e-Briefs (Second Appellate District)

Invitation to file e-Briefs in the Second District Court of Appeal

An e-brief is a single Disc (CD, DVD or external drive) containing linked and searchable copies of:

  • the reporter's transcript
  • the clerk's transcript or a joint appendix in lieu thereof, including all exhibits
  • all cited authorities
  • all briefs, with all citations to the record, authorities and other briefs hyperlinked to the cited material.

Counsel who believes that an e-brief is appropriate for an appeal should confer as early as possible with opposing counsel and should cooperate in preparing it. If, however, opposing counsel does not wish to participate, any party may file an e-brief, provided it contains all of the materials listed above, hyperlinked. As a courtesy to the Court, non-participating parties shall provide electronic copies of their briefs to the party preparing the e-brief. E-briefs should be filed as early as possible, and in any event, no later than 15 days after the last brief is filed.

Counsel must submit a written notice to the Clerk's Office of their intention to file an e-brief. The Court will work with counsel to minimize delay and maximize the effectiveness of the filing.

To assist counsel, a list of service providers that prepare e-briefs appears at the end of this announcement.

The Court particularly encourages counsel to cooperate in filing an e-brief and to agree to share the cost. Counsel should not assume that the cost of preparation will be recoverable.

Note
  • E-briefs must be contained on Windows-compatible Discs.
  • E-briefs must be identical in both content and appearance to their paper counterparts.
  • E-briefs must either come with their own viewing programs or be viewable using:
    1. a program such as Adobe Acrobat Reader (downloadable from the Internet at no cost to the user)
    2. any Internet browser (i.e., Internet Explorer, Mozilla, etc.)
    3. Microsoft Word
  • E-briefs must be free of computer viruses.
  • E-briefs must be accompanied by a statement, preferably within or attached to the packaging, that:
    1. provides the instructions for viewing the documents
    2. provides the minimum equipment required for viewing the documents
    3. verifies the absence of computer viruses and describes the software used to ensure that they are virus-free
  • Two copies of the Discs, all in the required form, must be filed with the court with proof of service on all counsel.

No copies of the e-brief are to be served on the Supreme Court.

Please see Council of Appellate Lawyers’ recent publication called The Leap from E-Filing to E-Briefing, Recommendations and Options for Appellate Courts to Improve the Functionality and Readability of E-Briefs (2017).

E-Brief Service Providers

The following commercial vendors prepare e-briefs, and they can provide samples and cost estimates. It is also possible to prepare e-briefs in-house using any commercially available software.

This list should not be construed as an endorsement by the Court.