(1) Brief of appellant. The appellant shall file a brief within 40 days of the filing in the court of the record on appeal. The brief must contain:
(a) A table of contents with page references of the various portions of the brief, including headings of each section of the argument, and a table of cases arranged alphabetically, statutes and other authorities cited with reference to the pages of the brief on which they are cited.
(b) A statement of the issues presented for review and how the trial court decided them.
(c) A statement with reasons as to whether oral argument is necessary and a statement as to whether the opinion should be published and, if so, the reasons therefor.
(d) A statement of the case, which must include: a description of the nature of the case; the procedural status of the case leading up to the appeal; the disposition in the trial court; and a statement of facts relevant to the issues presented for review, with appropriate references to the record.
(e) An argument, arranged in the order of the statement of issues presented. The argument on each issue must be preceded by a one sentence summary of the argument and is to contain the contention of the appellant, the reasons therefor, with citations to the authorities, statutes and parts of the record relied on as set forth in the Uniform System of Citation and SCR 80.02 .
(f) A short conclusion stating the precise relief sought.
(g) Reference to an individual by first name and last initial rather than by his or her full name when the record is required by law to be confidential.
(h) The signature of the attorney who files the brief; or, if the party who files the brief is not represented by an attorney, the signature of that party.
(i) Reference to the parties by name, rather than by party designation, throughout the argument section.
(2) Appendix. The appellant's brief shall include a short appendix providing relevant trial court record entries, the findings or opinion of the trial court and limited portions of the record essential to an understanding of the issues raised, including oral or written rulings or decisions showing the trial court's reasoning regarding those issues. The appendix shall include a table of contents. If the record is required by law to be confidential, the portions of the record included in the appendix shall be reproduced using first names and last initials instead of full names of persons, specifically including juveniles and parents of juveniles, with a notation that the portions of the record have been so reproduced to preserve confidentiality and with appropriate references to the record.
(3) Respondent's brief.
(a)
1. The respondent shall file a brief within the later of any of the following:
a. Thirty days after the date of service of the appellant's brief, and 3 additional days under s. 801.15 (5) (a) if service is accomplished by mail.
b. Thirty days after the date on which the court accepts the appellant's brief for filing.
c. Thirty days after the date on which the record is filed in the office of the clerk.
2. The brief must conform with sub. (1) , except that the statement of issues and the statement of the case may be excluded.
(b) The respondent may file with his or her brief a supplemental appendix in conformity with sub. (2) .
(4) Reply brief.
(a) The appellant shall file a reply brief, or a statement that a reply brief will not be filed, within the later of:
1. Fifteen days after the date of service of the respondent's brief, and 3 additional days under s. 801.15 (5) (a) if service is accomplished by mail; or
2. Fifteen days after the date on which the court accepts the respondent's brief for filing.
(b) The reply brief under par. (a) shall comply with sub. (1) (e) and (f) .
(5) Consolidated and joint appeals. Each appellant in consolidated appeals or a joint appeal and each co-appellant may file a separate brief or a joint brief with another appellant or co-appellant. A joint brief must not exceed the page allowance for a single appellant.
(6) Cross-appeal. Briefing in a cross-appeal shall be as follows:
(a) An appellant-cross-respondent shall file a brief titled "Appellant's Brief" within the time specified by, and in compliance with, the requirements of subs. (1) and (2) .
(b)
1. A respondent-cross-appellant shall file a brief titled "Combined Brief of Respondent and Cross-Appellant" within the later of any of the following:
a. Thirty days after the date of service of the appellant-cross-respondent's brief, and 3 additional days under s. 801.15 (5) (a) if service is accomplished by mail.
b. Thirty days after the date on which the court accepts the appellant-cross-respondent's brief for filing.
c. Thirty days after the date on which the record is filed in the office of the clerk.
2. The front and back covers of the combined brief shall be red. The respondent portion of the combined brief shall comply with the requirements of this section for a respondent's brief, including the length limitation for such a brief set forth in sub. (8) (c) 1. The cross-appellant portion of the combined brief shall comply with the requirements of subs. (1) and (2) for an appellant's main brief, including the length limitation for such a brief set forth in sub. (8) (c) 1. , except that the requirements of sub. (1) (c) and (d) may be omitted, the cross-appellant portion of the combined brief shall be preceded by a blank blue cover, and a signature shall be required only at the conclusion of the cross-appellant portion of the combined brief.
(c)
1. An appellant-cross-respondent shall file a brief titled "Combined Brief of Appellant and Cross-Respondent" within the later of:
a. Thirty days after the date of service of the respondent-cross-appellant's brief, and 3 additional days under s. 801.15 (5) (a) if service is accomplished by mail; or
b. Thirty days after the date on which the court accepts the respondent-cross-appellant's brief for filing.
2. The front and back covers of the combined brief shall be gray. The appellant portion of the combined brief shall comply with the requirements of sub. (4) for a reply brief, including the length limitation for such a brief set forth in sub. (8) (c) 1. [ sub. (8) (c) 2. ] The cross-respondent portion of the combined brief shall comply with the requirements of sub. (3) for a respondent's brief, including the length limitation for such a brief set forth in sub. (8) (c) 1. , except that the requirement of sub. (1) (c) may be omitted, the cross-respondent portion of the combined brief shall be preceded by a blank red cover, and a signature shall be required only at the conclusion of the cross-respondent portion of the combined brief.
(d) A respondent-cross-appellant shall file either a reply brief titled "Reply Brief of Cross-Appellant" in the form required by sub. (4) for reply briefs, or a statement that a reply brief will not be filed, within the later of:
1. Fifteen days after the date of service of the appellant-cross-respondent's brief, and 3 additional days under s. 801.15 (5) (a) if service is accomplished by mail; or
2. Fifteen days after the date on which the court accepts the appellant-cross-respondent's brief for filing.
(e) Each part of a combined brief shall comply with the form and length certification requirements of sub. (8) (d) .
(7) Nonparty briefs.
(a) A person not a party may by motion request permission to file a brief. The motion shall identify the interest of the person and state why a brief filed by that person is desirable.
(b) If the brief will support or oppose a petition under s. 809.62 or 809.70 , the brief shall accompany the motion and shall be filed within the time permitted for the opposing party to file a response to the petition.
(c) Except as provided in par. (b) , the motion shall be filed not later than 14 days after the respondent's brief is filed, and the brief shall be filed within the time specified by the court.
(8) Number, form and length of briefs and appendices.
(a) Number.
1. A person shall file either 22 copies of a brief or appendix in the supreme court or the number that the court directs and shall serve 3 copies on each party.
2. Except as provided in subd. 3. and s. 809.43 , a person shall file either 10 copies of a brief or appendix in the court of appeals or the number that the court directs and shall serve 3 copies on each party.
3. Except as provided in s. 809.43 , a person who is found indigent under s. 814.29 (1) and who is not represented by counsel shall file 5 copies of a brief or appendix in the court of appeals and shall serve one copy on each party. A prisoner who has been granted leave to proceed without prepayment of fees under s. 814.29 (1m) and who is not represented by counsel shall file 5 copies of a brief or appendix in the court of appeals and shall serve one copy on each party.
(b) Form. A brief and appendix must conform to the following specifications:
1. Produced by a duplicating or copying process that produces a clear, black image of the original on white paper. Briefs shall be produced by using either a monospaced font or a proportional serif font. Carbon copies may not be filed.
2. Produced on 8-1/2 by 11 inch paper.
3.
b. If a monospaced font is used: 10 characters per inch; double-spaced; a 1.5 inch margin on the left side and a one-inch margin on all other sides.
c. If a proportional font is used: proportional serif font, minimum printing resolution of 200 dots per inch, 13 point body text, 11 point for quotes and footnotes, leading of minimum 2 points, maximum of 60 characters per full line of body text. Italics may not be used for normal body text but may be used for citations, headings, emphasis and foreign words.
4. Securely bound only on the left side with heavy strength staples or by means of velobinding or the "perfect" ("hot glue") binding method, with pagination at the center of the bottom margin. A brief may be bound by another method if authorized in writing by the clerk of the court.