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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 08-1362

THE COURTS

Title 210--APPELLATE PROCEDURE

PART I. RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE

[ 210 PA. CODE CH. 21 ]

Order Adopting Amendments to Pa.R.A.P. 2116; No. 192; Appellate Procedural Rules; Doc. No. 1

[38 Pa.B. 3970]
[Saturday, July 26, 2008]

Order

Per Curiam

   And Now, this 11th day of July, 2008, upon the recommendation of the Appellate Court Procedural Rules Committee, the proposal having been published before adoption at 38 Pa.B. 1446 on March 29, 2008;

   It Is Ordered, pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania, that Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 2116 is amended in the following form.

   This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(b) and shall be effective 30 days after adoption and shall apply to all briefs filed after the effective date.

Annex A

TITLE 210. APPELLATE PROCEDURE

CHAPTER 21. BRIEFS AND REPRODUCED RECORD

CONTENT OF BRIEFS

Rule 2116. Statement of Questions Involved.

   (a)  General rule.--The statement of the questions involved must state [the question or questions in the briefest and most general terms, without names, dates, amounts or particulars of any kind.] concisely the issues to be resolved, expressed in the terms and circumstances of the case but without unnecessary detail. The statement shall be no more than two pages and will be deemed to include every subsidiary question fairly comprised therein. [It should not ordinarily exceed 15 lines, must never exceed one page, and must always be on a separate page, without any other matter appearing thereon. This rule is to be considered in the highest degree mandatory, admitting of no exception; ordinarily no point] No question will be considered [which] unless it is [not set forth] stated in the statement of questions involved or is fairly suggested thereby. [Whenever possible each] Each question [must] shall be followed [immediately] by an answer stating simply whether [it was affirmed, negatived, qualified or not answered by the court or government unit below] the court or government unit agreed, disagreed, did not answer, or did not address the question. If a qualified answer was given to the question, appellant shall indicate[, most briefly,] the nature of the qualification, or if the question was not answered or addressed and the record shows the reason for such failure, the reason shall be stated briefly in each instance without quoting the court or government unit below.

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   Official Note:

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   The 2008 amendments are intended to reinforce the importance placed upon a party's statement of a limited number of concise questions that enable the court to understand the nature of the legal issue, and in a general way what points it will be called on to decide. Thus, a party should incorporate the pertinent terms and circumstances of the case, but without details such as names, dates, amounts or particulars that are irrelevant to the resolution of the issues presented to the court.

   Previously, some practitioners violated Pa.R.A.P. 124 to avoid the 15-line and one-page restrictions of Pa.R.A.P. 2116 by adjusting fonts, spacing, and margins. Appellate courts may find issues to be waived when they are not set forth in compliance with the Rules of Appellate Procedure. The increase from one to two pages should provide ample space for most parties to articulate their questions in an informative yet concise manner. A party requiring more than two pages for a statement of questions should file an application under Pa.R.A.P. 123 asking for extra pages, explaining why additional pages are needed, and attaching the proposed questions to the application. See Pa.R.A.P. 105.

   The current language of the Rule is consistent with the standard set forth in Pa.R.A.P. 1115(a)(3) for questions presented for review in a Petition for Allowance of Appeal to the Supreme Court.

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 08-1362. Filed for public inspection July 25, 2008, 9:00 a.m.]


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