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The Mississippi Lawyer Summer 2015 21 A lawyer is a professional writer. As such every lawyer should constantly try to improve his or her writing skills. Here are my ten commandments of appellate brief writing. 1. Only appeal the case that merits appeal. Not every case merits an appeal. The decision to appeal a case should be based on a review of the case as it was tried updated research on the possible issues and then a careful analysis of whether you may be successful on appeal. Ask these questions What do you expect to happen Why all this effort Why should you win 2. Put yourself in the position of the appellate judges. Think of the Golden Rule Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. What would you do if you were the appellate judge Write the brief as if you were the judge who decides the case. 3. Every part of a brief is important and deserves careful attention. Mississippi Rule of Appellate Procedure 28 is very specific about how to format an appellate brief. Carefully read this rule and do your best to comply. Do not forget the Table of Contents. As a reader I am thrilled to see a Table of Contents that includes the descriptive headings used in the brief to tell the story and outline the case. Also a detailed table of contents is an excellent reference guide to write an opinion. 4. Give the Court the history and nature of the case without confus- ing a Statement of the Case with a Statement of Facts or Argument. Too often a briefwriter simply com- bines the statement of the case with the statement of facts or the argument. Rule 28a4 requires that the statement of the case shall first indicate briefly the nature of the case the course of the proceedings and its disposition in the court below. There shall follow the statement of facts relevant to the issues presented for review with appropriate references to the record. It is helpful to the reader to understand what the case is about how it got to the court and how the trial court resolved the matter before you move to the facts. 5. Select a limited number of issues for appeal and state them in terms of the concrete facts of your case so as to suggest the results desired. riefs are written for one audience and one audience only judges and their law clerks. They have the most limited readership of any professional writing. Judge Ruggero J. AldisertB By Presiding Judge Kenny Griffis Mississippi Court of AppealsContinued on next page Ten Commandments of Appellate Brief Writing