Except for the record, a document filed with an appellate court, including a paper copy of an electronically filed document, must — unless the court accepts another form in the interest of justice — be in the following form:
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(a) Printing. A document may be produced by standard typographic printing or by any duplicating process that produces a distinct black image. Printing must be on one side of the paper.
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(b) Paper Type and Size. The paper on which a document is produced must be 8 1/2 by 11 inches, white or nearly white, and opaque.
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(c) Margins. Documents must have at least one- inch margins on both sides and at the top and bottom.
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(d) Spacing. Text must be double-spaced, but footnotes, block quotations, short lists, and issues or points of error may be single- spaced.
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(e) Typeface. A document produced on a computer must be printed in a conventional typeface no smaller than 14-point except for footnotes, which must be no smaller than 12- point. A typewritten document must be printed in standard 10-character-per-inch (cpi) monospaced typeface.
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(f) Binding and Covering. A paper document must be bound so as to ensure that it will not lose its cover or fall apart in regular use. A paper document should be stapled once in the top left-hand corner or be bound so that it will lie flat when open. A paper petition or brief should have durable front and back covers which must not be plastic or be red, black, or dark blue.
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(g) Contents of Cover. A document's front cover, if any, must contain the case style, the case number, the title of the document being filed, the name of the party filing the document, and the name, mailing address, telephone number, fax number, if any, email address, and State Bar of Texas identification number of the lead counsel for the filing party. If a party requests oral argument in the court of appeals, the request must appear on the front cover of that party’s first brief.
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(h) Appendix and Original Proceeding Record. A paper appendix may be bound either with the document to which it is related or separately. If separately bound, the appendix must comply with paragraph (f). A paper record in an original proceeding or a paper appendix must be tabbed and indexed. An electronically filed record in an original proceeding or an electronically filed appendix that includes more than one item must contain bookmarks to assist in locating each item.
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(i) Length.
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- (1) Contents Included and Excluded. In calculating the length of a document, every word and every part of the document, including headings, footnotes, and quotations, must be counted except the following: caption, identity of parties and counsel, statement regarding oral argument, table of contents, index of authorities, statement of the case, statement of issues presented, statement of jurisdiction, statement of procedural history, signature, proof of service, certification, certificate of compliance, and appendix.
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- (2) Maximum Length. The documents listed below must not exceed the following limits:
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- (A) A brief and response in a direct appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeals in a case in which the death penalty has been assessed, and subsequent application for a writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to Article 11.071, Code of Criminal Procedure: 37,500 words if computer-generated, and 125 pages if not.
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- (B) A brief and response in an appellate court (other than a brief under subparagraph (A)) and a petition and response in an original proceeding in the court of appeals: 15,000 words if computer- generated, and 50 pages if not. In a civil case in the court of appeals, the aggregate of all briefs filed by a party must not exceed 27,000 words if computer-generated, and 90 pages if not.
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- (C) A reply brief in an appellate court and a reply to a response to a petition in an original proceeding in the court of appeals: 7,500 words if computer-generated, and 25 pages if not.
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- (D) A petition and response in an original proceeding in the Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals, except for petitions and responses in an original proceeding in a case in which the death penalty has been assessed, a petition for review and response in the Supreme Court, a petition for discretionary review in the Court of Criminal Appeals, and a motion for rehearing and response in an appellate court: 4,500 words if computer-generated, and 15 pages if not.
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- (E) A reply to a response to a petition for review in the Supreme Court, a reply to a response to a petition in an original proceeding in the Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals, except a reply to a response in an original proceeding in a case in which the death penalty has been assessed, and a reply to a petition for discretionary review in the Court of Criminal Appeals: 2,400 words if computer-generated, and 8 pages if not.
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- (F) A petition and response in an original proceeding in the Court of Criminal Appeals in a case in which the death penalty has been assessed: 9,000 words if computer-generated, and 30 pages if not.
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- (G) A reply to a response to a petition in an original proceeding in the Court of Criminal Appeals in a case in which the death penalty has been assessed: 4,800 words if computer- generated, and 16 pages if not.
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- (3) Certificate of Compliance. A computer- generated document that is subject to a word limit under this rule must include a certificate by counsel or an unrepresented party stating the number of words in the document. The person certifying may rely on the word count of the computer program used to prepare the document.
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- (4) Extensions. A court may, on motion, permit a document that exceeds the prescribed limit.
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(j) Electronically Filed Documents. An electronically filed document must:
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- (1) be in text-searchable portable document format (PDF);
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- (2) be directly converted to PDF rather than scanned, if possible;
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- (3) not be locked;
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- (4) be combined with any appendix into one computer file, unless that file would exceed the size limit prescribed by the electronic filing manager;
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- (5) in civil cases, be bookmarked to assist in locating each item; and
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- (6) otherwise comply with the Technology Standards set by the Judicial Committee on Information Technology and approved by the Supreme Court.
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(k) Nonconforming Documents. If a document fails to conform with these rules, the court may strike the document or identify the error and permit the party to resubmit the document in a conforming format by a specified deadline.