The goal of a brief is to convince the Court that one's position is correct, logical and reasonable. To be compelling, a brief must also be understandable and concise. The Court will read many briefs throughout the session, so it is important to write in a clear and interesting manner.

The brief needs to treat the Court as a potential ally to be won over by effective persuasion. The Court is interested in seeing that justice is done and law correctly applied. Briefs should never take a tone that implies that the Court is one's opposition. The Attorney team must never lie or distort the facts of the case, but rather is to present the client's case in the best possible light, and suggest that the action requested is not only consistent with past legal precedent, but is also just and consistent with the rule of law.

Attorneys and Justices need to thoroughly understand the research materials provided with the case, but may also consider its broader social, economic and philosophical implications.

Form: Briefs will be submitted in the following format:
1. No longer than two pages.
2. 1.5 or double spacing between lines is generally used, as demonstrated in the sample. 
3. Typeface must be a legible font such as Courier or Times New Roman, generally 10 or 12 point size
4. One inch (1") margins should be used. . 
5. Signatures of both team members must appear at the end of the document in the location indicated in the sample. 

Content: Briefs must contain the following elements in the order listed.  Use these headings in your brief.

1. Title : Name of case, year, and Supreme Court case number (if you have it)

2. Table of Authorities: the table of authorities is a list of all materials used to support the argument including cases and constitutional provisions.

3. Statement of the Issues: This is a very short introductory statement of the legal issues or points of law involved in the case. It tells the Justices precisely what legal issues the attorney team wants the Court to decide. These statements should be phrased to help one argue FOR a particular conclusion rather than simply against the other side.

These issues are stated in question form and should be phrased in such a way that a "yes" answer will support one's position. These statements are very short, generally no more that one sentence per issue, and are generally placed just before the Statement of the Facts.

Example: 
The appellant may phrase an issue this way:
"Did the trial court err in holding that...?"
The respondent may phrase the issue in the same case this way:
"Did the trial court correctly conclude that...?"

4. Statement of the Facts: The Statement of the Facts is a retelling of the facts from the client's point of view. However, the facts  are not to be added to nor disputed. 
Attorneys explain the situation in a way that helps their client. This is a very important part of the brief that sets the stage for the argument, and should be presented both to help the court understand the case and show the client in the best possible light. But, remember not to assume facts not given, and do not distort, change, or add to the facts! 

For example, here is how parties in a real Supreme Court appeal used the Statement of Facts in different ways to support their positions:
The Appellant/Defendant's brief began this way: "[John Doe] was a mentally ill nineteen year old when he participated in a robbery with a juvenile female..." 
The Respondent/Plaintiff's brief began: "Since [John Doe] pleaded guilty..." 

5. Argument: This is the core of the brief. Students may find the argument to be somewhat like writing a persuasive essay with lots of research references. It presents support for the issues presented earlier. Solid research is used to back every part of the argument. Arguments must be well-organized and convincing; attorneys will win or lose their case based on the quality and substance of what is said. 

Each point the team wants the court to consider in deciding the case must be described, and the reasons explained with appropriate references to research materials used, and text citations inserted as frequently as needed. 
As an example of how an argument could be written, imagine the following scenario where a team wanted to argue the point that Judicial Immunity protected a County Sheriff from liability in a particular case. That portion of the argument might be written like this:

The doctrine of judicial immunity is firmly entrenched in American law as held by the US Supreme Court when it stated "a like immunity extends to other officers of government whose duties are related to the judicial process." Barr v. Mateo, 360 US  (1959). Accordingly, the doctrine of judicial immunity shields Sheriff Innocent from any liability arising from his release of the defendant, because he was acting upon the order of Judge Knowsit.

As shown above, the team first explains the rule of law, then shows how it applies to the particular case. If needed, a short direct quote is included to help the Court recall the precedent or law in question.

The team then makes additional arguments to demonstrate that Sheriff Innocent was not liable. They continue to cite relevant cases, statutes and constitutional provisions that further bolster their overall argument. 

Structurally, each part of the argument is first directed at supporting the various issues of one's own case, then also opposing the contentions anticipated to be brought up by the opposing party. 

Stylistically, the argument is written in forceful, active, positive language. (A team wants the court to rule FOR their client, not simply against the opposing counsel.) The argument also forms the core of one's oral presentation and will be used by the Justices to make their decision.

The writing of the argument uses headings and subheadings to begin each section of the narrative and help clearly organize the argument.. The idea is to do everything in terms of both form and substance to help the Court understand the reasonableness and logic of the argument, and thus decide in one's favor.
The following outline style is one commonly used when writing arguments:

       I. ISSUE (bold and all caps)
        A. Main Point(Bold, Underlined, First Letter Caps) 
           1. Supporting Points (Bold, First Letter Caps)

Note: This is also handy way to prepare one's notes for the oral argument. It is more effective to have an outline to refer to than the written text. One reason to outline an oral argument is because Justices are free to interrupt an oral argument and ask questions at any time. Questioning can take an oral argument off track very quickly. Therefore, an outline is better than a prepared speech because it allows the Attorney a more effective way to remember what points have been covered and makes it less likely that someone will lose his or her place.

6. Conclusion: This is where the Attorney team summarizes their argument and specifically states the result desired. The conclusion in a Model Supreme Court brief can be as short as one sentence, and should not exceed a single short paragraph. The signatures of the Attorney team follow the conclusion. 

Adapted from: http://home.mcn.net/~montanabw/briefguide.html#detail
 

Table of Authorities:
 
 

Statement of Issues:
 
 

Statement of Facts:
 
 

Argument: (Written in outline format)

 I.  Issue

  A. Main Point

   1. Supporting points

 II. Issue
 
 
 

Conclusion:
 
 
 
 

Written signature___________
  Typed Name