Over the past several years, the Eleventh Circuit has made several changes to the rules regarding filing briefs and record excerpts. In 2006, the Court introduced the Electronic Records on Appeal Program. The program initially began as a pilot program with only one district (Southern District of Alabama) participating and eventually expanded to cover all three of its districts.

In a nutshell, the Electronic Records on Appeal Program required fewer copies of the record excerpts; it also required a table of record references to be included in both the brief and the record excerpts. There was a page limit on the volume size of the record excerpt and each party was required to file their own record excerpts with the documents they were referencing in their briefs.

On June 26, 2013, the court issued General Order 39, which vacated previous General Order 35 (and the Electronic Records on Appeal Program), and adopted the “Appendix on Appeal” requirements. The general requirements are similar to the Electronic Records on Appeal Program, with some procedural changes, as well as form and content revisions. General Order 39 may be reviewed here.

The most noteworthy of the changes implied by General Order 39 are:
1. The record excerpts are now called an appendix.
2. The table of record references is no longer required in either the brief or the appendix.
3. The appendix is due seven days after the filing of the brief.

Despite these rule changes, the requirements regarding documents to include in the appendix–tabbing each docket entry, binding across the top and the number of copies all remain the same. Also unchanged is the requirement that the appellee or appellant must submit a supplemental appendix (formerly supplemental expanded record excerpt) containing any additional documents not contained in a previously filed appendix. This is only required if the party references a new document within their brief.

Should you have any questions regarding the Eleventh Circuit's rules and procedures, please do not hesitate to contact me directly. My colleagues at Counsel Press' office in Richmond and I specialize in the rule-compliant appellate filings in the Eleventh Circuit, as well as the Fourth Circuit and state courts in Virginia, West Virginia and South Carolina.

Tagged: Appellate Practice, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, Appellate Procedure