Brief (law)

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A brief (Old French from Latin "brevis", short) is a written legal document used in various legal adversarial systems that is presented to a court arguing why one party to a particular case should prevail. Appellate briefs establishes the legal argument for the party, explaining why the reviewing court should affirm or reverse the lower court's judgment based on legal precedent and citations to the controlling cases or statutory law.

In England and Wales (and other Commonwealth countries, e.g., Australia) the phrase refers to the papers given to a barrister when they are instructed.