(a) Form of a Brief.
(1) Reproduction.
(A) A brief must be typewritten, printed, or
reproduced by any process that yields a clear black image on white paper. Only one side of a paper may be used.
(B) Photographs, illustrations, and tables may be reproduced by any method that
results in a good copy of the original.
(2) Cover. The cover of the appellant's brief must be blue; the appellee's red; an
intervenor's or amicus curiae's green; a cross-appellee's and any reply brief gray. Covers of
petitions for rehearing must be the same color as the petitioning party's principal brief. The
front cover of a brief must contain:
(A) the number of the case;
(B) the name of the court;
(C) the title of the case (see Rule 3(d));
(D) the nature of the proceeding (e.g., Appeal from Summary Judgment) and the name
of the court, agency, or board below;
(E) the title of the brief, identifying the party or parties for whom the brief is filed;
(F) the name, bar identification number, office address, and telephone number of
counsel representing the party for whom the brief is filed.
(3) Binding. The brief must be bound at the left in a secure manner that does not
obscure the text and permits the brief to lie reasonably flat when open.
(4) Paper Size, Line Spacing, and Margins. The brief must be on 8½ by 11 inch paper.
Margins must be at least one and one-half inch at the left and at least one inch on all other
sides. Pages must be numbered at the bottom, either centered or at the right side.
(5) Typeface. Either a proportionally spaced or a monospaced face may be used.
(A) A proportionally spaced face must be 12 point or larger with no more than 16
characters per inch. The text must be double-spaced, except quotations may be single-spaced
and indented. Headings and footnotes may be single-spaced and must be in the same typeface
as the text.
(B) A monospaced face must be a 12-point font having ten characters per inch. The
text, including quotations and footnotes, must be double-spaced with no more than 27 lines
of type per page. Headings and footnotes must be in the same typeface as the text.
(6) Type Styles. A brief must be set in a plain, roman style, although italics or
boldface may be used for emphasis. Case names must be italicized or underlined.
(7) Page and Type-Volume Limitations.
(A) Word Limit for Proportional Typeface.
If proportionately spaced typeface is used,
a principal brief may not exceed 10,500 words, and a reply brief may not exceed 2,500
words, excluding words in the table of contents, the table of citations, and any addendum.
Footnotes must be included in the word count.
(B) Page Limit for Monospaced Typeface. If monospaced typeface is used, a principal
brief may not exceed 40 pages, and a reply brief may not exceed ten pages, excluding the
table of contents, the table of citations, and any addendum.
(C) Word and Page Limit for N.D.R.Civ.P. 54(b) Certification. If proportionately spaced typeface is used, an argument on the appropriateness of N.D.R.Civ.P. 54(b) certification may not exceed 1,250 words. If monospaced typeface is used, an argument may not exceed five pages. Word and page limits for Rule 54(b) certification are in addition to the limits set forth in (7)(A) and (7)(B).
(b) Form of an Appendix. An appendix must comply with paragraphs (a)(1), (2), (3),
and (4), with the following exceptions:
(1) the cover of a separately bound appendix must be white;
(2) an appendix may
include a legible photocopy of any document found in the record of a printed judicial or
agency decision;
(3) pages in the appendix must be consecutively numbered;
(4) an appendix
may be prepared with double sided pages.
The appendix must be 8½ by 11 inches in size. Documents of a size other than 8½ by 11
inches may be included in the appendix but must be folded or placed in a file or folder within
the 8½ by 11 inch appendix.
(c) Form of Other Papers.
(1) Motion.
Rule 27 governs motion content. The form of all motion papers must
comply with the requirements of paragraph (c)(3) below.
(2) Petition for Rehearing. Rule 40 governs petition for rehearing content.
(3) Other Papers. Any other paper must be reproduced in the manner prescribed by
subdivision (a), with the following exceptions:
(A) a cover is not necessary if the caption and signature page together contain the
information required by subdivision (a);
(B) Paragraph (a)(7) does not apply.
(d) Non-compliance. Documents not in compliance with this rule will not be filed.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Rule 32 was amended, effective March 1, 1996; amended effective September 11,
1996, subject to comment; final adoption on October 23, 1996; amended effective August
1, 2001; March 1, 2003; March 1, 2007; March 1, 2008; March 1, 2010.
Rule 32 was amended, effective September 11, 1996, with respect to the allowable
characters per inch with proportionally spaced typeface in subparagraph (a)(5)(A).
Rule 32 was revised, effective March 1, 2003, in response to the December 1, 1998,
amendments to Fed.R.App.P. 32. The language and organization of the rule were changed
to make the rule more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent
throughout the rules.
Paragraph (a)(2) was amended, effective March 1, 2007, to specify the cover color for
a petition for rehearing.
Paragraph (a)(3), effective March 1, 2003, requires a brief to be bound in a secure
manner, however, this is not intended to allow staples or slide-lock or slide-grip bindings.
Paragraphs (a)(6) and (a)(7), which include type style requirements and page and
type-volume limitations, were adopted, effective March 1, 2003. These limitations were
moved to this rule from Rule 28 and generally do not follow the federal format requirements.
As used in paragraph (a)(6), "plain, roman style" does not include italicized, bold, or cursive
type-styles.
Paragraph (a)(7), effective March 1, 2003, limits the length of a brief. A person may
rely on the word or line count of the word-processing system used to prepare the brief.
Subparagraph (a)(7)(C) was adopted, effective March 1, 2010, to limit the length of an argument on the appropriateness of N.D.R.Civ.P. 54(b) certification.
Paragraph (b)(3), effective March 1, 2003, provides an exception to the size
requirement for odd-sized documents in an appendix. This exception is intended to allow
inclusion of technical or other documents, such as maps or charts, which may not be clear
or legible if reduced to meet the size requirement.
Paragraph (c)(2), was amended, effective March 1, 2008, to transfer length
requirements for petitions for rehearing to Rule 40.
Sources: Joint Procedure Committee Minutes of September 24-25, 2009, pages 15-16; April 26-27,
2007, page 18; January 25, 2007, page 19; September 22-23, 2005, page 27; January 24-25,
2002, pages 7-9; September 27-28, 2001, pages 23-25; April 26-27, 2001, page 9; April
27-28, 1995, pages 15-17; May 25-26, 1978, pages 17-18; January 12-13, 1978, pages 20-22.
Fed.R.App.P. 32, 3.13(e) and 3.31, ABA Standards Relating to Appellate Courts (Approved
Draft, 1977).
Statutes Affected:
Superseded: N.D.C.C. § 29-28-19.
Cross Reference: N.D.R.App.P. 27 (Motions); N.D.R.App.P. 28 (Briefs);
N.D.R.App.P. 29 (Brief of an Amicus Curiae); N.D.R.App.P. 30 (Appendix to the Briefs);
N.D.R.App.P. 40 (Petition for Rehearing).