State v. T. Knudson ( 2022 )

12/21/2022 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA Case Number: DA 22-0497 DA 22-0497 h STATE OF MONTANA. DEC 21 2122 P ew •n •• d C. urt Plaintiff and Appellee, v. ORDER THOMAS RONALD KNUDSON, Defendant and Appellant. This Court reviews briefs to ensure compliance with Rules 11 and 12 of the Montana Rules of Appellate Procedure. M. R. App. P. 11(6)(a) requires that the cover of the opening brief of the Appellant shall be blue. For recycling purposes, pastel colors shall be used for brief covers. The cover of the appendix, if separately printed, shall be white. M. R. App. P. 11(6)(b) sets forth the information that must be presented on the cover of each brief, which includes cause number, title of the case, tribunal from which the appeal is taken, party names and contact information for counsel for each party, if any, and the title of the document. M. R. App. P. 11(4)(e) requires a certificate of compliance indicating the document's line spacing and (1) that the document is proportionally spaced, together with the typeface, point size, and word count; or (2) that the document uses a monospaced typeface, together with the number of characters per inch and word count, or the number of counted pages, purstpant to M. R. At;p!P. 11(4)(b) or (c). M. R. App. 11(7) requires that the first page of a brief shall contain the same information set forth in M. R. App. 11(6)(b). M. R. App. P. 12(1)(a) requires a table of contents, with page references, and a table of cases, statutes and other authorities cited, with referenced to the pages of the brief where they are cited. M. R. App. P. 12(1)(e) requires a statement of the standard of review for each issue presented, together with a citation of authority. M. R. App. P. 12(1)(f) requires a summary of the argument containing a succinct, clear, and accurate statement of the arguments made in the body of the brief. After reviewing the Appellant's opening brief filed on December 20, 2022, this Court has determined that the brief does not comply with any of the above-referenced rules and must be resubmitted. Further, although we liberally construe pro se pleadings and hold them to a less stringent standard than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers, Appellant's brief does not contain contents even minimally sufficient for filing. Therefore, IT IS ORDERED that the referenced brief is rejected. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order the Appellant shall file with the Clerk of this Court a revised brief containing the revisions necessary to comply with the specified Rules and that the Appellant shall serve copies of the revised brief on all parties of record; IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that no changes, additions, or deletions other than those specified in this Order may be made to the brief as originally filed; and IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the times for any subsequent briefing contained in M. R. App. P. 13 shall run from the date of filing of the revised brief. The Clerk is directed to provide a true copy of this Order to the Appellant and to all parties of record. DATED this 21st day of December, 2022. For the Court, Justice