Rule 67-4. The Appellant's Brief; Contents and Organization

The appellant's brief shall contain the following:

(a) A table of contents.

(b) A concise statement setting forth, in separately numbered paragraphs, without detail or discussion, the principal issue or issues involved in the appeal, with appropriate references to the page or pages of the brief where the issue is discussed, pursuant to subsection (e) hereof. Such statement shall be deemed in replacement of and shall supersede the preliminary statement of issues.

(c) A table of authorities cited in the brief, with references to the page or pages of the brief where the citations to those authorities appear. Citations shall be in the form provided in Section 67-11.

(d) A statement of the nature of the proceedings and of the facts of the case bearing on the issues raised. The statement of facts shall be in narrative form, shall be supported by appropriate references to the page or pages of the transcript or to the document upon which the party relies and shall not be unnecessarily detailed or voluminous.

(e) The argument, divided under appropriate headings into as many parts as there are points to be presented, with appropriate references to the statement of facts or to the page or pages of the transcript or to the relevant document. The argument on each point shall include a separate, brief statement of the standard of review the appellant believes should be applied.

(1) When error is claimed in the trial court's refusal to charge the jury as requested, the party claiming such error shall include in the brief of that party or the appendix thereto a verbatim statement of the relevant portions of the charge as requested and as given by the court and any relevant exceptions to the charge as given and shall recite in narrative form any evidence which it is claimed would entitle that party to the charge as requested, with appropriate references to the page or pages of the transcript.

(2) When error is claimed in the charge to the jury, the brief or appendix shall include a verbatim statement of all relevant portions of the charge and all relevant exceptions to the charge. Unless essential to review of a claimed error, a verbatim statement of the entire charge to the jury should not be included in the brief or appendix. Evidence relevant to the claimed error shall be recited in narrative form with appropriate references to the page or pages of the transcript.

(3) When error is claimed in any evidentiary ruling in a court or jury case, the brief or appendix shall include a verbatim statement of the following: the question or offer of exhibit; the objection and the ground on which it was based; the ground on which the evidence was claimed to be admissible; the answer, if any; and the ruling.

(4) When error is claimed in any other ruling in a court or jury case, the brief or appendix shall include the pertinent motion or pleading as well as any other pertinent documents which are a part of the record of the proceedings below.

(5) When the basis of an evidentiary or other ruling referred to in subsection (e) (3) or (e) (4) cannot be understood without knowledge of the evidence or proceeding which preceded or followed the ruling, a brief narrative or verbatim statement of the evidence or proceeding should be made. A verbatim excerpt from the transcript should not be used if a narrative statement will suffice. When the same ruling is repeated, the brief should contain only a single ruling unless the other rulings are further illustrative of the rule which determined the action of the trial court or establish the materiality or harmfulness of the error claimed. The statement of rulings in the brief shall include appropriate references to the page or pages of the transcript.

(f) A short conclusion stating the precise relief sought.

(g) The text of the pertinent portions of any constitutional provision, statute, ordinance or regulation at issue or on which the appellant relies. Such text need not be included in the brief if it is included in the appendix to the appellant's brief.

(h) In appeals filed pursuant to Section 81-4, a statement identifying the version of the land use regulations filed with the appellate clerk.

(i) The appellant's brief shall be organized in the following order: table of contents; statement of issues; table of authorities; if the appeal was filed pursuant to Section 81-4, statement identifying version of land use regulations filed with the appellate clerk; statement of facts; argument; conclusion and statement of relief requested; signature; and certification pursuant to Section 62-7.

Committee Notes

(P.B. 1978-1997, Sec. 4064C.) (Amended July 21, 1999, to take effect Jan. 1, 2000; amended July 24, 2002, to take effect Oct. 1, 2002; amended July 30, 2009, to take effect Jan. 1, 2010; amended June 2, 2010, to take effect Jan. 1, 2011; amended June 5, 2013, to take effect July 1, 2013; amended Oct. 24, 2018, to take effect Jan. 1, 2019; amended July 19, 2022, to take effect Jan. 1, 2023; amended July 15, 2025, to take effect Jan. 1, 2026.) HISTORY—2026: What had been subsection (i) concerning the certificate of interested entities or individuals was deleted,