How to Write a Legal Appeal
A legal appeal does not merely re-argue the facts of a case, but questions a lower court's application of law or its following of procedure. New evidence cannot be presented, and only the facts as they appear in the record of the lower court trial can be used by the appeal writer. Though cases on appeal often include a brief oral argument period before the judges, most agree the written brief accounts for 70 to 90 percent of their final decisions.
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Instructions
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Know the rules. The Rules of Appellate Procedure are published by the court and cover everything from font size and color of the cover page, to content restrictions and deadlines. These rules are subject to modification from year to year, and knowing the most current rules is essential to be sure the court accepts a legal appeal.
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Know the case record. The tools of the appeal writer are limited to previous legal precedents and the record of the lower court proceedings. It's important, therefore, that someone writing an appellate brief have access to all pleadings, discovery, motions, judgments and transcripts of the earlier trial. They should review these extensively and make a summary of the facts and legal principles behind the court's various decisions to internalize them and for ease of reference while writing the appeal.
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Choose the best argument. While numerous reasons might exist for appealing a lower court decision, an appeal should be limited to the best one or two. This makes an appeal stronger, easier for the appeals court to digest, ans is harder to refute.
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Write a rough draft. The writer of an appeal should expect to make several revisions and multiple drafts before submitting their final work. The draft document should include as much information as possible related to the best argument, using the facts of the case and relevant precedent to show the error of the lower court and clearly explaining the action desired of the appeals court.
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Revise. After setting aside the rough draft for a few days and, ideally getting input from others, the appeal writer should revise their work and cut out extraneous material so the final appeal is as tight and streamlined as possible.
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Review the rules. Once the final draft is prepared, review the Rules of Appellate Procedure to be sure the draft is consistent with the court's expectations. Be sure the correct number of copies are produced and sent to the appropriate parties.
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Tips & Warnings
The best source for case law is LexisNexus, a vast electronic database available with a subscription. Otherwise, decisions referenced in a lower court pleading can often be found online (usually on the sites of law schools or firms) by searching for the name of the case. Books tailored to specific subject areas, and law review journal articles, also usually provide solid case law research, and can be obtained through a public library.
