Rule 3.9 Argument; Opening and Closing; Time

If the court grants oral argument in your case, each side gets 30 minutes to make their argument. The person who filed the appeal, called the appellant, also gets an extra 10 minutes at the end to respond to what the other side said. This extra time is called rebuttal. Death penalty cases and cases on the Accelerated Docket follow different time limits, which are explained in other rules.

The appellant also gets to control the order of the argument. They speak first to open the case, and they speak last to close it out after the other side has had their turn. This gives the appellant a chance to make the first impression and also have the final word before the judges decide.