When filing an appeal, the appellant must submit an Appellant’s Brief. The appellee, the other party in the case, has the option to file an Appellee’s Brief. The Illinois Supreme Court has strict guidelines on how to prepare briefs in Supreme Court Rule 341. 

This article will explain the Supreme Court guidelines. 

Form of briefs

Briefs must measure 8½ by 11 inches with black text on white pages. Briefs must have: 

• Double-spaced text, 
• 1½ inch margins on the left side,
• 1 inch margins on the top, bottom, and right side, 
• Page numbers in the bottom margin, and
• 12-point font or larger throughout the entire document. 

Condensed fonts are not allowed. 

Single spaced text is only allowed in:

• Headings, 
• Quotes of 2 or more lines, and
• Footnotes. 

Long quotes and footnotes aren’t encouraged. Short quotes can be included only where they help the court understand the writer’s argument. 

Length of Briefs

Appellant’s Brief and Appellee’s Brief are limited to 50 pages or no more than 15,000 words. The Appellant's Reply Brief can’t be more than 20 pages or 6,000 words. 

Cross-appellants and cross-appellees are allowed an extra 30 pages or 9,000 words for their briefs. But, the cross-appellant’s reply brief can’t be more than 20 pages or 6,000 words.

Page and word limits don’t include : 

• Covers,
• Tables of contents 
• Statements of points and authorities, 
• Certificates of compliance, or
• Certificates of service. 

Motions 

Motions to file a brief more than the length limitation aren’t encouraged. If you make such a motion, it must be filed not less than 10 days before the brief is due or not less than 5 days before a reply brief is due. Each motion needs to state the additional number of pages or words requested and the specific reason for the extra pages or words.  

The motion shall be supported by affidavit or verification under the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure Section 1-109. Any affidavit shall be sworn to before a person who has authority to administer oaths.

Certificate of Compliance 

You must submit a signed certification with your brief that the brief follows the form and length requirements. This certification must include the following language: 

“I certify that this brief conforms to the requirements of Rules 341(a) and (b). The length of this brief, excluding the pages or words contained in the Rule 341(d) cover, the Rule 341(h)(1) table of contents and statement of points and authorities, the Rule 341(c) certificate of compliance, the certificate of service, and those matters to be appended to the brief under Rule 342(a), is ___ pages or words.”  

Covers 

Brief covers must have:

• The case number in the reviewing court, 
• The name of the reviewing court,  
• The name of the court or administrative agency from which the case was brought,  
• The name of the case as it appeared in the lower court with the status of each party in the reviewing court (e.g., plaintiff-appellant),
• The name of the trial judge who entered the judgment that’s being reviewed, and
• The individual names and addresses of the attorneys and their law firm.

Your name and address must be included.

The colors of the covers change depending on which party you are. No matter if the briefs are electronic or paper the: 

• Appellant’s brief is white, 
• Appellee’s brief or answer is light blue; 
• Appellant’s reply brief is light yellow,
• Appellee’s reply brief is light red,
• Petition for rehearing is light green, 
• Answer to petition for rehearing is tan, and 
• Reply on rehearing is orange. 

If a separate appendix is filed, the cover shall be the same color as the accompanying brief. 

Duplicate copies and [no-lexicon]proof of service[/no-lexicon] 

Electronically filed briefs are considered the original. A court of review may ask for duplicate paper copies with the court’s electronic file stamp. 

These copies must be printed one-sided and securely bound on the left side in a manner that does not block the text. The clerk must receive the copies within 5 days after you file electronically. 

The brief shall be served to each other party that’s represented by separate counsel. Proof of service must be filed with all briefs. 

References to parties

In all briefs, the parties should be referred to the same way they were in the trial court, plaintiff or defendant. You can also use actual names or other terms like “the employee.” You don’t need to use terms like appellant, appellee, petitioner or respondent, in your brief. 

In cases involving juveniles and mental health and developmental disabilities, the juvenile or mental-health patients should be referred to by first name and last initial. You can use first and last initials only when using the full first name would risk revealing the person’s identity. 
 

Citations

Citations in appellate briefs follow Illinois Supreme Court Rule 6. Cases filed before July 1, 2011 that are published in the Illinois Official Reports should be cited to the Official Reports. The citation to the North Eastern Reporter or the Illinois Decisions can also be added. 

Supreme Court citations

Example: 
Smith v. Waukegan Park Dist., 231 Ill. 2d 142, 143, 718 N.E.2d 232, 235 (2008). 

[Case Name], [official reporter volume number] [official reporter abbreviation] [initial page number], [pin page number], [unofficial regional reporter volume number] [unofficial regional reporter abbreviation] [initial page number], [pin page number] (Date). 

Appellate court citations

Example: 
People v. Gonzalez, 385 Ill. App. 3d 15, 21, 895 N.E.2d 982, 988 (1st Dist. 2008).

[Case Name], [official reporter volume number] [official reporter abbreviation] [initial page number], [pin page number], [unofficial regional reporter volume number] [unofficial regional reporter abbreviation] [initial page number], [pin page number] ([court abbreviation] [Date]). 

Public domain citations 

The the public-domain citation should be used for Illinois cases: 

• Filed on or after July 1, 2011, and
• Not published in the Illinois Official Reports before July 1, 2011 that has a public-domain citation.

Supreme Court example:  People v. Smith, 2017 IL 213884, ¶ 17, 543 N.E.2d 422, 426.

Appellate Court example: People v. Jones, 2017 IL App (3d) 101234, ¶ 48, 799 N.E.2d 604, 609.   

[Case Name], [year] [court abbreviation] [unique identifier], [¶] [paragraph number], [unofficial regional reporter volume number] [unofficial regional reporter abbreviation] [initial page number], [pin page number]. 

Pinpoint citations to paragraph numbers should be given when appropriate. Citations to the North Eastern Reporter or the Illinois Decisions can also be added.  

Other jurisdictions 

For other jurisdictions with public-domain citations, that citation should be given with pinpoint citations to paragraph numbers. Parallel citations to another case reporter aren’t required, but can be given. 

Other citations 

Citation of cases from other jurisdictions that don’t have a public-domain citation should include the date and either the official state reports or the National Reporter System, or both. If only the National Reporter System citation is used, it should identify the court making the decision.
  
Example: People v. Gonzalez, 895 N.E.2d 982, 986 (Ill. App. 1st Dist. 2008).

[Case Name], [unofficial regional reporter volume number] [unofficial regional reporter abbreviation] [initial page number], [pin page number] ([court abbreviation] [date]). 
 

Textbook citations

Any textbook citations shall include the date of publication and the edition. 

Statute citations 

Illinois statutes should be cited to the Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS). 

Example: 765 ILCS 130/20 (West 2018).

[Chapter] [code] [act]/[section number] ([publisher] [year of publication]). 

Citations to the session laws of Illinois or to the Illinois Revised Statutes are allowed when appropriate.
 

Appellant's brief 

The appellant's brief must contain the following parts in order:

1. Table of contents 
2. Introductory paragraph
3. Issue presented for review
4. Jurisdiction
5. Statutes involved 
6. Statement of facts
7. Argument 
8. Conclusion
9. Appendix 

Table of Contents 

The table of contents includes a summary statement, called “Points and Authorities.” It lays out the points argued and the authorities cited in the argument (part 7).This section should have the same headings as the points in the argument. It should also have the page number where the heading appears in the brief. The citation of appropriate authorities should be under each heading. It should include the corresponding brief page number.

Introductory paragraph

The introductory paragraph needs to state: 

• The nature of the action, 
• The judgment appealed from, 
• If the judgment was based on a jury verdict,
• Whether any question is raised on the pleadings and, if so, 
• The nature of the question.

Example: 

“This action was brought to recover damages occasioned by the alleged negligence of
the defendant in driving his automobile. The jury rendered a verdict for the plaintiff upon
which the court entered the judgment from which this appeal is taken. No questions are
raised on the pleadings.”
 

Issue presented for review

The issue presented for review doesn’t include citations of authorities. 

Examples of issue presented for review are: 

• “Whether the plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law.”
• “Whether the trial court ruled correctly on certain objections to evidence.”
• “Whether the jury was improperly instructed.”

Jurisdiction

The statement of jurisdiction lays out the grounds for appeal under the jurisdiction heading.  In a case appealed to the Supreme Court directly from the trial court or from the Appellate Court, the statement outlines why the Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear the appeal. 

In a case appealed to the Appellate Court the statement explains:

• The basis for appeal including the rule or law that allows the appellate court to review the case,
• The facts of the case which bring it within this rule or law,
• The date that the order being appealed was entered, and
• Any other facts that show the appeal is being made at the right time. 

In appeals from a judgment as to all the claims and all the parties, the statement must state how the claims and parties are organized. All facts recited in this kind of statement must be supported by page references to the record on appeal.
 

Statutes involved 

If a case involves a piece of legislation, the important parts of the text should be written out word for word. Legislation includes the Constitution, statutes, treaties, ordinances, or regulations. The citation where the text is found should also be included. If the text is long, the citation alone is enough. The important text should be written out in an appendix.
 

Statement of facts 

The statement of facts contains the facts needed to understand the case. The facts must be stated accurately without additional argument.  Each fact should have an appropriate reference to the pages of the record on appeal. 

Argument 

The argument contains the appellant’s arguments for bringing the appeal. It includes the citation of the authorities and the pages of the record relied on. Citation of many authorities in support of the same point isn’t encouraged. The appellant’s brief must include a brief statement of the standard of review for each issue, with the citation to authority. This can be placed with the discussion of the issue in the argument. It can also be placed under a separate heading before the argument.

Evidence shouldn’t be copied in this section. The only reference to evidence should be made to the pages of the record on appeal where evidence may be found. Points that aren’t argued in this section are lost. If they’re lost, the point can’t be brought up in the reply brief, oral argument, or on petition for rehearing.

Conclusion

The conclusion should be short. It simply states what the appellant wants from the court or the other party. This is followed by the names of the appellant’s attorneys, same as the cover page.

Appendix 

Appendices to the appellant's brief follow Illinois Supreme Court Rule 342. 

The appellant’s brief needs to include an appendix with: 

• A table of contents to the appendix, 
• The judgment appealed from, 
• Any opinion, memorandum, or findings of fact entered by the trial judge or administrative agency 
• Any pleadings from the record that are the basis of the appeal, 
• The notice of appeal, and 
• A complete table of contents with page references to the record on appeal. 

The table shall state:

• The nature of each document (e.g., complaint, judgment, and notice of appeal),
• The date of filing of pleadings, motions, notices of appeal, orders, and judgments, and
• The names of all witnesses and the pages on which their direct, cross, or redirect examination begins.

For cases involving reviewing orders of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, the appendix should include decisions of the arbitrator and the Commission.

The appellee’s brief and the appellant’s reply brief may include in a supplementary appendix with other materials from the record that are necessary to understand the appeal. 

The pages of the appendix shall be numbered consecutively with the letter “A” before each page number. If brief and appendix are in a single PDF and are more than 150 megabytes, the appendix can be filed as a separate PDF and labeled “Separate Appendix.”
 

Appellee's brief and other parties 

The brief for the appellee and other parties should have: 

• A table of contents,
• An argument, and
• An appendix. 

The other sections found in the appellant’s brief aren’t needed in the appellee’s brief unless you disagree with the appellant's brief.

[no-lexicon]Appellant's[/no-lexicon] reply brief 

The appellant’s optional reply brief can only reply to arguments given in the appellee's brief. This brief only needs to contain an argument section. 

Supplemental brief on leave to [no-lexicon]appeal[/no-lexicon]

A person using a petition for leave to appeal or an answer as their main brief, may file a supplemental brief. This brief doesn’t need the sections found in the appellant’s brief. This is as long as those issues are covered in the petition or answer. The Points and Authorities in this supplemental brief only need to focus on the information in that brief.