Those who read and draft legal pleadings and briefs are familiar with the occasional use of footnotes to supplement the main narrative text.  Footnotes are boring, right?  No.  The question of how you manage footnotes in an appellate brief is actually quite controversial in some circles.  I know what you’re thinking: What can possibly be controversial about footnotes? Apparently quite a lot.  Should footnotes be used at all?  Some appellate court judges have announced opposition to the use of footnotes.  At an appellate practice seminar I attended, Judge William Prior, Jr., of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals stated very plainly that he dislikes the use of footnotes in appellate briefs.  He repeated the refrain that other judges have stated, that if it’s important…