Notice to Counsel of Record RE: Time for Filing Briefs

    dlattea States Cont of Appeals 
C ¢ - 

& FIFTH CIRCUIT 
TEL 504——589-6514 

EDWARD W. WADSWORTH OFFICE OF THE CLERK 600 CAMP STREET 

CLERK NEW ORLEANS, LA. 70130 

May 23, 1977 

Messers.C. B. Arendall, Jr. 
William C. Tidwell, III 
Travis Bedsole, Jr. 

Attorneys at Law 
P. O. Box 123 
Mobile, Ala. 36601 

Re: 77-2042 WILEY L. BOLDEN, ET AL. -vs- CITY OF MOBILE, ALA., ET AL, 

(District Court Docket No. CA-75-297-P) 

Dear Sir: 

Pursuant to Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, 
you are hereby notified that the record on appeal has this day 

been filed. 

Your attention is called to the fact that Fifth Circuit Local Rule 
13(f) reducing the time for filing briefs, has been rescinded. The 

time for filing briefs is governed by Rule 31, FRAP. The brief for 
appellant is now due within 40 days from this date. See Local Rule 

13 attached as to other times for filing briefs, for withdrawing 
the record, the requirement in civil cases of a certificate of 

interested parties, etc. 

  

Because of the strict policy of the court against granting ex- 
tensions, it is important for you to require, before authorizing 

the release of the record to the printer of your selection, that 
he guarantee you delivery of the reproduced appendix to the briefs 
within the time fixed by the rules. 

In addition, you are advised as follows: 

( ) Since you have already elected to defer preparation of 
the appendix under Rule 30(c), we enclose the record on 
appeal for your convenience in preparing your brief. 
This record should be made available to opposing counsel 
for use in preparing his brief and returned +o this 
office after the appendix has been reproduced. Copy of 
transmittal letters to opposing counsel or printer 

should be sent to this office. 

Very truly yours, 

EDWARD W. WADSWORTH, Clerk 

Deputy Clerk 

/34 ~ 
cc: ALL COUNSEL OF RECORD  



  

MEMORANDUM TO ALL COUNSEL 

COMPLIANCE WITH RULE 13(a) CERTIFICATE 
REQUIREMENT FOR POSSIBLE RECUSAL OR 
DISQUALIFICATION OF A JUDGE 

  

Fifth Circuit Local Rule 13(a) prescribes: 

"Certificate of Counsel. A certificate will be 
furnished by counsel for all private (non-governmental) 
parties, both appellants and appellees, which shall be 
incorporated on the first page of each brief before 
the table of contents or index, and which shall certify 
a complete list of all persons, associations of persons, 
firms, partnerships, or corporations which have an 
interest in the outcome of the particular case." 

(1) Counsel in some cases have interpreted this Rule 
as requiring them to list as interested parties only those 
parties they represent. The Court regards this as insufficient 
compliance with the Rule. The Court requires all parties 
filing briefs in all civil actions, (excluding criminal and 
criminal related cases and the briefs filed by Federal and 
State governments and agencies) to list all parties known to be interested on all sides of the case, whether represented by 
counsel furnishing the certificate or not. 

(2) In connection with the Rule's requirement to 
"certify a complete list of all persons, associations of 
persons, firms, partnerships, or corporations’ the Court re- 
quires that this specifically include also all subsidiaries, 
conglomerates, affiliates, parent corporations or other 
identifiable legal entities related to the named party or 
parties known to counsel. The burden is on counsel to 
ascertain and certify the true facts to the Court. 

EDWARD W. WADSWORTH 
CLERK 

 



   5 NOTICE TO COUNSEL 

Attefition of counsel and parties is directed to the following Local Rule 13. The most important provisions of this 

rule’ are: 

4 

e Rule 31(a), FRAP governs the time for filing briefs. 

® Briefs should contain a certificate of interested parties. See paragraph (a). 

® Rule 13(a) does not apply to criminal related cases or federal or state agencies. 

® Opening briefs should contain a summary of argument. See paragraph (j). 

e If counsel desires oral argument, brief should contain a short statement of reasons why oral argument would 

be helpful. See paragraph (j). 

e Court looks with disfavor on motions to file excess pages in briefs. See paragraph (g). 

® All copies of briefs must have cover of durable quality and bound with heavy staples. See paragraph (h). 

e The Court encourages use of the deferred appendix. See paragraph (b). 

® No appendix is required in pauper appeals. 

® In criminal appeals three copies of record can be furnished in lieu of appendix. 

® Number of Copies. See paragraph (i). 

® Chronology of the Contents of Briefs. See paragraph ()(3). 

FIFTH CIRCUIT LOCAL RULE 13 

APPENDIX AND BRIEFS 

(a) Certificate of Counsel: A certificate will be furnished by counsel for all private (non-governmental) parties, both appellants 

and appellees, which shall be incorporated on the first page of each brief before the table of contents or index, and which shall 

certify a complete list of all persons, association of persons, firms, partnerships, or corporations which have an interest in the 

outcome of the particular case. 

This certificate shall be furnished in order that the Judges of this Court may evaluate possible disqualification or recusal, and 

shall be in form as follows: 

Number and Title of Case. 

Certificate required by Fifth Circuit Local Rule 13(a): 

  

The undersigned, counsel of record for : certifies that the following listed party (or 

parties) has (have) an interest in the outcome of this case. These representations are made in order that the Judges of this 

Court may evaluate possible disqualification or recusal pursuant to Local Rule 13(a). 

(Here list names of all such parties and identify their connection and interest.) 

  

Attorney of record for 
  

(b) Contents of Appendix: Counsel should bear in mind the Court’s desire to minimize the cost of reproducing the appendix, 
consistent with the obligation and responsibility of the parties to reproduce therein all of those parts of the record which are 

essential to the Court’s consideration and determination of the issues raised by the appeal. Any parts of the record which are 
inadvertently omitted from the reproduced appendix may be referred to by appropriate references to the original record. If 

deemed necessary or advisable counsel may thereafter print other needed portions or the Court may thereafter require additional 

portions to be printed. 

The Court encourages use of the deferred appendix procedure as set forth in paragraph (e) below, as the best known method for 
eliminating unnecessary expense of reproduction of the appendix. Because of the Court’s preference for this procedure, and in 

order to simplify it for the ready convenience of counsel and the parties, a detailed explanation of the operation thereof will be 

made available in a Clerk’s memorandum upon request. 

No appendix is required in appeals authorized to proceed in forma pauperis under Rule 24, F.R.A.P. 

(c) Withdrawing Original Records for Reproduction: The Clerk shall, upon receipt of the original record, promptly notify the 

appealing party or his counsel in writing of his receipt of such record. Within five (5S) days from the date of receipt of such written 

notice the appellant or his counsel shall withdraw the record for reproduction of the appendix in the form prescribed by Rule 32, 

F.R.A.P., by a printer of his own selection. 

As used in this Rule the term ‘‘printer’’ includes an establishment capable of reproducing the record by any of the methods and 
in the form required by Rule 32, F.R.A.P. 

In those cases in which the parties are proceeding under Rule 30(c), F.R.A.P., wherein the briefs are filed prior to the reproduc- 
tion of the appendix, appellant or his counsel will likewise be responsible for withdrawing the record for reproduction within five 

(5) days after appellee’s brief is served upon him. 

 



   (d) Time for Filing Appendix: The time for filing the appendix prescribed by Rule 30(a), F.R.A.P., shall be the date upon Which 

the appellant’s brief is due unless the appendix is deferred. See paragraph (e) below. : 

1 

(e) Deferred Appendix: If the appellant shall so elect, preparation of the appendix may be deferred in all cases until 21 days 

after service of the brief of the appellee. Notice of the election by the appellant to defer preparation of the appendix shall be filed 

and served by him within 10 days after the date on which the record is filed. If the preparation and filing of the appendix is thus 

deferred, the provisions of subdivision (b) of Rule 30 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure shall apply, except that the 

designations referred to therein may be made by each party at the time his brief is served, and a statement of the issues presented 
shall be unnecessary. 

(f) Time for Filing Briefs: (Rule Rescinded 1/11/77). Rule 31(a) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure governs the time 

for filing briefs. 

(g) Length of Briefs: Motions for leave to file briefs in excess of the page requirements of Rule 28(g), F.R.A.P., must be filed at 

least ten (10) days in advance of the due date of the brief. The court looks with disfavor upon motions to exceed the page limitation 
and such a motion will only be granted for extraordinary and compelling reasons. 

(h) Form of Briefs and the Appendix: Each copy of brief and appendix, whether produced by a commercial printing or duplicat- 

ing firm or otherwise, must, in addition to compliance with Rule 32, F.R.A.P., have a cover of durable quality on both front and 

back sides, and shall be securely bound by three heavy staples or other secure binding device along the left-hand margin so as to 
insure that the bound copy will not loosen or fall apart or the cover be detached by shipping and use. 

Pages of briefs produced by any printing or duplicating process must have sufficient spacing between the lines of text to permit 

the briefs to be easily read. Within the type matter limitation fixed by Rule 32, F.R.A.P., a brief produced by the standard 

typographic process should contain not more than 34 lines of text on a page with a proportionate adjustment to be made for quoted 
matter or footnotes. Briefs produced by any duplicating or copying process shall have not more than 27 lines of text, with 

appropriate adjustment to be made for single space quoted matter or footnotes. Elite, or type similar thereto, shall not be 
considered 11 point type. 

In all cases the cover of the brief must clearly indicate the name of the party on whose behalf the brief is being filed. 

Unless each copy of brief and appendix, in the judgment of the Clerk, conforms to this Rule and to all provisions of Rule 32, 

F.R.A.P., the Clerk in his discretion may either return nonconforming copies unfiled for re-filing after submission in the proper 

form or, in order to minimize delay, may have the nonconforming copies properly covered and bound, and the party filing such 
nonconforming copies shall be billed for the expense thereof. 

(1) Number of Copies: Pursuant to the authority granted by Rules 30(a) and 31(b), F.R.A.P., only eight copies of appendices and 
twenty copies of briefs and petitions for rehearing need be filed with the Clerk. 

(j) Contents of Briefs: 

(1) Summary of Argument: In addition to the requirements of F.R.A.P. 28, the opening briefs of the parties shall contain a 

summary of argument, suitably paragraphed, which should be succinct, but accurate and clear, condensation of the argument 

actually made in the body of the brief. It should not be a mere repetition of the headings under which the argument is arranged. It 
should seldom exceed two pages and never five. 

(2) Request for Oral Argument: If counsel for appellant desires oral argument, counsel shall include in appellant’s brief (as a 

preamble thereto), a short statement of the reasons why oral argument would be helpful. Appellee shall likewise include in his 

brief a statement of why oral argument should or need not be had. The Court will accord these statements due weight, though not 
controlling, in determining whether oral argument will be heard in the case. 

(3) Chronology of the Contents of Briefs: The chronology of the contents of the brief as governed by Rule 28 of the Federal 
Rules of Appellate Procedure and of this Local Rule 13 shall be as follows: 

Certificate of counsel required by Local Rule 13(a), (if required). 

Request for oral argument required by paragraph (2) above. 

Table of contents and citations. 

Statement of the issues. 

Statement of the case. 

(a) Course of proceedings and disposition in court below. 

(b) Statement of facts. 

Summary of the argument. 

Argument. 

Conclusion. 

Certificate of Service.