The 2022 Report of the Supreme Court Committee On Civil Practice proposes a number substantial revisions to Part II of the rules, which govern appellate procedure. One is purely formal. The revised R. 2:6-10 finally recognizes that the typewriter is a thing of the past and that proportional fonts are not a mere subterfuge to squeeze more words into the same space. Instead of 65-space lines of 12-point type, the familiar courier font, henceforth all briefs shall be in 14-point Times New Roman, presumably to accommodate the eyesight of the more senior members of the bench.

Having given with one hand, however, the committee takes back with the other. The proposed revision to R. 2:6-7 cuts the page limit for main and reply briefs from 65 and 20 pages, to 50 and 15. Longer briefs will require leave of court for good cause shown, sought by motion filed 20 days before the due date of the brief. While we don’t wish to denigrate this one limited aspect of the committee’s comprehensive review of the appellate rules, we do have some concerns. Since a reply brief will be due under revised R. 2:11-1(a) 14 days after the respondent’s brief, the proposal doesn’t seem to allow for overlength reply briefs. And we fear there will be many cases in which counsel is simply not in a position to know 20 days before the filing deadline whether an overlength brief will be required.