Indiana Supreme Court

Format

Type

Times New Roman 12 pt, double-spaced

Margins

1-inch margins

Opening brief

14,000 words or 30 pages

Reply brief

7,000 words or 15 pages

What counts

Excludes cover, TOC, TOA, signature block, certificate of service, word count certificate, and appealed judgment/order; headings and footnotes count. Word-count certificate needed if page limit exceeded.

Rules

Indiana Rules of Appellate Procedure — Ind. App. R. 43; Ind. App. R. 44

Parts of the brief, in order

1. Front page (Form App. R. 43-1) — Required · Ind. App. R. 43(I)
2. TABLE OF CONTENTS — Required · Ind. App. R. 46(A)(1)
3. TABLE OF AUTHORITIES — Required · Ind. App. R. 46(A)(2)
4. STATEMENT OF SUPREME COURT JURISDICTION — If applicable · Ind. App. R. 46(A)(3)
5. STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES — Required · Ind. App. R. 46(A)(4)
6. STATEMENT OF THE CASE — Required · Ind. App. R. 46(A)(5)
7. STATEMENT OF THE FACTS — Required · Ind. App. R. 46(A)(6)
8. SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT — Required · Ind. App. R. 46(A)(7)
9. ARGUMENT — Required · Ind. App. R. 46(A)(8)
10. CONCLUSION — Required · Ind. App. R. 46(A)(9)
11. Signature block — Required · Ind. App. R. 46(A)(9)
12. WORD COUNT CERTIFICATE — If applicable · Ind. App. R. 46(A)(10), 44(F)
13. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE — Required

Argument headings: Each contention supported by cogent reasoning with citations to authorities and to the Appendix/Transcript; TOC lists all headings and subheadings.

Standard of review: Concise statement of applicable standard of review for each issue within the Argument (46(A)(8)(b)).

Record citations: (Appellant's App. Vol. II p. 5) / (Tr. Vol. I, pp. 231-32)

Appellant's Appendix

Required. Pages are numbered like A12. (Ind. App. R. 50, 51)

• table of contents (Volume 1)
• chronological case summary
• appealed judgment/order with findings
• jury verdict
• relevant instructions
• pleadings necessary for issues
• other short record excerpts relied on
• verification of accuracy

Civil appeals list per 50(A)(2); criminal per 50(B). Cite as 'Appellant's App. Vol. II p. 5'.

Certificates

• Compliance: 'I verify that this brief contains no more than [limit] words' or '...contains [actual number] words'; placed at end before certificate of service
• Service: Certificate of service

Good to know

• Permitted fonts: Arial, Baskerville, Book Antiqua, Bookman, Bookman Old Style, Century, Century Schoolbook, Calisto MT, CG Times, Garamond, Georgia, New Baskerville, New Century Schoolbook, Palatino, Times New Roman (43(D)).
• Every page except front page has a header with the filing party and document name (43(H)).
• Footnotes, tables and block quotes single-spaced; all else double (43(E)).
• Reply brief: TOC, TOA, summary, argument, conclusion; no new issues (46(C)).
• Appellee may omit jurisdiction, issues, case, facts if it agrees (46(B)).
• Statement of Supreme Court Jurisdiction required when appeal is taken directly to the Supreme Court (46(A)(3)). Petitions to transfer have separate limits under Rules 44 and 57.

Filing: Indiana E-Filing System (IEFS); PDF.