TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Cover Page
2. Table of Authorities
3. Statement of the Issues
4. Statement of the Case
5. Statement of Facts
6. Standard of Review
7. Argument
8. Conclusion
9. Certificate of Service

IN THE SUPREME COURT, STATE OF WYOMING

[MONTH] TERM, A.D. [YEAR]

BRIEF OF APPELLANT

Attorney for Appellant:

[________________________________]
[________________________________] (WY Bar No. [________________________________])
[________________________________]
[________________________________], Wyoming [________________________________]
Telephone: [________________________________]
Email: [________________________________]

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Cases

Statutes

Rules

I. STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES

1. Whether the district court erred in [________________________________].

2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction for [________________________________].

3. [________________________________]

II. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On or about [__/__/____], an ☐ Information / ☐ Indictment was filed in the District Court, [____] Judicial District, [________________________________] County, charging Appellant with:

[Summarize pretrial proceedings, motions, and rulings.]

[________________________________]

On [__/__/____], the case proceeded to ☐ jury trial / ☐ bench trial / ☐ Appellant entered a plea of ☐ guilty / ☐ no contest, before the Honorable [________________________________], District Court Judge.

On [__/__/____], the ☐ jury returned a verdict of / ☐ court found:

[________________________________]

On [__/__/____], the district court sentenced Appellant to:

[________________________________]

(R. [____]; Tr. [____].)

Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal on [__/__/____]. (R. [____].)

III. STATEMENT OF FACTS

A. State's Case

[________________________________]

(Tr. [____].)

B. Defense Case

[________________________________]

(Tr. [____].)

C. Rebuttal (if any)

[________________________________]

(Tr. [____].)

IV. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Issue 1: [________________________________]

☐ De novo review applies to questions of law, including constitutional issues and statutory interpretation. (Manes v. State, 2023 WY 25.)

☐ Abuse of discretion applies to discretionary rulings, including evidentiary and sentencing decisions. The reviewing court will not disturb the district court's decision unless it exceeds the bounds of reason. (Griggs v. State, 2016 WY 16.)

☐ Sufficiency of the evidence — the court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, recognizing all reasonable inferences, and determines whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements beyond a reasonable doubt. (Broom v. State, 695 P.2d 640 (Wyo. 1985); Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979).)

☐ Plain error applies to unpreserved issues under W.R.Cr.P. 52(b). The appellant must show (1) the record clearly reflects the error, (2) the rule of law violated is clear and unequivocal, and (3) the violation adversely affected a substantial right resulting in material prejudice. (Granzer v. State, 2018 WY 16.)

Issue 2: [________________________________]

V. ARGUMENT

A. [ISSUE ONE HEADING IN CAPS]

[________________________________]

1. Relevant Proceedings Below

[________________________________]

(R. [____]; Tr. [____].)

2. Applicable Legal Principles

[________________________________]

3. Analysis

[________________________________]

4. Prejudice / Harmless Error

☐ Under Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18 (1967), the constitutional error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt because [________________________________].

☐ Under Wyoming's non-constitutional harmless-error standard (W.R.Cr.P. 52(a)), the error affected the substantial rights of the defendant because [________________________________].

[________________________________]

B. [ISSUE TWO HEADING IN CAPS]

[________________________________]

1. Relevant Proceedings Below

[________________________________]

(R. [____]; Tr. [____].)

2. Applicable Legal Principles

[________________________________]

3. Analysis

[________________________________]

4. Prejudice / Harmless Error

[________________________________]

C. [ADDITIONAL ISSUES AS NEEDED]

[________________________________]

VI. CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, Appellant respectfully requests that this Court:

☐ Reverse the judgment of conviction.
☐ Reverse and remand for a new trial.
☐ Modify the judgment as follows: [________________________________].
☐ Vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing.
☐ [________________________________]

Respectfully submitted,

Date: [__/__/____]

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]
Attorney for Appellant

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, [________________________________], certify that on [__/__/____], I served the foregoing Brief of Appellant on the following parties by the method indicated:

☐ Electronic service via C-Track Electronic Filing System (CTEF)
☐ U.S. Mail, first-class, postage prepaid
☐ Hand delivery

Date: [__/__/____]

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]

STATE-SPECIFIC NOTES FOR WYOMING

1. No Intermediate Appellate Court: Wyoming has no intermediate appellate court. All criminal appeals go directly to the Wyoming Supreme Court.

2. Electronic Filing Required: All briefs, motions, and other pleadings must be filed electronically via C-Track Electronic Filing System (CTEF). The electronic version is the officially filed document. (W.R.A.P. 14.01.)

3. Notice of Appeal: Must be filed within 30 days after entry of the judgment of conviction and sentence. (Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-12-102.)

4. Brief Length: Comply with W.R.A.P. 7.05 formatting and length requirements. Be careful not to waste space on immaterial facts due to page limitations.

5. Record Citations Required: Under W.R.A.P. 7.01(e)(2), the brief must include "citations to the parts of the designated record on appeal relied on."

6. Plain Error Standard: Wyoming's three-part plain error test requires: (1) the record clearly reflects the error; (2) the rule of law violated is clear and unequivocal; (3) the violation adversely affected a substantial right resulting in material prejudice. (Granzer v. State, 2018 WY 16.)

7. Preservation of Issues: Issues must generally be raised in the district court. The Supreme Court may decline to consider issues raised for the first time on appeal absent plain error.

8. Post-Conviction Relief: Separate from direct appeal, post-conviction relief is available under W.R.Cr.P. 35. A petition must generally be filed within one year of the judgment.