Notably, the Eighth Circuit’s website (under “Research Aids”) links to the Seventh Circuit’s discussion of typography-suggesting the Eighth Circuit might prefer these fonts, too. And some have read it as implicitly recommending Century Schoolbook and maybe a handful of other fonts, like Bookman, Caslon, and Georgia.
Circuit, the Seventh Circuit does not require any particular font in its local rules-but its handbook provides a discussion of fonts and typography. As for Garamond, it has its devotees-but it is definitely smaller than other fonts, and its italics are terrible, so now that at least one court has officially discouraged its use you should probably consider choosing something else. And yes, Times New Roman is also legible and works just fine-but TNR has been the default font in legal writing for a long time, so it carries the risk of appearing accidental, as though you didn’t give any thought to the font you were using. Equity is also a nice, newer font that has become somewhat popular here in Texas-but you’ll have to pay a licensing fee if you want to use it. Good examples of legible serif fonts that come preinstalled in Microsoft Word-or that are otherwise generally available for free-include Century, Century Schoolbook, Bell, Book Antiqua, Bookman, Caslon, Georgia, Miller, Palatino, and Sabon. In other words, you shouldn’t use Garamond in the D.C. If there’s a local handbook out there, find it and follow it. So this serves as a reminder to good practitioners everywhere: don’t rely only on the local rules. Circuit’s discouragement of Garamond appears only in the court’s recent notice, and in its updated Handbook of Practice. Circuit’s local rules say nothing further. The federal rule (FRAP 32(a)(5)) requires only a legible 14-point serif font, and the D.C. Circuit did not amend its local rules to require-or disallow-any particular font. And now that the flare-up has died down, it seems like a good time to provide a quick overview of font requirements and recommendations across the country. This sparked a flare of discussion on #AppellateTwitter, about preferred fonts and about brief writing in general. Circuit issued a notice on “Preferred Typefaces for Briefs,” in which the court explicitly “discourage the use of Garamond” because it “appears smaller” and is less “legible” than fonts like Century and Times New Roman.
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