Judge Patricia Wald of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia notes that counsel should spend some time on the issue because it “provides the lens through which the judge-reader enters the rest of the brief.”1

For most appellate judges, the issue, or question presented, provides the first image of the case, and each time they consider a new angle of the case by reading a new brief, they gain a new image (or regain an old image) by reading the question presented first. Practical lawyers exploit this opportunity and make sure that the image conveyed in the issue statement is one that they want the court to see.

Writers of motion briefs may articulate the issue in a short paragraph under the heading “Introduction” or “Preliminary Statement.” In contrast, writers of appellate briefs, and of some motion briefs, write a formal question presented that can crystallize the issue in one sentence.