Rule 25. Structure and Content

(a) Appellant’s Brief. An appellant’s brief will usually be most helpful to the Court if it includes the itemslisted below, under appropriate headings and in the order indicated. At a minimum,the appellant’s brief must include items (3), (4), (5), and (7).

(1) For briefs of significant length or complexity, a table of contents and a table ofcited authorities, each with page references.

(2) A concise introduction setting out the key issues and arguments on appeal.

(3) A concise jurisdictional statement, which must identify:(i) The basis for this Court’s appellate jurisdiction. See, e.g., OCGA §§ 5-6-34 and 5-6-35.(ii) The basis for this Court having jurisdiction instead of the Supreme Court.See, e.g., Ga. Cont. Art. VI, Sec. VI, Pars. II, III: OCGA § 15-3-3.1.(iii) The filing dates establishing that the appeal is timely. See, e.g., OCGA§§ 5-6-38 and 5-6-39.

(4) The enumeration of errors, which must identify separately and concisely eachallegedly erroneous ruling the appellant relies on as a basis for reversal of thejudgment on appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-40.

(5) A statement of the case that sets out the material facts relevant to the appeal,describes the relevant proceedings below, and identifies how each enumeratederror was preserved for review, with appropriate citations to the record.

(6) For briefs of significant length or complexity, a summary of argument thatpresents, plainly and concisely, each argument in the order presented in the bodyof the brief. An effective summary will not merely repeat the argument headings.

(7) The argument, which must cite the authorities relied on and include a concisestatement of the applicable standard(s) of review, and which should generallyfollow the order of the enumeration of errors. Point headings that identify andorganize arguments are encouraged.

(b) Appellee’s Brief. An appellee’s brief will usually be most helpful to the Court if it follows thearrangement set out in Rule 25 (a) except for item (4). Items (3) and (5) may beomitted if the appellee is satisfied with their presentation by the appellant. If anappellee disagrees with the appellant’s statement of the case in whole or in part, theappellee must identify any points of disagreements with supporting citations to therecord.

(c) Reply Brief. If the appellant chooses to file a reply brief, the brief need only include item (7) listed above. For reply briefs of significant length or complexity, including items (1) and (2) is encouraged.

(d) General Provisions.

(1) Unsupported Claim of Error; References to Record and Transcripts. Any enumeration of error that is not supported in the brief by citation of authority orargument may be deemed abandoned.(i) Each enumerated error shall be supported in the brief by specific reference tothe record or transcript. In the absence of a specific reference, the Court will notsearch for and may not consider that enumeration.(ii) A contention that certain matters are not supported by the record may beanswered by reference to particular volume and pages where the matters appear.

(2) Citations to the record. Reference to a paper record should be indicated by the volume number of theappellate record and the trial court’s stamped page number (Vol. Number – StampedNumber; for example, V2-46).Reference to an electronic record should be indicated by the volume number of theelectronic record and the PDF page number within that volume (Vol. Number – PDFPage Number; for example, V2-46).Citations to audio and video recordings should identify the recording itself accordingto its location in the record and specify the relevant portion of the recording byindicating the time range during which the cited material is found.