We’ve all been there. The filing deadline is fast approaching, but your brief is half a page over the page limit. “I really should keep editing,” you think to yourself. But the clock keeps on ticking. “What if I just adjust the line spacing (or margins or font) and see if I can get this down to where it needs to be?” It is tempting. I mean, what is really the difference between 12 point font and 11.5 point font? Who is going to notice? The court will.
Just ask the lawyers for BP in the “Deepwater Horizon” Gulf of Mexico 2010 oil spill litigation. BP was given permission to file a 35-page, double-spaced brief opposing a motion to strike, which was 10 pages over the usual 25-page limit for response briefs. BP filed a 35-page brief, but had reduced the line spacing to slightly less than double-spaced. In actuality, BP’s 35-page brief was closer to 41 pages. The court issued a stern warning: “The Court should not have to waste its time policing such simple rules—particularly in a case as massive and complex as this. Counsel are expected to follow the Court’s orders both in letter and in spirit. The Court should not have to resort to imposing character limits, etc., to ensure compliance.… Any future briefs using similar tactics will be struck.”
Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 32 attempts to thwart these kinds of shenanigans by imposing a page limit of 30 pages or a 14,000 word limit. Briefs must use a 14-point or larger font.
Generally, though, courts continue to prescribe page limits and type-size for motions and briefs. Eastern District of Michigan Local Rule 5.1 requires double-spaced 14-point type and one-inch margins, and Local Rule 7.1 limits the length of briefs supporting or opposing a motion to 25 pages. MCR 7.212(B) limits appellate briefs to 50 pages double-spaced, one-inch margins, and a minimum 12-point type. MCR 2.119 requires that briefs accompanying motions not exceed 20 pages of double-spaced 12-point type.
The moral of this story: remember to build in ample editing time to your brief-writing process and adhere to both the letter and the spirit of brief format rules.