Guide
Colorado Table of Authorities: C.A.R. 28 Brief Guide
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Colorado C.A.R. 28(a)(3) requires a table of authorities in an appellant's opening brief: cases alphabetically arranged, statutes and other authorities, with the brief pages where they are cited. An answer brief retains the requirement under C.A.R. 28(b). A reply must comply with C.A.R. 28(a)(1)–(3) under Rule 28(c), so it needs a table too.
Generate a Colorado table of authorities from your brief PDF, confirm the Colorado preset, review the entries and export an editable Word table. This guide concerns ordinary appellate merits briefing under Rule 28, not every trial memorandum, petition or specialized appeal.
“a table of authorities--cases (alphabetically arranged), statutes, and other authorities--with references to the pages of the brief where they are cited” — C.A.R. 28(a)(3), reproduced in the official January 31, 2025 committee packet.
An answer or reply needs its own table
The answer brief generally conforms to Rule 28(a), with exceptions for statements of the issues or case when the appellee is satisfied with the appellant's version. Those exceptions do not remove the table. The reply rule is even more explicit: it incorporates the compliance certificate, contents and authorities table. The Court of Appeals' reply instructions likewise include a Table of Authorities and direct filers to include the pages where their cited sources appear.
Build the table for the document being filed. An answer may rely on different cases or cite the same statute on different pages. A reply may add authorities responsive to the answer. Copying the opening table can create entries never cited in the new brief and omit authorities that actually are cited. Review the current rules and case order for cross-appeals, certiorari papers, original proceedings or other special procedures instead of assuming this ordinary Rule 28 checklist controls every filing.
| Requirement | Source | Review action |
|---|---|---|
| Opening-brief order | 28(a)(1)–(4) | Place the table after contents and before the statement of issues; retain the compliance certificate. |
| Alphabetical cases | 28(a)(3) | Sort decisions by case name and combine genuine full/short-form duplicates. |
| Statutes and other authorities | 28(a)(3); Court of Appeals instructions | Check statutory sections and other cited sources; court instructions call for numerical statute order. |
| Reply table | 28(c); official reply instructions | Generate from the reply PDF rather than recycling the opening table. |
| Word-count exclusion | 28(g)(1) | Exclude the table from the count while maintaining accurate document pagination. |
| Record references | 28(e) | Keep record locators distinct from the table's brief-page column. |
Check the current source, not a dated search result
Colorado's 2015 Rule 28 amendment remains easy to find online, but it is not a complete currentness check. The official 2022(05) order changed Rule 28's argument provisions effective July 1, 2022. The Judicial Branch's January 2025 committee packet reproduces the full Rule 28 text with publisher currentness through July 15, 2024. Its table, answer and reply provisions support the requirements here; currently linked court instructions independently describe the same table workflow.
The Supreme Court directs readers to the Lexis Colorado Legal Resources portal for consolidated rules. That portal opened during this check, but its complete current Rule 28 text was not obtained. Accordingly, this guide identifies the actual editions read rather than labeling the 2025 packet a 2026 consolidated rulebook. Check the consolidated rule and subsequent orders before filing. This source limit does not justify replacing Colorado's rule with Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 28.
PDF to reviewed Word table
- Export the whole brief. Use the draft with intended printed page numbers and keep its matching Word file. Reporter pinpoints and record pages are not the table's brief locators.
- Open Colorado settings. Use the contextual link and confirm the actual court selection. Court detection or loading a sample can override the preset used at entry.
- Review authorities and pages. Check case order, statutes, rules, secondary sources, footnotes and short forms against the PDF. The cited table clause supplies no express passim threshold; use verified page references rather than assuming one.
- Export the right route. PDF-only downloads an editable Word table. Matching .docx plus a text-layer PDF can insert ordinary table text into the brief. DOCX-only instead creates Word fields for Word for Windows to build and update.
- Re-export after insertion. Check the final brief's pages and regenerate if they moved. Review form, citations, certificates and electronic filing requirements separately: the app does not restyle citations, format the whole brief or add e-filing bookmarks.
Frequently asked
Does a Colorado reply brief require a table of authorities?
Yes. Rule 28(c) incorporates Rule 28(a)(1)–(3), including the table. The official Court of Appeals reply instructions also list it and require source-page references.
Are statutes alphabetized like cases?
Rule 28(a)(3) expressly puts the alphabetical direction on cases. The Court of Appeals' opening and reply instructions describe statutes in numerical order. Do not attribute a broader alphabetical command to the rule itself.
Does the table count toward the brief's word limit?
Rule 28(g)(1) excludes it. Still include it, and check its references against the final assembled brief. Word-count exclusion and page numbering are separate questions.
Is a record citation also an authorities-table entry?
Not merely because it contains a page number. A record locator identifies evidence or procedural material; the table locates legal authorities cited in your brief. Review the two systems separately.
Does this apply to every Colorado trial memorandum?
This page establishes the ordinary appellate Rule 28 requirement, not a statewide trial-memorandum mandate. Check the trial rules, judge's practice standards and any order for that document. Specialized appellate filings likewise need their own check.
Primary sources and currentness limits
- Colorado Judicial Branch — January 31, 2025 Civil Rules agenda packetFull Rule 28 reproduced at packet pages 52–54; effective July 1, 2022, publisher currentness through July 15, 2024. Read directly October 14, 2026. A committee packet is not itself a new amendment.coloradojudicial.gov
- Colorado Supreme Court — Rule Change 2022(05)Official February 24, 2022 order, effective July 1, 2022, read directly for Rule 28's later amendment and unchanged-subsection context.coloradojudicial.gov
- Court of Appeals — Opening Brief InstructionsOfficial instructions currently linked from the court's forms page; document says last revised August 2017. Table guidance read October 14, 2026, not represented as a 2026 edition.coloradojudicial.gov
- Court of Appeals — Reply Brief InstructionsOfficial JDF 1917 instructions, revision July 7, 2021; current link resolves to a November 2025-hosted PDF. Table and reply guidance read October 14, 2026.coloradojudicial.gov
- Colorado Legal Resources — consolidated rules accessCourt-linked portal opened October 14, 2026, but full current Rule 28 text was not obtained. Consult it and subsequent adopted orders before filing; the access limit is why the actual editions above are disclosed.lexisnexis.com
Sources
- Colorado official packet reproducing Rule 28coloradojudicial.gov
- Colorado Rule Change 2022(05)coloradojudicial.gov
- Colorado official reply brief instructionscoloradojudicial.gov
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