Hyperlinks Now Required in Briefs Filed Before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

This is cool.   A new procedural rule becomes effective in December 2013, and now attorneys filing briefs before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit must include hyperlinks in their citations.

New Fifth Circuit Rule 28.2.2 states:

28.2.2 Record References. Every assertion in briefs regarding matter in the record must be supported by a reference to the page number of the original record, whether in paper or electronic form, where the matter is found, using the record citation form as directed by the Clerk of Court.

CLERK OF COURT DIRECTED RECORD CITATION FORMAT

For multiple record cases, parties will cite “ROA” followed by a period, followed by the Fifth Circuit appellate case number of the record they reference, followed by a period, followed by the page of the record. For example, “ROA.13-12345.123.”

In single record cases, parties cite the short citation form, “ROA,” followed by a period, followed by the page number. For example, “ROA.123.”