Court of Appeals of Tennessee

Format

Type

Times New Roman 12 pt, double-spaced

Margins

1-inch margins

Opening brief

15,000 words

Reply brief

5,000 words

What counts

Excludes cover, tables of contents and authorities, certificate of compliance, signature, certificate of service; amicus 7,500

Rules

Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure — Tenn. R. App. P. 30 (unprinted: 8.5x11, double-spaced, Times New Roman 12-pt min, text area max 6.5x9.5 in.); Tenn. R. App. P. 30

Parts of the brief, in order

1. Cover — Required · Tenn. R. App. P. 30
2. TABLE OF CONTENTS — Required · Tenn. R. App. P. 27(a)(1)
3. TABLE OF AUTHORITIES — Required · Tenn. R. App. P. 27(a)(2)
4. STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES PRESENTED FOR REVIEW — Required · Tenn. R. App. P. 27(a)(4)
5. STATEMENT OF THE CASE — Required · Tenn. R. App. P. 27(a)(5)
6. STATEMENT OF FACTS — Required · Tenn. R. App. P. 27(a)(6)
7. ARGUMENT — Required · Tenn. R. App. P. 27(a)(7)
8. CONCLUSION — Required · Tenn. R. App. P. 27(a)(8)
9. Signature block — Required · Tenn. R. App. P. 30
10. CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE — Required · Tenn. R. App. P. 30
11. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE — Required · Tenn. R. App. P. 20

Argument headings: Argument sets forth contentions with reasons, citations to authorities and appropriate record references, and for each issue a concise statement of the applicable standard of review (27(a)(7))

Standard of review: For each issue, within the argument (Tenn. R. App. P. 27(a)(7)(B)); appellee may omit unless dissatisfied

Record citations: References to pages of the record; intelligible abbreviations allowed (27(g)), e.g. (R. Vol. 1, p. 12); (Tr. 34)

Appendix

Optional. Pages are numbered like A12.

Court works from the appellate record transmitted by the trial clerk

Certificates

• Compliance: All briefs certify compliance and state the actual word count
• Service: Certificate of service

Good to know

• Tenn. Ct. App. R. 6 requires each issue in argument to state the alleged error, where it was raised below, and record references (not re-verified)
• Cover caption: 'IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT [KNOXVILLE/NASHVILLE/JACKSON]'
• Rule text read on mirror of official rules (last amended July 1, 2022); tncourts.gov blocked automated access

Filing: Tennessee appellate courts electronic filing (attorneys) - system details not verified