(A)Form. An original brief and three copies shall be filed and shall be stapled once in the upper left corner. No brief shall be enclosed in a paper or plastic cover or binder. Carbon copies are not acceptable without prior permission of the court. Written material should be double-spaced and appear on only one side of each page. Briefs prepared with word processing software must use a minimum font size of 12 and may not be filed using a condensed font. Briefs prepared using other typewriting equipment shall use characters equivalent in size. The front cover of every brief filed shall include the name, address, Ohio Supreme Court registration number, telephone and/or cell phone number, and e-mail address of all counsel, or parties if not represented by counsel. Citations to authority shall appear in the body of the brief, not at the bottom of the page. See App.R. 19 for additional form requirements. (1)References to the Record. Suggested abbreviations for transcript of the proceedings, transcript of docket and journal entries and original papers are T.p. and T.d. respectively. Where documents are relied upon which consist of more than one page, citations shall be to the document number assigned by the clerk of courts in preparing the transcript of docket and journal entries followed by the page number integral to the document, e.g., "defendant's deposition, T.d. 10, p. 50."(2)Contents of Brief. The briefs of the appellant and the appellee shall consist of six (6) parts satisfying App.R. 16 as follows:(a) Table of Contents, including Table of Cases, Statutes and Authorities and Assignments of Error and Issues Presented for Review(b) Statement of the Case (Procedural Posture)(3)Length of Brief. The initial and answer briefs of the parties shall not exceed either twenty (20) pages or 6,000 words, exclusive of the table of contents, table of cases and authorities, assignments of error and issues presented for review, and appendix. Pages shall be numbered in a manner such that the court can easily determine the length of the brief filed. No brief may be filed which exceeds such limitations except by permission of the court. Application for such permission shall be made by motion specifying the number of extra pages or words requested and the reason why the extra pages or words are required. Reply briefs shall be restricted to matters in rebuttal of the answer brief, and shall not exceed either ten (10) pages or 3,000 words, exclusive of the table of contents, lists of authorities, and appended material except by permission of the court.
Amicus curiae briefs filed pursuant to App.R. 17 shall not exceed either twenty (20) pages or 6,000 words in length without leave of court.
Briefs in accelerated calendar cases shall not exceed either fifteen (15) pages or 4,500 words; accelerated calendar reply briefs shall not exceed either five (5) pages or 1,500 words. See Loc.R. 6(D).
(4)Word Count Requirements. If any party elects to file a brief or other document with the court relying upon a word count requirement, all of the following apply: (a) Included words. Headings, footnotes and quotations count toward the word limitation. The cover page, index, table of contents, table of authorities, certificate of service, certificate of compliance and the appendix do not count toward the word limitation.(b) Certificate of Word Count Compliance. Any document submitted in reliance upon a word count requirement must include a certificate, signed by the responsible attorney or unrepresented party, indicating that the document complies with the applicable word count limitation. The person signing the certificate may rely on the word or line count of the word processing system used to prepare the document. The certificate must state the number of words contained in the document as calculated under (a) above. The following certificate or equivalent may be used: Certificate of Word Count Compliance
I certify that this document complies with the word count requirments contained in the local rules of the Twelfth Appellate District. This document was printed using a minimum uncondensed font size of 12 and contains _____ words.
(c) Failure to comply with word count requirements may result in dismissal or other sanctions. See Loc. App.R. 15(A)(6).(B)Substance.(1) Table of Contents. The principal function of the table of contents is to list and index the assignments of error and issues presented for review. The table of contents shall also serve as, and consist of, a combined index of the table of authorities with page references to each item listed. Indented as numbered subparagraphs under each assignment of error shall be the issues presented for review applicable to that assignment. The authorities cited in support of each assignment of error shall be set out in alphabetical order in another indented subparagraph. For the form of the assignments of error and issues, see Form 4. The appellee may recast or substitute issues to demonstrate the absence of error.(2)Statement of the Case; Statement of Facts. App.R. 16(A)(5) and (6) pertaining to statement of the case and statement of facts may be complied with in this court by stating the case in two sections, i.e., procedural posture and statement of facts. There should be no inconsistency between the statement of the case and the stated actions of the lower court set forth in the argument portion of the brief. The procedural posture, including a statement of the relevant procedural history and status of the litigation and the relief sought, shall be succinctly set out and should rarely require more than one paragraph. Normally, a chronology of the events leading to the complaint or commencement of trial is neither necessary nor desired. The purpose is to convey a digest of those relevant, necessary, and essential procedural events critical to the appeal accurately describing "the course of proceedings and *** disposition *** below." App.R. 16(A)(5).
The statement of facts shall consist of a recitation of those portions of the record which support the appellant's contentions, and shall contain citations to the record as necessary. See Section (A)(1) above.
(3)Argument. The argument shall comprise the main body of the brief, and shall be organized consistently with the assignments of error and issues presented for review set forth in the table of contents. See Section (B)(1) above. The assignments of error and issues presented for review shall be fully set forth verbatim as in the table of contents. The argument under each assignment of error and issue shall be organized accordingly. Each assignment of error shall assert precisely the matter in which the trial court is alleged to have erred, e.g., THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN OVERRULING APPELLANT'S MOTION TO SUPPRESS HIS CONFESSION FROM EVIDENCE. An assignment of error shall not be set forth as a proposition of law as envisioned by Rule V of the Rules of Practice of the Supreme Court of Ohio; such a statement is inappropriate at this appellate level. Assignments of error filed by an appellee pursuant to R.C. 2505.22 shall be filed with the appellee's brief in response to the assignments of error raised in the appellant's brief.
The argument portion of the brief shall include citations to the portion of the record before the court on appeal wherein the lower court committed the error complained of, e.g., "The trial court erred in overruling plaintiff-appellant's motion for summary judgment (T.p. 25)," or "(opinion and entry, T.d. 50, p. 3)."
(4)Conclusion. The conclusion shall briefly summarize the argument and state the precise relief sought on appeal.(C)Citations. All citations to cases in briefs or memoranda shall be in the format set forth in the most recent edition of the Supreme Court of Ohio Writing Manual (http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/ROD/manual.pdf) with the following exceptions: Ohio cases shall recite the volume and page of the official Ohio report (where available), and the Ohio Supreme Court web citation (where available), but need not include the parallel Northeastern Reporter citation, e.g., State v. Watkins, 99 Ohio St.3d 12, 2003-Ohio-2419; Barnett v. Beagen Homes Invests. L.L.C., 180 Ohio App.3d 272, 2008-Ohio-6756 (12th Dist.). Citations to United States Supreme Court cases shall appear with citations to United States Reports and the parallel citation to the United States Supreme Court Reporter, e.g., Paul v. Davis,424 U.S. 693, 96 S.Ct. 1155 (1976), rehearing denied, 425 U.S. 985, 96 S.Ct. 2194 (1977). Cases that are not cited in an Ohio official reporter but appear on the Ohio Supreme Court website shall be cited as follows: State v. Hobbs, 12th Dist. Warren No. CA2012-11-117, 2013-Ohio-3089. Cases that are not cited in an Ohio official reporter and do not appear on the Ohio Supreme Court website shall be cited as follows: In re Combs, 12th Dist. Butler No. CA97-10-191, 1998 WL 142407 (Mar. 30, 1998).(D)Appendices.(1) Every appellant's or cross-appellant's brief shall have attached thereto a copy of the following:(a) The final appealable entry or order;(b) All entries or orders which are the basis of any assigned error;(c) All trial court, magistrate or arbitration decisions or opinions explaining the basis for an entry or order in either (a) or (b);(d) All ordinances, local rules or regulations that are themselves dispositive of an assignment of error or are to be given consideration in connection with any assignment of error.(2) A cross-appellant's or appellee's brief should not include these items if they are the same as those attached to the appellant's brief.(3) Written material should appear on only one side of each page. If any document is handwritten or not clearly legible, a separate typewritten should be attached.(E)Supplemental Authority. If counsel wishes to present or call the court's attention to additional authorities not discussed in the briefs, a notice of supplemental authority shall be filed with the court and served upon opposing counsel at the earliest possible opportunity. Notice of supplemental authority should be filed only when counsel could not, with due diligence, have been aware of the additional authority at the time the brief was filed.(F)Filing and Service. All briefs shall be filed with the clerk of the court of appeals for the county from which the appeal is being taken. Briefs will not be acceptable for filing at the court's central office in Middletown. If the brief is fax-filed, three (3) hard copies shall be mailed to the clerk. All briefs must include a certificate of service upon the opposing party(s) that indicates who was served, the date and manner of service, and certification by the person who made the service.(G)Failure to Comply. Failure to comply with the requirements of this rule may result in the brief or notice of supplemental authority being stricken on motion or sua sponte, and/or dismissal of the appeal.Amended effective 2/3/2023.