Ga. Sup. Ct. R. 53 (2019)

The appellant opens the argument. The appellee (or cross-appellant) replies. Rebuttal is restricted to one attorney representing the appellant, who shall confine his or her arguments to matters covered in the argument of opposing counsel.

(1) Opening Statements. At the start of each argument, counsel will generally be given two minutes of uninterrupted time to present the key points of the case. Counsel may assume the Court is familiar with the record and should only reference it if doing so highlights an important issue. A green light will signal the end of the two-minute opening and the beginning of the question period. Counsel may waive the uninterrupted two minutes and invite questions from the Court at any time during the opening statement. If a party’s argument is divided between co-counsel, neither counsel will be allowed an uninterrupted opening statement.

(2) Reserving Time for Rebuttal. Appellant may reserve up to five minutes for rebuttal, in one-minute increments by notifying the Clerk at [email protected]. All requests must be submitted by noon two weeks before the oral argument date. Rebuttal time will be deducted from the total time allotted for argument and will be in addition to any time remaining from the main presentation.

Counsel sharing argument time may reserve rebuttal time; however, counsel must specify how the main argument will be divided, and only one of the attorneys may deliver the rebuttal. Any unused time from either portion of the main argument will be added to the reserved rebuttal time.