The Washington Appellate Courts Rules Committee, having recommended the suggested amendment to RAP 10.4—Preparation and Filing of Brief by Party, and the Court having approved the suggested amendment for publication;

(a) That pursuant to the provisions of GR 9(g), the suggested amendment as shown below is to be published for comment in the Washington Reports, Washington Register, Washington State Bar Association and Administrative Office of the Court's websites in January 2022.

(b) The purpose statement as required by GR 9(e), is published solely for the information of the Bench, Bar and other interested parties.

(c) Comments are to be submitted to the Clerk of the Supreme Court by either U.S. Mail or Internet E-Mail by no later than April 30, 2022. Comments may be sent to the following addresses: P.O. Box 40929, Olympia, Washington 98504-0929, or supreme@courts.wa.gov. Comments submitted by e-mail message must be limited to 1500 words.

C. Purpose: RAP 10.4 specifies a variety of technical requirements for briefs, including paper size and weight, margins, length, fonts, citation forms, and the like. The rule also specifies how statutes, rules, jury instructions, findings of facts, and the like should be reproduced in a brief. RAP 10.4(f) states how exhibits, clerk's papers, and the report of proceedings should be abbreviated when cited in a brief. The proposed amendment to this subsection would add administrative records (and its recommended abbreviation, "AR") to the specified list of abbreviated references.

(1) An original and one legible, clean, and reproducible copy of the brief must be filed with the appellate court. The original brief should be printed or typed in black on 20-pound substance 8-1/2 by 11-inch white paper. Margins should be at least 2 inches on the left side and 1-1/2 inches on the right side and on the top and bottom of each page. The brief shall not contain any tabs, colored sheets of paper, or binding and should not be stapled.

(2) The text of any brief typed or printed must appear double spaced and in print as 12 point or larger type in the following fonts or their equivalent: Times New Roman, Courier, CG Times, Arial, or in typewriter fonts, pica or elite. The same typeface and print size should be standard throughout the brief, except that footnotes may appear in print as 10 point or larger type and be the equivalent of single spaced. Quotations may be the equivalent of single spaced. Except for material in an appendix, the typewritten or printed material in the brief shall not be reduced or condensed by photographic or other means.

(b) Length of Brief. A brief of appellant, petitioner, or respondent should not exceed 50 pages. Appellant's reply brief should not exceed 25 pages. An amicus curiae brief, or answer thereto, should not exceed 20 pages. In a cross-appeal, the brief of appellant, brief of respondent/cross appellant, and reply brief of appellant/cross respondent should not exceed 50 pages and the reply brief of the cross appellant should not exceed 25 pages. For the purpose of determining compliance with this rule appendices, the title sheet, table of contents, and table of authorities are not included. For compelling reasons the court may grant a motion to file an over-length brief.

(c) Text of Statute, Rule, Jury Instruction, or the Like. If a party presents an issue which requires study of a statute, rule, regulation, jury instruction, finding of fact, exhibit, or the like, the party should type the material portions of the text out verbatim or include them by copy in the text or in an appendix to the brief.

(d) Motion in Brief. A party may include in a brief only a motion which, if granted, would preclude hearing the case on the merits. The answer to a motion within a brief may be made within the brief of the answering party in the time allowed for filing the brief.

(e) Reference to Party. References to parties by such designations as "appellant" and "respondent" should be kept to a minimum. It promotes clarity to use the designations used in the lower court, the actual names of the parties, or descriptive terms such as "the employee," "the injured person," and "the taxpayer."

(f) Reference to Record. A reference to the record should designate the page and part of the record. Exhibits should be referred to by number. The clerk's papers should be abbreviated as "CP"; exhibits should be abbreviated as "Ex"; administrative records should be abbreviated as "AR"; and the report of proceedings should be abbreviated as "RP." Suitable abbreviations for other recurrent references may be used.

(g) Citation Format. Citations should conform with the format prescribed by the Reporter of Decisions pursuant to GR 14(d). The format requirements of GR 14 (a)-(b) do not apply to briefs filed in an appellate court.

[Adopted effective July 1, 1976; Amended effective July 2, 1976; September 1, 1985; September 1, 1990; September 1, 1993; September 1, 1994; December 30, 1997; September 1, 1998; September 1, 2000; December 24, 2002; September 1, 2003; September 1, 2006; September 1, 2007; September 1, 2010; September 1, 2018.]

	For the Court

	Gonzalez, C.J.
	CHIEF JUSTICE