ITEM 5A | INTRODUCTION
Before writing an appellate brief, a party should review the appellate record to understand the history and facts of the case, research the law, and decide what arguments to make and issues to raise. The appellant will want to argue why the lower tribunal’s decision or judgment should be reversed (why the lower court “erred”). And the appellee will want to argue why the decision was correct and should be upheld, or “affirmed.”
Again, the initial brief is filed first by the appellant. The appellee does not file an answer brief until after the initial brief, because the answer brief will respond to the arguments in the initial brief. The reply brief is then filed by the appellant after, and in response to, the answer brief. Both the initial brief and the answer brief will contain a section called the statement of the case and facts. In this section, the briefs discuss the history and facts of the case. There must be no argument in the facts section. The initial and answer briefs will also contain argument sections. There will be a summary of the argument section, which is a short preview of the argument, and also a separate and longer argument section where the party will fully discuss all points on appeal. Initial and answer briefs should also state the standard of review. The reply brief will only need an argument section, since it just responds to the answer brief (and cannot add any new arguments). All appellate briefs should contain citations to the appellate record for any facts discussed, whether in the facts section or the argument. All briefs should also contain citations to legal authority (statutes and case law) in the argument section.
As mentioned above, before a party writes an appellate brief, he or she should consider and study several things. For example, the party writing the appellate brief reads the record on appeal prepared by the clerk of the lower tribunal that entered the order or judgment appealed. This record will include the important pleadings filed in the case and should also include transcripts of any important hearings that were held that relate to the issues raised in the appeal.
The party writing the appellate brief also researches what law applies to the party’s case and to the issues raised in the appeal. This may include statutes, case law, rules, or other sources of law. The party writing the appellate brief goes to a law library or does legal research on the computer to look for cases or statutes, preferably ones from the State of Florida, that support his or her argument. Then the party writing the appellate brief gathers together any statutes and case law that support the argument he or she is going to make in the appellate brief. This is because the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure require the appellate party to specifically refer, or “cite,” to those cases or statutes in the appellate brief to support his or her argument. Citations to legal authorities in the brief should follow the format for citations found in Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.800.
You might need to reference it during your pursuit of justice.
For instance, you might need to examine this handbook in order to protect yourself from judges/lawyers/organizations who break the law (see this example of a Florida judge who outright committed perjury).
Nevertheless – and as always – please get the justice you deserve.
Sincerely,
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