4
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
[Insert a concise statement of the case setting out the facts relevant to the
issues submitted for review, describing the relevant procedural history, and
identifying the rulings presented for review, with appropriate references to the
record (see FRAP 28(e)).]
[Practice Tip: “Every assertion in the briefs regarding matters in the record,
except for undisputed facts offered only for general background, shall be
supported by a citation to the Excerpts of Records, unless the filer is exempt
from the excerpts requirement.” See Ninth Cir. R. 28-2.8. In Social
Security Appeals, the parties should cite to the certified administrative
record as well as the excerpts of record. See Ninth Cir. R. 30-1.6 and 30-
1.4(e). In immigration cases, the parties should cite to the certified
administrative record and addendum containing the relevant orders. See
Ninth Cir. R. 28-2.7. Citations should be in the form [volume number (if
more than one)]-[ER (or SER or FER for supplemental and further excerpts
of record)]-[page number(s)]—for example, 2-ER-345, or ER-67 (for a
single-volume ER), or 1-SER-234 (for the first volume of a multivolume
SER). See Ninth Cir. R. 30-1.6. These should be specific citations to
particular pages of the excerpts of record to which the Court can refer (e.g.,
“1-ER-234–36”), not large page ranges. Best practice is to include a specific
record citation after every sentence in the Statement. Failure to adequately
cite to the record may result the Court striking your brief.
The statement of the case is your first real opportunity to draw the reader in,
explain what the case is about, and convince the reader to care about it. It
should read like a story of what happened, not a minute order summarizing
the proceedings below. Tell a story that is interesting, compelling, and
makes the reader want to side with your client.
Generally, the statement of the case should include the facts relied upon in
your argument section. However, you need not include every detail in the