Appeals
Appellate Brief
An appellate brief is the written argument filed in a court of appeals explaining why the decision below should be affirmed or reversed.
The sequence is fixed: the appellant files an opening brief, the appellee answers, and the appellant may reply. Length limits are strict and counted in words, and each argument must identify where the issue was raised below and the standard of review.
Appeals are won on the record. New evidence is not allowed, and an argument nobody made in the trial court is usually forfeited, which is why briefs cite the record constantly.
Briefs are the best free summary of a case that exists. The statement of the case and the statement of facts compress years of litigation into a few readable pages, with citations pointing to exactly where in the record each fact came from.
How it appears on a docket
APPELLANT'S OPENING BRIEF filed (12,847 words). Appellee's answering brief due 30 days. Excerpts of Record filed in 4 volumes.
Governing rule
Fed. R. App. P. 28, 32
Related terms
- Notice of Appeal — A notice of appeal is the short filing that starts an appeal by telling the trial court which judgment is being appealed and to which court.
- Oral Argument — Oral argument is the hearing where lawyers answer questions from the appellate panel about the issues in the briefs.
More on appeals
See this term in a real case
Search federal court records and read the filings where appellate brief actually shows up. New to federal dockets? Start with how to find a federal case.