When cases go up on appeal, their merits are uppermost on the minds of litigants and their lawyers. But the mechanics of appeals could merit more attention because the state Supreme Court’s Appellate Court Procedural Rules Committee is contemplating a rule change that would reduce page counts for briefs and implement an alternative limitation on the number of words in briefs.
Currently, a principal brief must not exceed 70 pages and a reply brief must not exceed 25 pages. Under the proposal, principal briefs would not be able to exceed 30 pages or 14,000 words, and reply briefs would not be able to exceed 15 pages or 7,000 words.
