| name | appellate-formatting |
| title | Appellate Document Formatting |
| description | Generates appellate-filing-ready Tables of Contents, Tables of Authorities, and Certificates of Compliance under FRAP 32(g) and related rules. Produces defensible word-count calculations with transparent exclusions and anti-hallucination guardrails for pagination and citations. Covers federal circuits, state appellate courts, and U.S. Supreme Court variations. Use when building TOC, TOA, compliance certificates, formatting briefs for filing, or when the user mentions word count calculation, FRAP 32 compliance, appellate brief assembly, or page numbering. |
| author | CaseMark |
| author_url | https://github.com/CaseMark/skills/tree/main/skills/legal/appellate-formatting |
| license | Apache-2.0 |
| version | 0.1.0 |
| execution_mode | open |
| jurisdiction | us |
| practice | litigation |
| language | en |
Appellate Document Formatting
Produces TOCs, TOAs, and Certificates of Compliance with accuracy guarantees and transparent placeholders where verification is required. The primary risk in AI-assisted appellate formatting is hallucinated page numbers and citations — use [__] placeholders aggressively rather than guessing.
Quick Start
Gather before drafting (unless user says "use defaults"):
- Brief text — final or near-final; label output "DRAFT" if still revising
- Forum/case metadata — court, circuit/state, case number, caption, brief type
- Formatting — font (proportional/monospaced), name/size, spacing, margins
- Filing method — CM/ECF, paper, or both; separate or combined certificate
- Court orders — any modified length limits
- Local rules — TOA format, hyperlinking, bookmarks, addendum
- Word count — final count from drafting platform plus believed exclusions
Defaults (if user doesn't specify): FRAP 32 federal circuit rules; proportional 14-pt font; [__] page placeholders; word count marked as estimate.
Stop and ask if forum, brief type, or formatting details are missing — certificate language, limits, and exclusions depend on these.
Core Workflow
1. Identify Governing Authority
| Forum | Primary Rules | Certificate Rule | Notes |
|---|
| Federal (FRAP) | FRAP 28, 32 | FRAP 32(g) | Verify current word limits |
| U.S. Supreme Court | Rules 33, 34 | Rule 33.1(g) / 33.2 | Booklet vs. letter have different limit types |
| State appellate | Varies | Varies | Do NOT assume state rules mirror FRAP |
FRAP type-volume limits (verify current):
| Document Type | Word Limit |
|---|
| Principal brief (opening/response) | 13,000 |
| Reply brief | 6,500 |
| Amicus brief (FRAP 29) | Verify per rule |
2. Generate TOC
- Confirm sections match FRAP 28 required components (if federal)
