Guide
West Virginia Table of Authorities: Rule 10
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West Virginia appellate briefs exceeding five pages need a table of authorities. Rule 10(c)(2) requires an alphabetical list of cited cases, statutes and other authorities, with the brief pages where they appear. The current Rules of Appellate Procedure cover both the Supreme Court of Appeals and the Intermediate Court of Appeals; this is not a Supreme-Court-only requirement.
Generate a West Virginia table of authorities from your brief PDF using the standard format. There is no West Virginia-specific preset. Review the citations, page references and actual court settings before exporting. Official rules checked October 14, 2026.
What the governing rule actually says
“If the brief exceeds five pages it must include a table of authorities with an alphabetical list of cases, statutes, and other authorities cited, and references to the pages of the brief where they are cited.” — Rule 10(c)(2)
The next sentence excludes the table from the brief page limit. That exclusion is not permission to omit the table from a longer brief. Rule 10(c) places the table of contents and table of authorities immediately after the cover, before the assignments of error. A brief of five pages or fewer does not trigger subsection (c)(2)'s express table requirement; a court order can still matter.
Rule 1(a) expressly covers appeals to both appellate courts. The Intermediate Court's jurisdiction is not identical to the Supreme Court's: Rule 1(b), for example, excludes criminal judgments, abuse-and-neglect proceedings and certified questions from Intermediate Court jurisdiction. Use the correct court caption and scheduling order; the shared table rule does not determine which court may hear your appeal.
| Document | Authorities-table treatment | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Petitioner's ordinary appellate brief | Required when it exceeds five pages; alphabetical authorities and brief-page references | 10(c)(2) |
| Respondent's full brief | Conforms to subsection (c), subject to stated exceptions that do not remove the table requirement | 10(d) |
| Petitioner's reply | Applicable respondent requirements carry through; review the five-page threshold for the reply itself | 10(g) |
| Respondent's summary response | Different abbreviated filing; do not automatically apply every full-brief section | 10(e) |
| Workers' compensation petitioner's brief | Rule 10 format expressly incorporated; separate page limits apply | 12(e), 38(c) |
| Circuit-court memorandum | Not established by these appellate provisions; inspect trial rules and orders | Outside this guide's requirement |
Parallel citations and three different page references
Rule 38(d) says citation to an Intermediate or Supreme Court opinion “must use the full parallel citation.” Do not reduce a locally published opinion to its case name or a single reporter merely to make the table shorter. The rule's own illustration is Fauble v. Nationwide Mutual Fire Ins. Co., 222 W.Va. 365, 664 S.E.2d 706 (2008) (per curiam). This is a citation example from the rule, not a suggested authority for your case.
The reporter pages inside that citation identify the opinion. A pinpoint in the argument identifies the passage relied on. The right-hand table column identifies pages of your brief where the authority is cited. None is interchangeable with an appendix-record page. Rule 10(c)(7) separately requires appropriate, specific record citations; Rule 7(b) separately addresses appendix pagination. A correct table cannot cure an unsupported argument.
Use clear category headings if helpful, while preserving alphabetical ordering of the listed authorities. Check citations in footnotes as well as the body: Rule 38(d) allows either location. Resolve shortened names and Id. references to their actual authorities before merging entries. The cited provisions do not supply an express passim policy; actual page references are the safer working approach, not a claim that passim is categorically forbidden.
From PDF to a reviewed, editable Word table
- Export the complete brief. Save a PDF with the intended printed page numbers, including footnotes. Keep the matching Word file if you want insertion into the editable brief.
- Start with standard format. Open the Table of Authorities generator. Confirm the actual court and settings: court detection or loading a sample can override the entry choice. A demonstration is not your West Virginia filing.
- Review the list against Rule 10 and Rule 38. Check every authority, full parallel citations, duplicate full and short forms, alphabetical order, missing rules or statutes, and every printed brief-page reference. Do not include record documents as legal authorities merely because their names were detected.
- Export Word output. PDF-only processing downloads an editable .docx table. With matching Word and a text-layer PDF, the app can insert ordinary table text into the Word brief. Position the table after the contents table.
- Re-export and recheck pagination. Insertion and later edits can move citations. Compare the table with the assembled PDF and regenerate or correct references that changed. Review whole-brief form, page limits, confidentiality and electronic filing separately.
Frequently asked
Does the Intermediate Court require the same table?
Yes, for briefs governed by Rule 10. Rule 1 extends the appellate rules to both courts. Select the right court for the appeal rather than assuming Supreme Court jurisdiction from the table requirement.
Does a five-page brief need a table?
Rule 10(c)(2) expressly triggers the requirement when the brief exceeds five pages. Check the governing order and filing type rather than treating that threshold as a general exemption for all documents.
Is a summary response just a shorter respondent's brief?
No. Rule 10(e) sets distinct contents and permits departure from the full-brief requirements. Filing a summary response also consents to waiver of oral argument.
Can I omit parallel citations in the table?
Rule 38(d) requires the full parallel citation for Intermediate or Supreme Court opinions. Review completeness rather than retaining only the regional reporter or a shortened case name.
Does the table count toward the page limit?
Rule 10(c)(2) and Rule 38(c) exclude it. Exclusion from the limit does not eliminate the obligation to include it, or the need to verify the final brief's page references.
Official sources and verification
- West Virginia Judiciary: Rules of Appellate ProcedureCurrent official HTML read October 14, 2026: Rules 1, 7(b), 10(c)–(h), 12(e), and 38(c)–(d). The live page includes both appellate courts; no consolidated edition date was displayed. Check date is not an amendment date. General information, not legal advice.courtswv.gov
Sources
BriefAuthority · free
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