-case Roman numerals (i.e.,
i, ii, iii) to number preliminary pages. Use Arabic numbers (i.e.,
1, 2, 3) to number subsequent components, beginning with the Opinions
Below component.
- References to Parties:
Minimize references to parties by the designations "Petitioner"
or "Respondent." Instead, when appropriate, use names or
descriptive labels, which are generally more helpful to readers.
- Citation Style:
All citations must follow the rules of the Bluebook (18th ed.). Cites
to the Joint Appendix must be in Bluebook form (see BluePages Rule
10, particularly B10.3) and include appropriate page numbers.
- Table of Authorities:
List all authorities and the pages on which they are cited. List
authorities in separate categories, single-spacing within each
category. Within each category, order authorities alphabetically or
numerically, as appropriate.
- Placement of Your Name
Place your full name on the
Cover Page only; do not place your name anywhere else on the brief.
- Number of Copies
You must submit four identical copies of your brief.
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