Rule 19 - Form of Briefs and Other Pleadings(A) Filings in generalEvery filing must contain:
(1) The name of the Court and the appeal number;(2) The caption of the case;(3) The case number below;(5) The designation of counsel pursuant to Loc.R. 3.2;(6) The signature by the filing party; and(7) A properly completed certificate of service showing service on all opposing parties.(B) Length of briefs(1) Parties' briefs shall not exceed the following limitations, which are exclusive of the cover page, table of contents, table of authorities, certificates of counsel, certificate of compliance, signature blocks, certificate of service, and appendices. (a)Length of briefs - regular calendar.(i) For appeals on the regular calendar, principal briefs of appellant(s) and appellee(s) shall not exceed 9,000 words OR 40 pages.(ii) For appeals on the regular calendar, a reply brief of appellant(s) shall not exceed 4,500 words OR 20 pages.(b)Length of briefs - accelerated calendar.(i) For appeals on the accelerated calendar, principal briefs of appellant(s) and appellee(s) shall not exceed 4,500 words OR 20 pages.(ii) For appeals on the accelerated calendar, a reply brief of appellant(s) shall not exceed 2,200 words OR 10 pages.(c)Length of briefs-cross appeals.The length of brief limitations provided in subsection (1) apply to cross-appeals.
(2) The Court may permit a brief exceeding the limits in subsection (1) upon good cause shown in a written motion filed at least five days before the due date provided for filing the brief.(3) If a party's brief exceeds the page limits in subsection (1), the brief must include a certificate of compliance, signed by the attorney or unrepresented party, indicating that the brief complies with the word count limitation. The person preparing the certificate may rely on the word count of the word-processing system used to prepare the brief. The certificate must state the number of words in the brief, as calculated under subsection (1). The following certificate may be used: CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
I certify that this Brief complies with the word-count provision set forth in Loc.R. 19(B)(1). This Brief is printed using Times New Roman or Georgia 14-point typeface using _______________ word processing software and contains _________ words.
__________________
Signature
(C) Form of briefs(1)Paper Size. The brief must be formatted to fit on 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper when printed.(2)Font size. All text must be in at least 14-point font.(3)Line Spacing. Text must be doubled-spaced between lines, except quotations more than three lines long may be indented and single-spaced. Headings and footnotes may be single-spaced.(4)Margins. The brief must have margins of at least one inch on all four sides.(5)Typeface and Type Style. The body of the brief must be set in Times New Roman or Georgia typeface. The style of the brief should be set in a plain, roman style, although italics and boldface may be used for emphasis.(6)Reproduction. A brief may be reproduced by any process that yields an image with clear black text in at least 14-point typeface when printed. This applies to both e-filed documents and those submitted in paper form.(D) Handwritten pleadings and briefsEvery document filed with the Court shall be typewritten or prepared by a word processor or other standard typographic process. A handwritten document may be accepted for filing only in an emergency, provided the document is legible and an explanation is provided as to why the document is handwritten. As to briefs, a handwritten brief will be permitted only with the permission of the Court.
(E) Failure to complyA filing not prepared in accordance with these rules and the Ohio Rules of Appellate Procedure may be stricken with an order for a conforming document to be filed within a specified time. An appellant's failure to conform may result in dismissal of the appeal; an appellee's failure to conform may result in its brief being stricken or the right to argue being denied.
Amended eff. 1/1/2022; amended eff. 2/1/2024.