Guide
Oregon Index of Authorities: ORAP 5.35 Guide
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Oregon’s appellate term is index of authorities. ORAP 5.35(3), in the official archived rule text read for this guide, requires an index of all authorities referred to, classified by authority type, with alphabetized cases, complete case citations and the brief pages where authorities are cited. That text directs citation form to the Oregon Appellate Courts Style Manual and discourages passim and et seq.
Build an Oregon index of authorities from your PDF, review authorities and printed pages, then export editable Word text. Source limitation: current Oregon-hosted rule PDFs could not be fetched because of DNS failures. The quotation below is from the judiciary’s January 1, 2011 archive, not a representation that the full 2026 consolidation was read. Check the current rules before filing.
What the primary rule text actually says
“an index of all authorities referred to, classified by cases (alphabetically arranged and with complete citations), constitutional and statutory provisions, texts, treatises, and other authorities, and indicating the pages of the brief where the authorities are cited.” — ORAP 5.35(3), January 1, 2011 official archived edition
The next sentences direct citation form to the Oregon Appellate Courts Style Manual and say reference to passim or et seq. in the index is discouraged. These directions are distinct: complete citations identify authorities, while page references help readers locate their use in your brief. A citation can contain several reporter or pinpoint page numbers without any of those being the index’s destination page. Explicit brief-page references remain the practical review target. The archived wording supports including all cited authorities, not merely cases selected as important or authorities appearing in the main argument.
| Component | ORAP 5.35 guidance in archived edition | Review task |
|---|---|---|
| Contents index | Subsection (1) includes the substance of assignments of error, without argument, and page references. | Prepare it separately from the authority list. |
| Appendices index | Subsection (2) applies if appendices exist. | Keep appendix navigation distinct from citations. |
| Cases | Subsection (3): alphabetical and complete citations. | Merge genuine short forms without losing citation information. |
| Other authority types | Constitutional/statutory provisions, texts, treatises and other authorities. | Review non-case categories instead of stopping after cases. |
| Brief-page references | Pages where authorities are cited. | Compare each entry with the printed page in the PDF. |
| Shorthand | Passim and et seq. discouraged. | Use reviewable specific page lists; do not turn discouragement into a prohibition. |
An index is not a citation-style conversion
ORAP 5.35’s reference to the Style Manual concerns citation form. The Oregon generator entry does not transform the brief’s citations into that style. If your draft mixes complete citations, case-name short forms and Id., review whether the extracted entries represent one decision or different decisions. Check that the final entry retains the complete citation, including identifying information that distinguishes similarly named cases.
For statutes and constitutional provisions, verify the exact section or subsection used in the draft. A combined range can conceal that different provisions support different issues. For texts and treatises, confirm that an abbreviated reference resolves to the intended work. These are editing checks, not assertions that the generator determines legal relevance or updates authorities to the current law.
Opening briefs are not every Oregon filing
The quoted provision is the opening-brief index rule. Other appellate documents can have separate provisions incorporating index requirements; do not decide answering-brief, reply, petition or motion coverage solely from this heading. Obtain the current applicable subrule and the case’s order before selecting that document’s layout. This guide does not infer current exceptions or deadlines from an inaccessible consolidation.
A circuit-court memorandum is not automatically governed by ORAP 5.35 merely because it cites Oregon appellate decisions. Trial-court rules and orders control its required components. An optional authorities table may be useful in a lengthy memorandum, but usefulness and a mandatory appellate requirement are different propositions.
A reviewed PDF-to-Word workflow
- Export the actual draft. Use the brief whose printed pagination you expect to file. Keep the matching DOCX for insertion and compare Roman-numbered front matter with the PDF viewer’s sheet count.
- Open the Oregon entry. Use the Oregon generator and confirm the index heading and actual court/settings. Court detection or a sample can override your entry choice.
- Review every authority. Check complete citations, short forms, Id. links, footnotes and category placement. Compare each printed brief-page reference against the PDF rather than trusting extracted numbers without review.
- Export ordinary editable text. A PDF alone downloads an editable Word table. A matching DOCX plus text-layer PDF can insert the table into the Word brief. Place it according to the governing current rule; the archived rule sequence is documented above.
- Recheck the assembled brief. Index insertion or later editing can shift pages. Export a new PDF and review all references again, regenerating when the printed destinations have moved.
DOCX-only instead creates Word fields for Word for Windows to build and update. The PDF routes produce a finished ordinary-text table. Neither route restyles citations, formats the entire brief, adds e-filing bookmarks or guarantees compliance with Oregon’s current filing specifications.
Frequently asked
Is table of authorities the wrong term in Oregon?
The primary rule text read uses index of authorities. Table of authorities describes the same navigational purpose, but use the court’s terminology when preparing the brief.
Should the index contain only the principal cases?
No under the archived ORAP 5.35(3) wording: it covers all authorities referred to, including non-case classes. Review footnotes and other brief sections, not just the main case discussions.
Can I use passim instead of listing pages?
The archived rule expressly discourages passim and et seq. It does not use a categorical prohibition. Specific brief-page references are more useful and can be checked against the PDF; verify current wording before filing.
Does the generator apply the Oregon Style Manual?
It does not restyle the citations in your brief. Check citation form yourself and retain complete case citations in the index. The preset is not a full-brief formatting or legal-compliance service.
Was the current 2026 rulebook verified?
No. Current Oregon-hosted URLs failed with DNS errors; an official judiciary archive provided the complete quoted 2011 rule. The source date and review date are deliberately separate. Obtain the current consolidation for filing and for other document-specific requirements.
Primary text and access status
- Oregon Judicial Department: 2011 Rules of Appellate ProcedureOfficial digital archive; amended January 1, 2011. Read ORAP 1.05 and 5.35, including the Style Manual and passim sentences, on 2026-10-14. Historical source, not a current consolidation.ojd.contentdm.oclc.org
- Oregon Judicial Department: current ORAP PDFCould not retrieve on 2026-10-14 because the host did not resolve. Current text not quoted as verified.courts.oregon.gov
- Oregon Court of Appeals: opening-brief format guideAlternate official guide URL also failed with DNS errors. It was not used as a substitute for reading current governing text.courts.oregon.gov
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