Guide
Ohio Table of Authorities: App.R. 16 and Local Rules
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An Ohio Court of Appeals appellant’s brief needs an authorities table under App.R. 16(A)(2). List cases alphabetically, include statutes and other cited authorities, and identify the brief pages where they are cited. This is a statewide content baseline, not a promise that one layout satisfies every appellate district. Local rules and the actual filing category still matter.
Generate an Ohio table of authorities from the brief’s PDF, review citations and printed page references, then export an editable Word table. The Ohio preset is a starting point; confirm the detected court and settings before export.
The requirement and its limits
“A table of cases alphabetically arranged, statutes, and other authorities cited, with references to the pages of the brief where cited.” — App.R. 16(A)(2), official Third District-hosted rulebook copy
App.R. 1 scopes these rules to appeals to Ohio courts of appeals from trial courts of record, with additional provisions for specified proceedings. The table is a map to legal authorities inside this brief, not a list of record exhibits or a bibliography of everything researched. Keep the table of contents, authorities table and appendix navigation distinct. The quoted provision expressly alphabetizes cases; it does not separately prescribe sorting conventions for every non-case category. Clear category headings are useful organization, not an additional rule invented here.
Why the appellate district changes the checklist
Third District Loc.R. 16(A) requires the content provided by App.R. 16 and the form provided by App.R. 19. Its cover must identify the regular or accelerated calendar. Loc.R. 16(C) says cases and other legal authorities must appear in the argument text after the proposition they support and should follow the Supreme Court of Ohio Writing Manual. A table cannot cure missing citations in the argument. The district also has its own length, appendix, binding and copy provisions. These are Third District details, not rules to export indiscriminately to the other districts. Check your own district, calendar and briefing order before assembly.
| Question | Rule or source | Preparation decision |
|---|---|---|
| Which court? | App.R. 1; district local rules | Identify the Court of Appeals district; do not substitute Supreme Court practice rules. |
| Which authorities? | App.R. 16(A)(2) | Include cited cases, statutes and other authorities, not merely the cases section. |
| What ordering? | App.R. 16(A)(1)–(2) | Put contents before authorities; alphabetize cases. |
| What references? | App.R. 16(A)(2) | Use the brief’s printed pages, not reporter pinpoints or transcript pages. |
| Appellee brief? | App.R. 16(B) | Prepare its own authorities table; do not copy the appellant’s page list. |
| Local presentation? | Third District Loc.R. 16, as an example | Check the actual district’s form and filing rules separately. |
From a final-draft PDF to editable Word
- Export the intended brief. Retain the matching Word file if insertion is wanted. Inspect the printed page labels: PDF sheet 12 may be brief page 8 after front matter.
- Open the Ohio generator. Use the Ohio preset in the table of authorities generator. Court detection or a loaded sample can change settings, so verify the actual court again.
- Review authority identities. Check full citations, consolidate legitimate short forms, resolve Id. references, and distinguish different decisions involving similar party names. The app does not rewrite citations into Ohio style.
- Review coverage and pages. Compare each entry with the PDF, including authorities in facts, standards of review and footnotes. Statutes and procedural rules can be easy to overlook when checking only argument headings.
- Export and assemble. A PDF alone downloads an editable Word table. A matching DOCX plus text-layer PDF can insert ordinary table text into the Word brief. Neither route formats the whole brief or adds e-filing bookmarks.
- Re-export and recheck. Insertion, appendix changes and later edits can move references. Compare the assembled PDF’s printed pages with the table and regenerate when necessary.
The DOCX-only route is different: it creates Word fields that Word for Windows builds and updates. Do not confuse those fields with the finished ordinary-text table produced through the PDF routes. Review any court-required PDF preparation separately from the table itself.
Frequently asked
Does an appellee need an authorities table?
Yes under App.R. 16(B)’s incorporation of (A)(1)–(8). The permitted omissions for case and facts statements do not remove the authorities-table provision.
Does App.R. 16 settle every reply formatting question?
No. Division (C) authorizes replies but does not restate the table contents. Check the district’s instructions and any special order; this guide does not treat silence as an exemption.
Can I replace a long page list with passim?
The cited Ohio table provision requires page references and does not supply an express passim policy. Specific pages are the safer reviewable choice; consult local requirements rather than assume permission.
Does the Ohio preset guarantee filing compliance?
No. It helps prepare the authorities table. District-specific cover, font, length, appendix, filing and other requirements remain separate, and citation text needs your review.
Is this a rule for a trial-court motion memorandum?
Not by itself. App.R. 16 is an appellate briefing rule. Consult the trial court’s rules and order for a memorandum; an optional table may still help a reader navigate a lengthy document.
Sources and access status
- Ohio Rules of Appellate Procedure, official Third District-hosted PDFRead App.R. 1, 16, 19 and 41 on 2026-10-14. Older court-hosted copy; Rule 16 shows amendments through July 1, 2013. Not presented as a freshly consolidated 2026 edition.third.courts.state.oh.us
- Third District local rulesRead local Rules 1 and 16; page amended as of August 1, 2025. Checked 2026-10-14.third.courts.state.oh.us
- Supreme Court of Ohio current appellate rulebookDirect retrieval timed out on 2026-10-14; alternate official district copy supplied the quoted text. Consult this current consolidation before filing.supremecourt.ohio.gov
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