Tex. R. App. P. 52.3

The petition must, under appropriate headings and

in the order here indicated, contain the following:

(a) If Filed in the Supreme Court. If the petition

is filed in the Supreme Court, the petition

must contain an introduction summarizing

the reasons the Court should grant relief and

the legal arguments made in the body of the

petition. The introduction must not exceed

1,000 words if computer-generated, and 4

pages if not. The introduction word count

must be included within the overall word

count and page limit certification.

(b) Identity of Parties and Counsel. The petition

must give a complete list of all parties. The

petition must also give a complete list of the

names of all counsel appearing in the trial or

appellate courts; their firm or office name at

the time of the appearance; and, for counsel

currently appearing, their mailing address,

telephone number, and email address. If new

counsel appears or if any counsel currently

appearing changes firm or office affiliation

during the pendency of the appeal, lead

counsel for the party must notify the clerk by

filing a supplemental disclosure.

(c) Table of Contents. The petition must include

a table of contents with references to the

pages of the petition and be bookmarked to

assist in locating each item. The table of

contents must indicate the subject matter of

each issue or point, or group of issues or

points.

(d) Index of Authorities. The petition must

include an index of authorities arranged

alphabetically and indicating the pages of the

petition where the authorities are cited.

(e) Statement of the Case. The petition must

contain a statement of the case that should

seldom exceed one page and should not

discuss the facts. The statement must contain

the following:

(1) a concise description of the nature of

any underlying proceeding (e.g., a suit

for damages, a contempt proceeding for

failure to pay child support, or the

certification of a candidate for inclusion

on an election ballot);

(2) if the respondent is a judge, the name of

the judge, the designation of the court in

which the judge was sitting, and the

county in which the court is located; and

if the respondent is an official other than

a judge, the designation and location of

the office held by the respondent;

(3) a concise description of the respondent’s

action from which the relator seeks

relief;

(4) if the relator seeks a writ of habeas

corpus, a statement describing how and

where the relator is being deprived of

liberty;

(5) if the petition is filed in the Supreme

Court after a petition requesting the same

relief was filed in the court of appeals:

(A) the date the petition was filed in the

court of appeals;

(B) the district of the court of appeals

and the names of the justices who

participated in the decision;

(C) the author of any opinion for the

court of appeals and the author of

any separate opinion;

(D) the citation of the court’s opinion;

(E) the disposition of the case by the

court of appeals, and the date of the

court of appeals’ order.

(f) Statement of Jurisdiction. The petition must

state, without argument, the basis of the

court's jurisdiction. If the Supreme Court and

the court of appeals have concurrent

jurisdiction, the petition must be presented

first to the court of appeals unless there is a

compelling reason not to do so. If the petition

is filed in the Supreme Court without first

being presented to the court of appeals, the

petition must state the compelling reason

why the petition was not first presented to the

court of appeals.

(g) Issues Presented. The petition must state

concisely all issues or points presented for

relief. The statement of an issue or point will

be treated as covering every subsidiary

question that is fairly included. If the petition

is filed in the Supreme Court, the petition

must include appropriate citations to the

record demonstrating that the issue was

preserved for review.

(h) Statement of Facts. The petition must state

concisely and without argument the facts

pertinent to the issues or points presented.

Every statement of fact in the petition must

be supported by citation to competent

evidence included in the appendix or record.

(i) Argument. The petition must contain a clear

and concise argument for the contentions

made, with appropriate citations to

authorities and to the appendix or record.

(j) Prayer. The petition must contain a short

conclusion that clearly states the nature of the

relief sought.

(k) Certification. The person filing the petition

must certify that he or she has reviewed the

petition and concluded that every factual

statement in the petition is supported by

competent evidence included in the appendix

or record.

(l) Appendix.

(1) Necessary Contents. The appendix must

be bookmarked to assist in locating each

item and must contain a copy of the

relevant materials, in the following

order:

(A) any order or opinion of the court of

appeals, if the petition is filed in the

Supreme Court;

(B) a certified or sworn copy of the

relevant trial court order, or any

other document showing the matter

complained of;

(C) unless voluminous or impracticable,

the text of any rule, regulation,

ordinance, statute, constitutional

provision, or other law (excluding

case law) on which the argument is

based; and

(D) if a writ of habeas corpus is sought,

proof that the relator is being

restrained.

(2) Optional Contents. The appendix may

contain any other item pertinent to the

issues or points presented for review,

including copies or excerpts of relevant

court opinions, statutes, constitutional

provisions, documents on which the suit

was based, pleadings, and similar

material. Items should not be included

in the appendix to attempt to avoid the

page limits for the petition. The

appendix should not contain any

evidence or other item that is not

necessary for a decision.