(1)Form of briefs.a.Reproduction. A brief must show clear black text on a white background. A brief filed in paper may be reproduced by any process that yields a clear black image on white paper. The paper must be opaque and unglazed. Briefs filed in paper must comply with Iowa Rule of Electronic Procedure 16.303.b.Images. Charts, diagrams, graphs, photographs, or other images may be included in a brief; however, images depicting a person are not permitted without leave of the appellate court. Images that contain information considered confidential or protected by statute, rule, or court order may not be included in a brief. To the extent practicable, text in charts, diagrams, or graphs should follow the requirements in rule 6.903(1) (g).c.Form of front covers. The front covers of briefs must contain: (1) The name of the court, any district court number, and the appellate number of the case.(2) The caption on appeal. See rule 6.152(2).(3) The nature of the proceeding (e.g., appeal, certiorari) and the name of the court and judge, agency, or board whose decision is under review.(4) The title of the document (e.g., Brief for Appellant).(5) The name, address, telephone number, and email address of counsel or the self-represented party filing the brief.d.Searchable .pdfs. Every brief must be filed as a searchable .pdf document.e.Document size; line spacing; margins. The brief must be an 8 1/2 by 11 inch document. The text must be double-spaced, but quotations more than 50 words long may be indented and single-spaced. Headings and footnotes may be single-spaced. Margins must be 1 inch on all sides.f.Page numbering. Page numbers must be located at the bottom center of each page. The pages must be numbered consecutively using Arabic whole numbers. The cover page must be numbered as page one. Any blank pages must be numbered. Roman numerals may not be used as page numbers. Page numbers must match the digital page numbers of the electronic document.g.Typeface. Either a proportionally spaced or a monospaced typeface may be used.(1) A proportionally spaced typeface must include serifs, but sans-serif type may be used in headings and captions. A proportionally spaced typeface must be 14-point or larger for all text, including footnotes. Examples of proportionally spaced typeface with serifs that can be used in the body of a brief are Baskerville Old Face, Bookman Old Style, Cambria, Century Schoolbook, Garamond, Georgia, or Times New Roman.(2) A monospaced typeface may not contain more than 10 1/2 characters per inch for all text, including footnotes. Examples of monospaced typeface that can be used in the body of a brief are Courier 12-point and Consolas 12-point.h.Type styles. A brief must be set in a plain style. Italics or boldface may be used for emphasis. Case names must be italicized or underlined.i.Length. The maximum length of a brief is determined by whether it is printed or handwritten. (1)Proportionally spaced typeface. A brief using proportionally spaced typeface may contain no more than 13,000 words. A reply brief may contain no more than half of the type volume specified for a brief. Headings, footnotes, and quotations count toward the word limitation. Captions, tables of contents, tables of authorities, statements of the issues, signature blocks, and certificates do not count toward the word limitation.(2)Monospaced typeface. A brief using a monospaced typeface may contain no more than 1,300 lines of text. A reply brief may contain no more than half of the type volume specified for a brief. Headings, footnotes, and quotations count toward the line limitation. Captions, tables of contents, tables of authorities, statements of the issues, signature blocks, and certificates do not count toward the line limitation.(3)Handwritten briefs. A brief that is handwritten may not exceed 50 pages. Reply briefs may not exceed 25 pages. Headings, footnotes, and quotations count toward the page limitation. Captions, tables of contents, tables of authorities, statements of the issues, signature blocks, and certificates do not count toward the page limitation.(4)Certificate of compliance. A brief submitted under rule 6.903(1) (i)(1)-(2) must include a certificate of compliance using rule 6.1401 -Form 7: Certificate of Compliance with Typeface Requirements and Type-Volume Limitation for Briefs.j.Printing or duplicating taxed as costs. To the extent reasonable, the costs of printing or duplicating a brief may be taxed in the appellate court as costs. Reasonable printing or duplicating costs may not exceed actual costs or $1 per page, whichever is lower, unless otherwise ordered by the appropriate appellate court. The costs of any printing or duplication not required by these rules may not be taxed as costs. COMMENT: Rule 6.903(1)(b). Parties may include images useful to the appellate courts, such as boundary-dispute maps, accident-reconstruction diagrams, and particularly relevant photographs. Parties are discouraged from including or seeking leave to include gratuitous or inflammatory images, such as autopsy photos, photos depicting injuries or bodily fluids, and other images that unnecessarily invade the privacy of a party or other person.
(2)Appellant's brief.a.Contents. The appellant's brief must contain all of the following under appropriate headings and in the following order:(1)Table of contents. A table of contents containing page references.(2)Table of authorities. A table of authorities containing a list of cases alphabetically arranged, statutes, and other authorities cited with references to all pages of the brief where they are cited.(3)Statement of the issues presented for review. A statement of the issues presented for review. Each issue must be numbered and stated separately in the same order as presented in the argument.(4)Routing statement. A routing statement indicating whether the case should be retained by the supreme court or transferred to the court of appeals with reference to the applicable criteria in rule 6.1101.(5)Nature of the case. The nature of the case is a brief statement indicating what the appellant is appealing, the type of case being appealed, and the disposition of the case in the district court. If a defendant appeals from a criminal conviction, the statement must include the crimes for which the defendant was convicted and the sentence imposed. All portions of the statement must be supported by appropriate references to the record in accordance with rule 6.904(4).(6)Statement of the facts. A statement of the facts reciting the facts relevant to the issues presented for review. Each statement must be supported by specific references to the record in accordance with rule 6.904(4).(7)Jurisdictional statement. In an appeal from a final judgment of sentence following a guilty plea, a jurisdictional statement is required that must include a concise statement that either (1) explains that the appellant pleaded guilty to a class "A" felony, or (2) demonstrates the grounds that establish "good cause" for purposes of Iowa Code section 814.6(1) (a)(3). The appellant must include citations to the authorities relied on to invoke the supreme court's jurisdiction and references to the pertinent parts of the record in accordance with rule 6.904(4).(8)Argument section. An argument section structured so that each issue raised on appeal is addressed in a separately numbered division. Each division must include all of the following in the following order: 1. A statement addressing how the issue was preserved for appellate review, with references to the places in the record where the issue was raised and decided in the district court. Filing a notice of appeal does not preserve an issue for appeal, and citing to the notice does not satisfy this requirement.2. A statement addressing the scope and standard of appellate review (e.g., de novo, correction of errors at law, abuse of discretion), citing relevant authority.3. An argument containing the appellant's contentions and the reasons for them with citations to the authorities relied on and references to the pertinent parts of the record in accordance with rule 6.904(4). No authorities or argument may be incorporated into the brief by reference to another document. Failure to cite authority in support of an issue may be deemed waiver of that issue.(9)Conclusion. A conclusion stating the precise relief being sought.(10)Request for oral or nonoral submission. A request to submit the case with or without oral argument. The request may include a statement explaining why oral argument should or should not be granted.(11)Certificate of cost. A certificate of cost is required only for briefs filed in paper form. The amount actually paid for printing or duplicating paper copies of briefs in final form required by these rules must be certified by the attorney.b.Attachments.(1) The appellant must attach to the brief a file-stamped copy of the written judgment(s), order(s), or decision(s) being appealed. Transcripts of oral rulings may not be attached to the brief; parties must cite to the relevant transcript of oral rulings in their brief pursuant to rule 6.904(4). 1. For appeals from administrative agency actions, the appellant must attach the written rulings from each stage of the agency proceeding in addition to the district court's final judgment, order, or decision.2. For appeals in criminal cases, the appellant must attach the final judgment of sentence in addition to any specific written order(s) or decision(s) being appealed.3. For appeals from a ruling on a motion for new trial under Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.1004 or a motion under Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.904(2), the appellant must attach both the judgment, order, or decision that was the subject of the motion and the written ruling on the motion.(2) Attachments containing protected information as defined in Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.422(1) or Iowa Rule of Electronic Procedure 16.602 or a reproduction, quotation, or extensive paraphrase of material that contains protected information must be identified as "confidential" when attached via the EDMS electronic attachment function and must comply with the certificate of confidentiality provisions in rule 6.153(2) (a). COMMENT: Rule 6.903(2)(a)(8)(3). Under rule 6.903(2)(a)(8)(3), an issue may be deemed waived by failure to cite applicable authority in support of an argument. If a party intends to raise a state constitutional issue independent of a federal constitutional issue, ordinarily the party should make a separate argument supported by citation to authority to avoid waiving the issue under rule 6.903(2)(a)(8)(3).
(3)Appellee's brief. The appellee must file a brief or a statement waiving the appellee's brief. If the appellee files a brief, the brief must conform to the requirements of rule 6.903(2), except that the nature of the case, statement of the facts, and jurisdictional statement for an appeal from a final judgment of sentence following a guilty plea pursuant to Iowa Code section 814.6(1) (a)(3) need not be included unless the appellee is dissatisfied with the appellant's statements. Each division of the appellee's argument must begin with a discussion of whether the appellee agrees with the appellant's statements on error preservation, scope of review, and standard of review.(4)Appellant's reply brief. The appellant may file a brief in reply to the brief of the appellee. Issues may not be asserted for the first time in the reply brief. The reply brief does not need to contain the sections required by rule 6.903(2) (a)(4)-(7), 6.903(2)(a)(8)(1)-(2), and 6.903(2)(a)(10). The reply brief must otherwise comply with rule 6.903(2) (a). Unless a cross-appeal is filed, no further briefs may be filed without leave of the appropriate appellate court.(5)Briefs in cross-appeals. The brief of the appellee/cross-appellant must respond to the brief of the appellant and then address the issues raised in the cross-appeal. The cross-appellant's brief must include the attachments required by rule 6.903(2) (b) unless the cross-appeal is from an order attached to the appellant's brief. The appellant/cross-appellee must file a reply brief responding to the issues presented by the cross-appeal or a statement waiving the reply brief. The appellee/cross-appellant may file a reply brief responding to the appellant/cross-appellee's reply brief, which must be limited to the cross-appeal and may not assert any issues for the first time.(6)Multiple appellants or appellees. In a case involving a cross-appeal, an appellee who has not filed a cross-appeal must file a brief that either responds to or waives response to the issues raised in the appellant's brief, and then addresses the issues raised in the cross-appeal. The appellant must then file either a brief that addresses the appeal or cross-appeal issues, or a statement waiving any responsive brief. If the appellant files a brief that addresses the cross-appeal issues, the appellee may file a reply brief limited to those issues.Court Order October 31, 2008, effective 1/1/2009; March 5, 2013, effective 5/3/2013; Court Order November 18, 2016, effective 3/1/2017; Court Order September 29, 2023, effective 4/1/2024.