Law365 has Judiciary Panel Loves Paralegal's Idea To Modernize Briefs
- Rule 32 deals with formatting of briefs, appendices and other filings, and it stipulates that "only one side of the paper may be used." In an October letter, Phoenix paralegal Paula Anthony urged panelists to "consider modernizing" the rule to permit double-sided "duplex" briefs.
- California Supreme Court Justice Leondra R. Kruger, another panel member, also sounded favorable, saying, "I do read double-sided paper briefs all the time, and I'm very comfortable with it."
- Several meeting attendees noted that halving the length of paper briefs matters less in the digital age. U.S. Circuit Judge Daniel A. Bress of the Ninth Circuit, a committee liaison, said he's "totally paperless." Ninth Circuit Judge Sidney R. Thomas, a committee member, echoed Judge Bress, saying the circuit is "virtually paperless."
- The Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules also formed a subcommittee Thursday to research a Rule 28 revamp advocated by U.S. Circuit Judges Kevin C. Newsom and William H. Pryor Jr. of the Eleventh Circuit. In a letter last year, the jurists touted a rule change "to permit — and perhaps subtly encourage — lawyers to include [short] 'introduction' sections in their appellate briefs."
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