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Rule 24. Form, Content, and Page Limitations

(a) Form and content. All briefs shall conform to the printing, copying, and style requirements of Rule 37, shall be legible, and shall be substantially as follows:

[Set forth, in a concise statement, each issue granted review by the Court, raised in the certificate for review or mandatory review case, or presented in the petition for extraordinary relief, writ appeal petition, or petition for new trial.]

[Set forth a concise chronology including the results of the accused's trial, action by the convening authority, the officer exercising general court-martial jurisdiction (if any), and the Court of Criminal Appeals as well as other pertinent information regarding the proceedings, including, where applicable, the date the petition for review was granted.]

[Set forth a concise statement of the facts of the case material to the issue or issues presented, including specific page references to each relevant portion of the record of trial. Answers may adopt appellant's or petitioner's statement of facts if there is no dispute, may state additional facts, or, if there is a dispute, may restate the facts as they appear from appellee's or respondent's viewpoint. The repetition of uncontroverted matters is not desired.]

[Each brief and answer shall contain a summary of argument, suitably paragraphed to correspond to each issue presented. The summary should be a succinct, but accurate and clear condensation of the arguments made in the body of the brief.]

[Discuss briefly the point of law presented, citing and quoting such authorities as are deemed pertinent. The argument must also include for each issue presented a statement of the applicable standard of review. The standard of review may appear in the discussion of each issue or under a separate heading.]

[State the relief sought as to each issue presented, for example, reversal of the Court of Criminal Appeals decision and dismissal of the charges, grant of a new trial, the extraordinary relief sought, etc. No particular form of language is required, so long as the brief concludes with a clear prayer for specific Court action.]

[The brief of the appellant or petitioner shall include an appendix containing a copy of the Court of Criminal Appeals decision, unpublished opinions cited in the brief, and relevant extracts of rules and regulations. The appellee or respondent shall similarly file an appendix containing a copy of any additional unpublished opinions and relevant extracts of rules and regulations cited in the answer.]

___________________
(Signature of counsel)  

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(Typed name of counsel)  

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(Address of counsel)  

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(Telephone no. of counsel)  

I certify that a copy of the foregoing was [mailed] [delivered] to the Court and [mailed] [delivered] to (enter name of each counsel of record) on ___. (Date)

___________________
(Typed name and signature)  

___________________
(Address and telephone no.)  

(b) Page limitations. Unless otherwise authorized by order of the Court or by motion of a party granted by the Court (see Rule 30), the page limitations for briefs filed with the Court, not including appendices, shall be as follows:

(1) Briefs of appellants/petitioners shall not exceed 50 pages;

(2) Answers of appellees/respondents shall not exceed 50 pages;

(3) Replies of appellants/petitioners shall not exceed 15 pages.

(As amended Oct. 1, 1987; Oct. 30, 1991, eff. Nov. 4, 1991; Mar. 3, 1992, eff. Apr. 1, 1992; Oct. 12, 1994; Feb. 27, 1996; Jan. 12, 1998, eff. Feb. 2, 1998; Jan. 20, 1999, eff. Feb. 1, 1999.)

Rule 25. When Briefs are Required

Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, briefs shall be filed in all mandatory review cases and in support of all granted petitions, certificates for review, and petitions for new trial. The appellee's answer and appellant's reply in any of the foregoing instances shall also be in the format specified in Rule 24. The answer and reply to the supplement to a petition for grant of review shall be in accordance with Rule 21(c).

(As amended Mar. 26, 1998, eff. May 1, 1998.)

Rule 26. Amicus Curiae Briefs

(a) A brief of an amicus curiae may be filed (1) by an appellate government or defense division of an armed service other than that in which the case has arisen, (2) by invitation of the Court, or (3) by motion for leave to file granted by the Court.

(b) Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, a brief of an amicus curiae under subsection (a)(1) of this rule shall be filed no later than 10 days after the filing of the answer by the appellee or respondent.

(c) Neither the hearing nor the disposition of a case will be delayed pending action on a motion for leave to file an amicus curiae brief or a motion of an amicus curiae to participate in a hearing, or to await the filing of a brief of an amicus curiae under this rule.

(d) A brief of an amicus curiae shall not exceed 30 pages, excluding appendices.

(e) A member of the Bar of the Court who represents an amicus curiae and is authorized to file a brief under paragraph (a) of this rule may file a motion for leave to have a law student enter an appearance on behalf of the amicus curiae. To be eligible to participate under this rule, a law student must be acting under the attorney's supervision and the attorney and the law student must substantially comply with the requirements of Rule 13A(b)(1)-(5) and (c)(1)-(11). Argument by a law student granted permission to appear on behalf of an amicus curiae may be requested by motion filed under Rule 30.

(As amended Mar. 26, 1998, eff. May 1, 1998.)