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Supreme Court Rules
Section/Rule:
84.06
Subject:
Rule 84 - Rules of Civil Procedure - Rules Relating to All Appellate Courts - Procedure in All Appellate Courts
Publication / Adopted Date:
June 13, 1979
Topic:
Form of Briefs
Revised / Effective Date:
January 1, 2024
84.06 Form of Briefs
(
a
)
Size - Type - Form.
A brief
shall
conform to Rule
84.03(b)
in addition to the requirements of this Rule.
(b) Length. Except as provided by local court rules, the length of briefs shall be as follows: Appellant's initial brief and all briefs in a cross appeal except the reply brief shall not exceed 31,000 words. Respondent's brief shall not exceed 27,900 words; Appellant's reply brief shall not exceed 7,750 words.
All material contained in the brief except the cover, any certificate required by Rule 84.06(c), signature block, and appendix count toward the word limitations.
(
b
)
Length.
Appellant's initial brief and all briefs in a cross appeal except the reply brief shall not exceed 31,000 words.
Respondent's brief shall not exceed 27,900 words; Appellant's reply brief shall not exceed 7,750 words.
All material contained in the brief except the cover, any certificate required by Rule 84.06(c),
signature block and appendix count toward the word limitations.
(
c
)
Certification.
A brief submitted under this Rule 84.06
shall contain a certificate of compliance by the lawyer or self-represented person that:
(1) Includes the information required by
Rule
55.03
;
(2)
Includes information as to how the brief was served on the opposing party, whether pursuant to Rule
43.01(c)
or Rule
103.08
;
(3)
States that the brief complies with the limitations contained in Rule 84.06(b);
and
(4)
States the number of words in the brief.
The person preparing the certificate may rely on the word count of the word-processing system used to prepare the brief.
(Adopted June 13, 1979, eff. Jan. 1, 1980. Amended July 27, 1979; Aug. 16, 1983, eff. July 1, 1984; June 24, 1986, eff. Jan. 1, 1987; June 1, 1993, eff. Jan. 1, 1994; May 27, 1999, eff. Jan. 1, 2000; May 26, 2000, eff. Jan. 1, 2001; May 23, 2001, eff. Jan. 1, 2002; June 21, 2002, eff. Jan. 1, 2003; Dec. 23, 2003, eff. July 1, 2004; June 27, 2006, eff. Jan. 1, 2007; June 26, 2007, eff. Jan. 1, 2008; Dec. 18, 2007, eff. July 1, 2008; May 19, 2016, eff. Jan. 1, 2017; June 30, 2017, eff. Jan. 1, 2018; June 29, 2018, eff. Jan. 1, 2019; Mar. 7, 2022, eff. Jan. 1, 2024.
)