Cross-appeal briefs & excerpt of record

• Can you combine your cross-appeal arguments into your appellee brief?
• How does filing separate cross-appeal briefs work?
• Do you need to tell the court when filing separate cross-appeal briefs?
• When are the cross-appeal briefs due?
• How do you write a cross-appeal brief?
• How many excerpts of record do you file with separate cross-appeal briefs?

Can you combine your cross-appeal arguments into your appellee brief?

Yes, you can file a single brief for both the cross appeal and the response to the appellant’s opening brief. Please see Appellate Rule 212(c)(6).

Most people will file two complete sets of appeal briefs (1 for the initial appeal and 1 for the cross-appeal) when there is a cross-appeal because it is less confusing and allows more page space to deal with the cross-appeal issues.

How does filing separate cross-appeal briefs work?

The following summarizes how the briefs would come into the Appellate Court Clerk’s Office. “Case #1” refers to the original appeal and “Case #2” refers to the cross-appeal.

Appellant starts by filing

Opening Brief for Case #1

Appellee files

Appellee's Brief for Case #1
Opening Brief for Case #2 as the cross-appellant

Appellant files

Reply Brief for Case #1
Appellee's Brief for Case #2 as the cross-appellee

Appellee files

Reply brief for Case #2 as the cross-appellant

Do you need to tell the court when filing separate cross-appeal briefs?

Yes. Within 10 days after being served by the case manager with the notice of the due date for appellant’s opening brief, file and serve:

• Notice of Filing Separate Cross-Appeal Briefs, SHS-AP 600

When are the cross-appeal briefs due?

You will receive a notice from the case manager as to when the cross-appeal briefs are due. Please read about due dates for appeals briefs to understand when the appellee's brief and reply brief are due.

How do you write a cross-appeal brief?

Cross-appeal briefs have the same required sections and formatting as appeal briefs that don’t involve a cross-appeal. For detailed information, read our Writing an Appeal Brief section.

How many excerpts of record do you file with separate cross-appeal briefs?

When filing separate briefs for a cross-appeal, the appellant and the cross-appellant need to prepare a combined excerpt of record for both the initial appeal and the cross-appeal.

Rev. 02 January 2007 © Alaska Court System www.courts.alaska.gov webmaster@courts.state.ak.us

You'll need to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view and print documents with this symbol. If you are using a screen reader, get support and information at the Adobe Access website.