BRIEFS: FORM AND CONTENT

(a) Brief of the Appellant. (1) The brief of the appellant shall contain, unless otherwise indicated, the following sections under appropriate headings and in the order here indicated: (A) A table of contents, with page references. (B) A table of authorities—listing each case, statute, or other authority cited in the brief—with page references. (C) A short introduction stating the nature of the case. This section is optional. (D) A statement of the facts of the case—including the procedural history—with citations to the pages in the appendix, transcript, or record that support each fact. (E) A statement of the issues presented for review. (F) A summary of the argument. This section is optional. (G) An argument. The argument shall contain the contentions of the appellant with respect to the issues presented and the reasons supporting each contention, with citations to the authorities upon which the appellant relies. The argument for each issue presented shall begin with a statement of the standard(s) of appellate review applicable to that issue. (H) A short conclusion stating the precise relief sought. (2) A brief shall not include: (A) any documents or images that are not a part of the trial court file or the record on appeal; 32 (B) any documents that are, or include, pictures, videos, or other images (i) of persons under 18 years of age, (ii) of adults subject to a guardianship or mental health commitment proceeding, or (iii) that depict nudity or sexual or sexualized acts; (C) except for a brief prepared by the State in a child protective case, any documents or information made confidential by statute or court order, or made “nonpublic” by the Maine Rules of Electronic Court Systems. Documents or information precluded by this section may be included in a brief only with leave of the Court. (b) Brief of the Appellee. The brief of the appellee shall conform to the requirements of subdivision (a) of this Rule, except that a statement of the issues and standards of appellate review or of the facts or procedural history of the case need not be included unless the appellee is dissatisfied with the statements of the appellant. (c) Reply Brief. Any reply brief filed by the appellant must be strictly confined to replying to new facts asserted or arguments raised in the brief of the appellee. No further briefs may be filed except by leave of the Law Court. (d) Briefs on Cross‐Appeals. If a cross-appeal is filed, the brief of the second party to the appeal shall contain the issues and argument involved in the cross-appeal as well as the answer to the brief of the appellant. (e) Brief of an Amicus Curiae. (1) General. (A) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subdivision, or when amicus briefs are invited by a notice from the Law Court, a brief of an amicus curiae may be filed only if accompanied by written consent of all parties or by leave of the Law Court. A motion for leave shall identify the interest of the applicant and shall state the reasons why a brief of an amicus curiae is desirable. (B) An amicus curiae brief shall be filed by the date on which the appellee’s brief is due to be filed, unless the Law Court, for good cause shown, 33 grants leave for later filing. Any party may file a reply brief addressing new matter raised by an amicus curiae within 14 days after service of the brief of an amicus curiae or within such other time as the Law Court may specify in granting leave for later filing to the amicus curiae. (C) The motion of an amicus curiae for leave to participate in the oral argument shall be granted only for extraordinary reasons. (2) Maine Tort Claims Act. (A) In any action under the Maine Tort Claims Act, 14 M.R.S. § 8101 et seq., the Attorney General shall have the right to appear before the Law Court by brief and oral argument as an amicus curiae when the Attorney General is not otherwise appearing on behalf of a party to the action. (B) Unless all parties otherwise consent, in any such action when the Attorney General has received notice of appeal as provided in Rule 2A(g)(4), the Attorney General shall file an amicus brief within the time allowed the party whose position as to affirmance or reversal the brief will support, unless the Law Court for cause shown shall grant leave for later filing. In that event, the Law Court shall specify within what period an opposing party may reply to the Attorney General’s brief. (f) Length of Briefs; Attachments. (1) Page or Word Limits. The principal brief of any party and any amicus brief shall not exceed the greater of 40 pages or 10,000 words, and any reply brief allowed by these Rules shall not exceed 15 pages or 4,500 words, without prior approval of the Law Court, which shall be granted only upon a showing of good cause. An appellee’s brief that also addresses that appellee’s cross-appeal shall not exceed the greater of 50 pages or 13,000 words. An appellant’s reply brief that also responds to an appellee’s cross-appeal shall not exceed the greater of 30 pages or 9,000 words. (2) Attachment. The principal brief of an appellant or an appellee may include, as an attachment not exceeding 3 pages, copies of documents, photographs, or diagrams that are part of the trial court record and are not prohibited from inclusion in the brief by Rule 7A(a)(2). Any document, 34 photograph, or diagram included as an attachment may be marked to add emphasis. (3) Page or Word Limit Calculations. The cover page, the table of contents, the table of authorities, the certificate of service, and any appendix bound with the appellant’s brief are not counted in calculating the page or word limits set in this Rule. (g) Form of Briefs. (1) Signature. At least one paper copy of each party’s brief filed with the Law Court shall be signed, in a manner authorized by Rule 1C, by an attorney who prepared the brief, or, if the party or parties, or amicus or amici, filing the brief are unrepresented by counsel, by each party or amicus filing the brief. (2) Form and Formatting. Briefs may be reproduced by standard printing or by any duplicating or copying process capable of producing a clear black image on white paper, with printing on only one side of each page. All printed matter must appear in at least 14-point font on opaque, unglazed paper, except that footnotes may appear in 11-point font. Pages shall be 8-1/2 x 11 inches with margins of 1 inch on the top, bottom, and each side of the page, and with double spacing between each line of text except for footnotes and block quotations. Briefs must be prepared using a word processor’s double space function. (3) Page Numbering. The pages of the brief must be sequentially numbered, beginning with the cover page as page 1 and using only Arabic numerals for page numbers (i.e., 1, 2, 3), including for the table of contents and table of authorities. Any blank pages must also be numbered. The page number may be suppressed and need not appear on the cover page. (4) Binding. Briefs shall be bound on the left-hand margin with comb or spiral binding that permits the pages to lie flat when the document is open. (5) Contents of Front Cover. The front cover of the brief shall contain: (A) the name of the Supreme Judicial Court sitting as the Law Court and the Law Court docket number of the case; (B) the title of the case; (C) the nature of the proceeding before the Law Court (e.g., Appeal; Report; Certified Question) and 35 the name of the court, agency, or other entity from which the appeal is taken or the question is presented; (D) the title of the document (e.g., Brief for Appellant); and (E) the names and addresses of counsel representing the party on whose behalf the document is filed or the name and address of the party filing the brief, if not represented by counsel. (6) Color of Front Cover. The cover of the brief of the appellant shall be blue; that of the appellee, red; that of an intervenor or amicus curiae, green; and that of any reply brief, gray. (h) Briefs in an Appeal Involving Multiple Appellants or Appellees. In an appeal involving more than one appellant or appellee, including consolidated cases, any number of appellants or appellees may join in a brief, and any party may adopt by reference another’s brief or any part thereof. Parties may also join in reply briefs. Adoption of a brief or portion thereof may be by letter to the Clerk of the Law Court, with a copy to all other parties, if the adopting party does not otherwise file a brief. A party adopting another’s brief or part thereof shall do so on or before the due date for that party’s own brief. (i) Supplemental Legal Authorities After Briefing. If important, relevant legal authorities come to a party’s attention after the party’s brief has been filed and before a decision resolving the appeal has been issued, the party may promptly advise the Clerk of the Law Court of such by a letter that sets forth citations to the supplemental authorities. The letter must state the reasons for providing the supplemental authorities and must refer to the pages of the brief or to any points argued orally that the supplemental authorities address. The body of the letter must not exceed 350 words. The party may file the letter using any method permitted by Rule 10(d) of these Rules and must serve a copy of the letter on all other parties by any method permitted by Rule 5 of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure. Any response must be made promptly and must be similarly limited. The Law Court need not wait for a response.