Rule 16.1 - Contents of Briefs(A) Contents of appellant's briefBriefs shall be signed by counsel or by the party if pro se and shall follow the format set forth in this rule, in App.R. 16, and in Loc.R. 16.2. The Court may strike a brief that does not substantially comply with these rules. Briefs shall including the following:
(1)Table of contents, assignments of error, and issues presented for review. Consistent with App.R. 16(A)(1) through 16(A)(4), the table of contents shall index the brief's contents, the assignments of error, and the issues presented for review. Under each assignment of error, the brief shall list as indented numbered subparagraphs the issues presented for review for the assignment of error.(2)Table of authorities. Consistent with App.R. 16(A)(2), the table of authorities shall list cases, statutes, and other authorities cited, with references to the pages of the brief where cited.(3)Statement of the case. Consistent with App.R. 16(A)(5), the statement of the case shall briefly summarize the nature of the case, the course of the proceedings, and the disposition below. The statement of the case shall be followed by, under appropriate headings and in the order indicated, the following:(a)Statement of jurisdiction. The statement of jurisdiction shall state that the appeal was timely filed and was taken from a final appealable order and shall contain references to the relevant parts of the record and citations to the relevant rules and statutes.(b)Procedural posture. The procedural posture shall state the relevant procedural events leading to the action of the trial court appealed and shall contain references to the relevant parts of the record.(c)Statement of the facts. The statement of the facts shall recite the facts relevant to the assignments of error and shall contain references to the relevant parts of the record.(4)Argument. Consistent with App.R. 16(A)(7), the argument shall state the assignments of error and the issues presented for review in precisely the same manner and order in which they are stated in the table of contents. The argument shall set forth, in the order indicated, the following: (a)Assignment of error. An assignment of error shall state how the trial court is alleged to have erred, e.g., "The trial court erred in denying the motion to suppress." Each assignment of error shall be followed by references to the parts of the record demonstrating the alleged error.(b)Issues presented for review. Under each assignment of error, the brief shall set forth the numbered issues presented for review.(c)Standard of review. Under each numbered issue presented for review, the brief shall state the applicable standard of review.(d)Body of argument. Under each numbered issue presented for review, after the statement of the applicable standard of review, the brief shall set forth the contentions relevant to the issue and the reasons supporting each contention. Each contention supporting an issue presented for review shall contain references to the relevant parts of the record and citations to the relevant legal authorities.(5)Conclusion. Consistent with App.R. 16(A)(8), the conclusion shall briefly summarize the argument and shall precisely state the relief sought on appeal.(6)Certificate of service. The certificate of service must be signed and shall specify to whom the brief was served, and the date and manner of service, including the email or mailing address used to complete service, if applicable.(7)Attachments. The appellant shall attach to the brief a copy of the final order from which the appeal is taken, along with any supporting opinion, decision, or findings of fact and conclusions of law. The Court may, in its discretion, waive this requirement for pro se inmates when the order was attached to the notice of appeal or the order from which the appeal is taken is easily ascertained.(B) Contents of appellee's briefThe appellee's brief shall comply with subsection (A) of this rule except that the statement of the case or of the facts relevant to the assignments of error need not be made unless the appellee is dissatisfied with the statement of the appellant. The appellee may also recast the appellant's issues presented for review in a manner that supports the appellee's argument on appeal.
(C) Contents of reply briefA reply brief shall be confined in content to rebutting the appellee's brief.
(D) References in briefs to the recordA reference in a brief to a transcript of proceedings shall be abbreviated "T.p.," followed by the relevant page number, e.g., "T.p. 25." A reference to the transcript of the docket, journal entries, and original papers shall be abbreviated as "T.d.," followed by the document number assigned by the clerk of courts, e.g., "T.d. 10." A reference to a page in a multipage document included in the transcript of the docket, journal entries, and original papers shall be made to the document number, followed by "at" and the relevant page number, e.g., "T.d. 10 at 50." References to the record shall be in the body of the brief and not in footnotes.
(E) Unnecessary and prohibited attachments(1) A party should generally refrain from appending a copy of a constitutional provision, statute, ordinance, rule, or regulation to the brief, unless the authority is not readily available on Westlaw, LexisNexis, or the internet.(2) Attachment of materials not contained within the record is prohibited. If a party appends documents from the record, other than the final order as required by subsection (A)(7) of this Rule, the party must include a table of contents for the Appendix and provide a citation to where the document can be found in the record.(F) Citations to authorities in briefsThe citations to authority in the brief shall be in the form adopted by the Supreme Court of Ohio, and shall be in the body of the brief and not in footnotes. The Writing Manual adopted by the Supreme Court of Ohio is available on the Supreme Court of Ohio's website.
https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/ROD/manual.pdf
(G) References to the parties in briefsWhen referring to a party to an appeal, a brief shall use the party's name or a descriptive term rather than "appellant" or "appellee."
Amended eff. 1/1/2022; amended eff. 2/1/2024.