Rule 32. Form and length of briefs, petitions, motions, and other papers; noncompliance

Form and length of briefs, petitions, motions, and other papers; noncompliance.

(a) Form and length of documents filed with the court. In addition to the provisions of Rule 28, which are applicable to briefs, the following requirements shall apply to all documents filed with the appellate courts:

(1) REPRODUCTION.

(A) A document may be produced by any process that yields a clear black image on light paper. The paper must be opaque and unglazed. Only one side of the paper may be used.

(B) Text must be produced with a clarity that equals or exceeds the output of a laser printer.

(C) Photographs, illustrations, and tables may be reproduced by any method that results in a good copy of the original; a glossy finish is acceptable if the original is glossy.

(2) FRONT PAGE OF DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE COURT OTHER THAN BRIEFS AND PETITIONS FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI. The first page of a document must contain:

(A) the appellate court docket number assigned to the case, if available;

(B) the name of the appellate court;

(C) the style of the case in the appellate court (see Rule 12(a));

(D) the nature of the proceeding (e.g., appeal, petition for a writ of certiorari, motion) and the name of the court, agency, or board that decided the case below;

(E) the title of the document (e.g., "Appellant's Motion to Strike," "Appellee's Motion to Dismiss"), identifying the party or parties on whose behalf the document is filed;

(F) an indication whether the document should not be made available to the public on an online electronic database based upon the provisions of Rule 52 or Rule 56 of these rules. If the document contains content that falls within the provisions of Rule 52 or Rule 56(b), a reference to "Rule 52" or "Rule 56," whichever is applicable, shall be indicated in capitalized bold lettering, not less than one inch in height, at the top center of the cover of the document;

(3) COVER OF PETITIONS FOR AN EXTRAORDINARY WRIT OR FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI FILED WITH THE COURT. In addition to those items listed in subparagraph (2), the front cover of a petition must contain:

(A) the name, office address, telephone number, and e-mail address, if any, of counsel representing the party for whom the petition is filed. If the party is not represented by counsel, the petition shall include the name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address, if any, of the party filing the petition;

(B) the phrase "Oral Argument Requested," if oral argument is requested;

(C) an indication whether the petition should not be made available to the public on an online electronic database based upon the provisions of Rule 52 or Rule 56 of these rules. If the petition contains content that falls within the provisions of Rule 52 or Rule 56(b), a reference to "Rule 52" or "Rule 56," whichever is applicable, shall be indicated in capitalized bold lettering, not less than one inch in height, at the top center of the cover of the petition;

(4) SIGNATURE PAGE OF DOCUMENTS OTHER THAN BRIEFS AND PETITIONS FILED WITH THE COURT. The signature page of the document shall contain the name, office address, telephone number, and e-mail address, if any, of counsel representing the party for whom the document is filed. If the party is not represented by counsel, the document shall include the name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address, if any, of the party filing the document.

(5) BINDING FOR PETITIONS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS.

(A) Petitions for a writ of certiorari must be bound on the left in a manner that is secure, that does not obscure any of the text, and that permits the filing to lie reasonably flat when open.

(B) Motions and documents other than briefs and petitions may be stapled on the top left corner, and the staple must be secured by tape so as to prevent injury to those handling the document; any other fastener that may cause injury shall likewise be covered by tape.

(6) PAPER SIZE, LINE SPACING, AND MARGINS. All documents filed in the appellate court must be on 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper. The text must be double-spaced, except that quotations from cases or other legal authorities more than 2 but not more than 25 lines long may be indented and single-spaced. Headings, footnotes, and quotations from statutes, evidentiary materials, and other matters in the record may be single-spaced. Margins must be at least one inch on all four sides. Page numbers may be placed in the margins, but no text may appear there.

(7) FONT, TYPE STYLE, AND JUSTIFICATION OF MARGINS. The font of all documents, including footnotes, filed in the appellate court must be set in Century Schoolbook 14 unless the attorney or unrepresented party certifies at the end of the document filed that access to equipment capable of producing that font is not reasonably available and that the font style used or the handwriting constitutes the closest approximation of Century Schoolbook 14 under the circumstances. The type style must be plain, Roman style, although italics or boldface may be used for emphasis. Case names must be italicized or underlined. Adjusting the space between the lines and words of a document by "leading," "kerning," "tracking," or any other method in an effort to circumvent the page limitations established by these rules or by an order of the court is prohibited. The margins of headings, sentences, and paragraphs in text and footnotes must be fully justified.

(b) Form and length of applications for rehearing, petitions, motions, and other papers

(1) APPLICATIONS FOR REHEARING. In addition to the provisions governing the form of an application for rehearing set out in Rule 40, an application for rehearing shall be produced in the form prescribed by subdivision (a). The application shall not exceed 3,000 words (15 pages for an application filed pro se). The length of the brief in support of, and any brief in opposition to, the application shall not exceed 3,000 words (15 pages for a brief filed pro se). See also Rule 40(g).

(2) PETITIONS FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI. In addition to the provisions governing the form of a petition for a writ of certiorari set out in Rule 39, a petition for a writ of certiorari shall be produced in the form prescribed by subdivision (a). The petition shall not exceed 3,000 words (15 pages for a petition filed pro se), except in capital cases.

(3) PETITIONS FOR EXTRAORDINARY WRITS. In addition to the provisions governing the form for a petition for an extraordinary writ set out in Rule 21, a petition for an extraordinary writ shall be produced in the form prescribed by subdivision (a). The petition and an answer, if the court orders an answer, shall not exceed 6,000 words (30 pages for a petition or an answer filed pro se). If the court orders "answer and brief," the combined answer and brief shall not exceed 6,000 words (30 pages for an answer and brief filed pro se). The petitioner’s reply, if any, shall not exceed 3,000 words (15 pages for a reply filed pro se). The cover of the petition shall be white. The cover of the petitioner’s brief shall be blue; the respondent’s, red; and the reply, if any, grey.

(4) PETITIONS FOR APPEAL BY PERMISSION PURSUANT TO RULE 5 AND ANSWERS. In addition to the provisions governing form set out in Rule 5, petitions filed pursuant to Rule 5 for appeal by permission and any answers thereto shall be produced in the form prescribed by subdivision (a) and shall not exceed 4,000 words (20 pages for petitions filed pro se) as provided in Rule 5(e).

(5) MOTIONS AND OTHER PAPERS AND MEMORANDA IN SUPPORT OF, OR IN OPPOSITION TO, MOTIONS; AND REPLIES. In addition to the provisions governing form set out in Rule 27, motions and other papers seeking relief shall be produced in the form prescribed by subdivision (a) and shall not exceed 2,000 words (10 pages for motions and other papers filed pro se); any memorandum in support of, or in opposition to, a motion or other paper shall be produced in the form prescribed by subdivision (a) and shall not exceed 3,000 words (15 pages for a memorandum filed pro se); and any reply to a memorandum in opposition to a motion or other paper shall be produced in the form prescribed by subdivision (a) and shall not exceed 1,000 words (5 pages for a reply filed pro se).

(c) Items excluded from length. In computing any limitation on length, headings, footnotes, and quotations count toward the limit, but the following items do not: • the cover page; • a statement regarding oral argument; • a table of contents; • a statement of jurisdiction; • a table of authorities; • the signature block; • a certificate of compliance; • the certificate of service; • an addendum containing statutes, rules, or regulations; • an exhibit or appendix; and • any item specifically excluded by these rules.

(d) Certificate of compliance. Any brief, petition, motion, or other paper submitted under any provision of these rules and using a word limit must include a certificate by the attorney, or the unrepresented party, that the document complies with the font and word limitations. The person preparing the certificate may rely on the word count of the word-processing system used to prepare the document. The certificate must state the number of words in the document and the type of and size of the font used. This subdivision (d) does not apply to persons filing pro se who use page limits instead of word limits.

(e) Noncompliance.

(1) ACCEPTANCE OF NONCONFORMING DOCUMENTS. The clerk of the appellate court may exercise discretion to permit the filing of documents in which the violation of those portions of these rules governing format is exceedingly minor, if, in the judgment of the clerk, recomposition of the documents would be unwarranted. The requirements of this rule governing the format of documents shall be liberally construed to do substantial justice with respect to persons proceeding pro se.

(2) CONDITIONAL FILING OF DOCUMENTS. Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (e)(1), unless each copy of the document, in the judgment of the clerk, conforms to those portions of these rules governing format, the clerk may deem the document to have been conditionally filed, subject to the requirement that the party file in the office of the clerk a complete set of replacement documents that comply with these rules within 14 days of the issuance of notice by the clerk that the documents have been conditionally filed. The clerk’s notice shall specify the matters requiring correction, and, unless the court orders otherwise, in no event shall any replacement document add any substantive material.

(3) DOCUMENTS EXCEEDING WORD OR PAGE LIMITATIONS. Documents exceeding the word or page limitations that are filed without prior approval of the court are viewed with great disfavor, and, with respect to such documents, the court may impose a penalty, not to exceed 1,000 words (5 pages for a document filed pro se using a page limit), thereby reducing the otherwise applicable word or page limitation.

(4) DISPOSITION OF NONCOMPLIANT DOCUMENTS. Noncompliant documents will be held in the clerk’s office pending instructions from the party filing the documents as to their disposition. If no instructions are received by the time for filing replacement documents, noncompliant documents will be discarded.

(5) EFFECT ON TIME FOR FILING BY OPPOSING PARTY. Unless the court orders otherwise, the time for filing of the opposing party’s response runs from the date of filing of replacement documents pursuant to subparagraph

(e) (2). [Amended 8-29-89; Amended 9-6-89, eff. 3-1-90; Amended 2-5-91, ; Amended 8- 27-91, eff. 10-1-91; Amended 11-20-2001, eff. 6-1-2002; Amended 1-12-2005, eff. 6-1-2005; Amended eff. 10-31-2005; Amended eff. 3-1-2007; Amended eff. 11-16-2007; Amended 3-1-2010, eff. 6-1-2010; Amended 9-29-2010, eff 10-1- 2010; Amended 5-7-2015, eff. 8-1-2015; Amended eff. 10-13-2015; Amended 7- 24-2020, eff. 10-1-2020; Amended eff. 7-9-2021.]

Committee Notes

Committee Comments Rule 32 adopts a dual system of page sizes for briefs and appendix, when other than standard commercial printing is used. When other than standard commercial printing is utilized in preparing briefs and the appendix, this rule contemplates that briefs will be on letter-size paper and the appendix will be on legal-size paper. This is a departure from a general goal of uniformity in size, but there are adequate reasons for doing so. Letter-size briefs are simply easier to handle. The appendix must be legal-size to accommodate reproduction from the reporter’s transcript. Using the two sizes will require that non-commercially produced briefs and the appendix will be bound separately. However, separate volumes can facilitate reading the briefs while referring to the various relevant references within the appendix. The rule specifically makes allowance for copies of the reporter’s transcript simply to be inserted directly into the appendix if reproduced in accordance with this rule. Such a method will work a substantial saving in costs payable to court reporters. See the comment to Rule 10. Comment to Amendment to Rule 32(a)(3) Effective August 29, 1989 The August 29, 1989, amendment to Rule 32(a)(3) provided that the colors of briefs set out in this paragraph would be mandatory. The rule had previously provided that the colors were mandatory if the briefs were “produced by commercial printing or duplication,” but required those colors in other situations if those colors were “available.” Comment to Amendments to Rule 32(a)(2) and (b) Effective March 1, 1990 The March 1, 1990, amendments to Rule 32(a)(2) and (b) provided for a change in paper size, substituting “8½ x 11 inches” in place of “8½ x 14 inches” and substituting references to “letter-size” paper for those prior references to “legal size” paper, and changing the dimensions of typed matter in the briefs and appendices from “6½ x 12 inches” to “6½ x 9 inches.” Court Comment to Amendment Effectiv