Blog

Drafting an appellate brief can be a challenging task even for the most experienced litigator. There’s a good reason for that. Appellate briefing is an artform that requires the practitioner not only to persuasively and succinctly state the substantive legal issues being appealed but also to understand the rules of appellate procedure.

It’s no surprise that Missouri appellate courts are sticklers when it comes to briefing requirements, and they won’t hesitate to dismiss an appeal for failure to follow Missouri Supreme Court Rule 84. Every year Missouri’s appellate courts dismiss appeals for deficient briefing, and 2024 was no exception.

I’ve written this guide to help you successfully prepare an appellate brief that complies with Missouri’s appellate court rules. I’ve also included helpful tips that I’ve learned along the way.

Rule 84.04: Contents of an Appellate Brief

An appellate brief consists of the following sections: (1) cover page, (2) table of contents, (3) table of authorities, (4) jurisdictional statement, (5) statement of facts, (6) points relied on, (7) argument, (8) conclusion, (9) certificate of conformance, and (10) certificate of service.

1. Cover Page

The cover page of your appellate brief should include the following:

• appellate court and case number where the appeal is pending
• names of the parties and their posture on appeal (e.g., Appellant or Respondent)
• lower court from which the case is being appealed, along with the name of the judge and the case number
• title of the brief (e.g., “Appellant’s Brief” or “Respondent’s Brief”)
• signature block

2. Table of Contents

Rule 84.04(a)(1) requires a detailed table of contents, including page references. Typically, the table of contents includes: table of authorities, jurisdictional statement, statement of facts, point(s) relied on, argument, conclusion, certificate of compliance, and certificate of service.

Additionally, under the “argument” section in the table of contents, you’ll generally find subheadings for the point(s) relied on as written, standard of review, and preservation of error.

3. Table of Authorities

Per Rule 84.04(a)(1), the table of authorities is a list of cases (alphabetically arranged), statutes, and other authorities cited within the brief, including page references.

Practitioner’s Tip: I recommend listing all your authorities after you’ve written your argument section, but don’t include the page citations until your brief is complete (i.e., proofread and formatted) because the page numbers may change. This will save you a big headache.

4. Jurisdictional Statement

Rule 84.04(b) requires that the jurisdictional statement “set forth sufficient factual data to demonstrate the applicability of the particular provision or provisions of article V, section 3, of the Constitution upon which jurisdiction is sought to be predicated.”

Example: This appeal arises from a negligence action brought in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis by Respondent against Appellant. In his Petition, Respondent asserted a claim of negligence against Appellant arising out of a motor vehicle accident. On December 1, 2024, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Respondent. The trial court entered judgment in accordance with the jury’s verdict. Appellant timely filed its notice of appeal on February 22, 2025.

None of the issues on appeal are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Missouri Supreme Court. Jurisdiction is proper in the Court of Appeals, pursuant to Article V, § 3 of the Missouri Constitution.

Remember: If you’re appealing directly to the Missouri Supreme Court or if the Missouri Supreme Court accepted transfer, the basis for jurisdiction will change depending on the case.

5. Statement of Facts

Rule 84.04(c) requires that the statement of facts be fair and concise and that it set forth the facts relevant to the questions presented for determination without argument. Too often this section becomes novel length and contains unnecessary details about the case. Do your best to confine this section to the facts pertinent to the issues on appeal.

Practitioner’s Tip: Break up your statement of facts using subheadings. It will not only organize this section but make it easier to read and digest.

Record Citations. This rule requires that all statements of fact have specific page references to the record on appeal. If the citation is to the legal file, it should include the appeal document number and page (e.g., D6, pg. 7). If the citation is to the appendix, a page reference to the appendix should be included (e.g., App 9).

6. Point(s) Relied On

Drafting a point relied on is essentially a formula, which is set forth in Rule 84.04(d):

The trial court erred in [identify the challenged ruling or action], because [state the legal reasons for the claim of reversible error], in that [explain why the legal reasons, in the context of the case, support the claim of reversible error].

Example: The trial court erred in denying Appellant’s Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict because Appellant’s actions were not the proximate cause of Respondent’s injuries in that the third-party phantom driver was an intervening, superseding cause.

Beware of the multifarious point relied on. Each point relied on should only raise one claim of error. If you’re raising multiple claims of error in a single point, that’s grounds for dismissal.

Practitioner’s Tip: Always run your point(s) relied on by a colleague. Drafting a point relied on is one of the most important and difficult tasks of appellate briefing. It may take you a few tries to perfect the wording of each point.

Following each point relied on, the rule requires the party to include a list of cases (no more than four), and the constitutional, statutory, and regulatory provisions or authority upon which the party principally relies.

7. Argument

The argument section of your brief is governed by Rule 84.04(e). Per this rule, the argument section must follow the order of the point(s) relied on, and each point relied on must be restated at the beginning of the section of the argument discussing the point.

Before getting to the meat of the argument, you’re required to set forth: (1) whether the error was preserved, and (2) the standard of review.

Preservation of Error. The preservation of error should be a short statement of how the issue before the appellate court was preserved for its review.

Example: If appealing an instructional error, include a statement that an objection to the instruction was made at trial, the instruction was submitted over counsel’s objection, and the error was raised in a motion for new trial.

Standard of Review. The standard of review will depend on the issue being appealed and will ultimately guide the appellate court’s review of the issue. For example, the de novo standard of review permits the appellate court to consider the matter anew as if it were never decided by the lower court. On the other hand, an appellate court being guided by the abuse of discretion standard of review gives much more deference to the decision of the lower court. It’s important to research and understand your standard of review when drafting an appellate brief as it will affect the persuasiveness of your argument.   

As a final note, as in the statement of facts, all factual assertions must contain citations to the record as stated above.

8. Conclusion

The conclusion should be short and state the precise relief sought. This is your final chance to tell the appellate court why the lower court was in error and state the remedy you’re seeking.

9. Certificate of Conformance

The certificate of conformance is governed by Rule 84.06(c) and requires the following:

• statement that the brief complies with the word limitations contained in Rule 84.06(b)
• number of words in the brief
• signature block of attorney submitting brief (See Rule 55.03)

Example: I HEREBY CERTIFY that Appellant’s Brief complies with the limitations contained in Missouri Supreme Court Rule 84.06(b), and that the Brief contains 7,839 words (as determined by Microsoft Word 2010 software).

Practitioner’s Tip: The word count should be the last thing you do before submitting your brief.

10. Certificate of Service

The certificate of service also follows Rule 84.06(c) and requires the following:

• information as to how the brief was served on the opposing party (e.g., by email or the court’s electronic filing system (See Rule 43.01 or Rule 103.08)
• signature block of attorney submitting brief (See Rule 55.03)

Respondent’s Brief and Reply Brief

There are only a few differences between drafting an Appellant’s brief versus a Respondent’s brief, but they are important to note. (See Rule 84.04(f)).

A Respondent may accept the Appellant’s jurisdictional statement and statement of facts and can forego including their own. Additionally, the Respondent doesn’t need to draft points relied on. Rather, the argument section only needs to contain headings identifying the points relied on from Appellant’s brief to which Respondent is responding. However, per the rule, the Respondent may include additional arguments in support of its position that were not raised by the points relied on in the Appellant’s brief.

Finally, the Appellant is entitled to file a reply brief but may not reargue points covered in their initial brief. (See Rule 84.04(g)). A good rule of thumb is to keep the reply brief short and succinct. Limit your reply only to new arguments raised in the Respondent’s brief.

Appendix

Rule 84.04(h) requires a party to file a separate appendix containing the following:

• judgement, order, or decision in question, including relevant findings of fact and conclusions of law filed in a judge-tried case or in one by an administrative agency
• complete text of all statutes, ordinances, rules of court, or agency rules claimed to be controlling as to a point on appeal
• complete text of any instructions to which a point relied on relates

The appendix may also include copies of exhibits, excerpts from the written record, and copies of new cases or other authorities.

Table of Contents. Like the brief, the appendix must contain a table of contents with page references.

Page Numbers. The pages in the appendix must be numbered consecutively beginning with A1.

Remember: The appendix is a separate document from the brief. I always put a cover page on my appendix. Also note that the Respondent doesn’t need to file an appendix if the Appellant’s appendix contains the required materials.

Rules 84.03 & 84.06: Format of an Appellate Brief

Page Numbering (Rule 84.03(b)(1)). All pages, including the cover page, must be numbered at the bottom (1, 2, 3, …).

Spacing (Rule 84.03(b)(2)). Documents must have margins of not less than one inch and line spacing of not less than 1.5. (Exception – the following may be single-spaced: caption, headings, quotations more than two lines long, certificates of service and conformance, and signature block).

Font (Rule 84.03(b)(3)). The font must be no smaller than 13-point Times New Roman.

PDF (Rule 84.03(c)). All applications, motions, and briefs must be filed as text-searchable PDFs.

Word Count (Rule 84.06(b)). Appellant’s initial brief cannot exceed 31,000 words. Respondent’s brief cannot exceed 27,900 words. Appellant’s reply brief cannot exceed 7,750 words.

Practitioner’s Tip: If you’re filing any motion, application, or brief with the Missouri Supreme Court, beware of hyperlinks. The Missouri Supreme Court will reject any filing containing an active hyperlink, so make sure any hyperlinks are either omitted or deactivated.

Parting Words and Final Tips

Appellate practice is a niche area of law, and I hope this guide will be a useful tool for attorneys during the appellate briefing process. However, it by no means covers all aspects of appellate practice. It’s vital to read (and re-read) the Missouri rules of appellate procedure in the beginning, middle, and end of writing the brief for your appeal.

I leave you with four additional tips.

Requesting Oral Argument. If you’d like to orally argue your appeal before the appellate court, you must request an oral argument. Otherwise, oral argument is waived, and your appeal will be submitted on the briefs. The appellate court generally will provide notice and a deadline for such a request, but that’s not always the case. To avoid waiver, I recommend filing a separate Request for Oral Argument at the time you file your brief regardless of whether you’re the Appellant or Respondent.

Check the Local Rules. All three appellate courts have their own local rules that set forth additional briefing requirements beyond those contained in Rule 84. Be sure to review the local rules in the appellate court where your appeal is pending to ensure your brief is in compliance.  

When in Doubt, Call the Clerk. The clerks at the appellate courts are a wealth of knowledge and incredibly helpful. Don’t hesitate to call with questions big or small.

Check Out The ABC’s of Appellate Practice. All three Missouri courts of appeal have guides to the appellate process for their respective court. These publications are periodically updated and can be found at these links:

• Eastern District – ABC's 2024.pdf
• Western District – Quick Guide to Appellate Practice - FOR ATTORNEYS
• Southern District – ABCs of Appellate Practice PDF (2017)

Happy writing!