In a Texas appeal, what is a “brief on the merits”?

An appeal to the Texas Supreme Court is initiated by filing a “petition for review,” in which a party has an extremely limited number of words in which to convince the Supreme Court to allow a more lengthy filing (which is called a “brief on the merits”) and ultimately to grant review of a court of appeals decision of an appeal. See Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 53, 55. A brief on the merits is also known as a “merits brief” or “full briefing.” Although a petition for review resembles a brief, a petition for review is technically not a “brief.” A petition for review is sometimes informally referred to as an “appeal to the Texas Supreme Court.” A petition for review is also referred to as a “PFR” or a “pet.”

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