The Oklahoma Bar Journal February 2023

the cast of characters. This is particularly helpful in multi-party litigation or when there are parties with the same or similar names. CITE TO THE RECORD “Facts stated in the Summary of the Record must be supported by citation to the record where such facts occur.” 8 The appellant bears full responsibility for pro ducing a record that supports the errors alleged. 9 The appellant must “affirmatively show the alleged error from the record on appeal.” 10 Otherwise, the appellate court will presume no prejudicial error was committed by the trial court. 11 It is not the appellate court’s duty to search the record for error. 12 You should continue to cite to the record when making your argu ment. Along the same lines, if you are the appellee and fail to file an answer brief, the appellate court is under no duty to search the record for some theory to sustain the trial court’s judgment. 13 STANDARD OF REVIEW Do not gloss over the standard of review. The standard of review is the heartbeat of appellate deci sion-making. Before you copy and paste the standard of review into your brief, spend some time really thinking about it. Research it. Don’t just assume you know what

FEBRUARY 2023 | 19

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL