--- name: in-statewide-format description: > Use when drafting Indiana court documents — pleadings, motions, declarations, proposed orders, formatting under **Indiana Trial Rule 5(E)** (paper size, margins, font, line spacing, footer), **T.R. 10** (caption, paragraph numbering), **T.R. 11(A)** (signature block), **Odyssey e-filing conventions**, and citation format per the Indiana Supreme Court Rules on Citation. Triggers: "format an Indiana pleading", "Indiana caption", "T.R. 5(E)", "T.R. 10", "Trial Rule 11 signature", "Indiana declaration", "Odyssey eFile Indiana". version: 0.4.1 --- # Indiana Statewide Court Document Formatting Use these rules whenever drafting a paper for filing in an Indiana trial court — a Circuit Court, a Superior Court, a County Court, or a Small Claims docket within a Superior Court. They derive from the **Indiana Trial Rules** (most importantly Trial Rules 5, 10, and 11), the **Indiana Rules of Evidence**, and the **Indiana Supreme Court Rules on Admission, Discipline and Citation** (which the Indiana Supreme Court adopts and publishes alongside the Trial Rules at `courts.in.gov/rules`). Indiana does not have a unified small-claims court statewide. Most populous counties (Marion, Lake, Allen, St. Joseph, etc.) operate small-claims dockets inside the county's Superior Court or, in Marion County, within the **Marion County Small Claims Courts** which are statutorily separate township-based courts (IC 33-34). For monetary claims above the small-claims cap ($10,000 in most counties, $8,000 in Marion County township small-claims courts per IC 33-34-3-2), file in the Circuit Court or the civil division of the Superior Court of the venue county. > **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** Generated content is a drafting aid; verify > against the current Indiana Trial Rules, Local Rules of the > filing court, and any applicable Indiana Supreme Court Order > before filing. ## Trial Rule 5(E) — Format of Papers | Item | Rule | Requirement | |------|------|-------------| | Paper size | T.R. 5(E)(1) | 8½ × 11 inches | | Sides | T.R. 5(E)(1) | One side only | | Color | T.R. 5(E)(1) | White paper | | Top margin, page 1 | T.R. 5(E)(2) | At least 2 inches (room for clerk's stamp + e-filing header) | | All other margins | T.R. 5(E)(2) | At least 1 inch on every side | | Font / size | T.R. 5(E)(3) | 12-point type minimum; serif body (Times New Roman or equivalent); monospaced fonts permitted but disfavored | | Line spacing | T.R. 5(E)(3) | Double-spaced body text; single-spacing permitted for block quotations of 50+ words, footnotes, headings, captions, and signature blocks | | Page numbers | T.R. 5(E)(4) | Bottom center or bottom right of each page | | Caption | T.R. 10(A) | First page; identifies the court, parties, cause number, and document title | | Signature | T.R. 11(A) | Every paper signed by at least one attorney (or by the party if pro se) at end | | Verification | T.R. 11(B) | When required by statute or rule, signed under penalties of perjury per IC 35-44.1-2-1 | Indiana Trial Rule 5(E) does **not** require line numbering on the left margin. Numbered paragraphs ARE required under T.R. 10(B) — see the paragraph-numbering section below. (Line- numbered pleading paper is applied by default by this skill as a `claude-legal` marketplace convention — see the "Line numbering (pleading paper)" section below.) When producing a `.docx` for conversion to PDF and upload to Odyssey, set page-1 top margin to 2 inches (to clear the clerk's e-filing banner) and remaining pages to 1 inch. The repo's `scripts/format-check.py` validates these constraints. ## Default typography - **Font**: Times New Roman 12 pt (Cambria, Century Schoolbook, Garamond, Book Antiqua, and other serif body fonts of equivalent legibility are accepted) - **Line spacing**: double-spaced body; single-spacing only for block quotations of 50+ words, footnotes, captions, signature blocks, and the "Distribution" service list - **Paragraph style**: T.R. 10(B) requires that "all averments of claim or defense shall be made in numbered paragraphs, the contents of each of which shall be limited as far as practicable to a statement of a single set of circumstances." Use numbered paragraphs (`1.`, `2.`, `3.` ...) for every pleading, motion argument, and declaration. - Bold lead-ins for labeled paragraphs are permissible: `**Background.** Plaintiff is ...` ## Footer (required on every page) T.R. 5(E)(4) requires a page number on every page; Marion County LR49-TR5-203 and most populous-county local rules additionally require the **document short title and cause number** in the footer for hardcopy chambers copies and courtesy copies. The working convention statewide is: - **Left or center**: short title of the document (e.g., "DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS") - **Right**: `Page X of Y` using Word `PAGE` and `NUMPAGES` fields - **Font**: 10 pt Times New Roman Example: `DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS — Cause No. 49D01-2503-PL-001234 Page 3 of 8` The footer runs on every page including page 1. Do not suppress it. The format-check.py script in this plugin verifies the footer contains both `PAGE` and `NUMPAGES` fields and at least one literal title token to the left. ## Line numbering (pleading paper) Apply continuous line numbering down the left margin of every generated Indiana pleading. Line numbers count every line of the body and restart on each page. Indiana Trial Rule 5(E) does **not** itself require line numbering, and an Indiana filing without it is rule-compliant and accepted by the Odyssey statewide e-filing system. But line-numbered pleading paper is universal practice across the `claude-legal` marketplace: it lets the court and opposing counsel cite to an exact location ("page 4, lines 12–15") and never harms an Indiana filing. Apply it **by default** to every motion, memorandum, declaration, notice, and proposed order. Exhibits and attachments are exempt. For programmatically generated `.docx` documents, apply line numbering through the section's `lineNumbers` property: ```javascript import { LineNumberRestartFormat } from "docx"; sections: [{ properties: { page: { /* size + margins */ }, lineNumbers: { countBy: 1, // number every line restart: LineNumberRestartFormat.NEW_PAGE, // restart 1.. each page }, }, // ... }] ``` This emits `` into the section's ``. The numbers render in the left margin and do not shift the 1-inch text margin. **Do NOT set `start` explicitly.** An explicit `start: 1` renders off by one in LibreOffice (the first body line shows "2"). Omit `start` — it defaults to 1 in OOXML. ## Margin rule (double vertical line) Draw a double vertical rule — two thin parallel lines (~0.75 pt each, with a ~7 pt gap between them) — down the left margin between the line numbers and the body text. It is the standard companion to line-numbered pleading paper. Like line numbering, Indiana Trial Rule 5(E) does **not** require it, but it is universal convention across the `claude-legal` marketplace. Apply it **by default** to every line-numbered pleading; exhibits and attachments are exempt. Implement it as two independent full-height line shapes anchored in the page header, so they repeat on every page — **not** as an OOXML `double` page border, whose style couples the inter-line gap to the line weight (widening the gap thickens both lines into heavy bars). Draw each line as a thin filled rectangle (VML `v:rect`). **One shape per ``** — multiple `` elements in a single `` will not all render; each rectangle needs its own `` inside its own `` run. `docx-js` has no first-class API for header-anchored VML shapes. Add them with the docx skill's **unpack → edit → pack** workflow: generate the file with docx-js (give each section an empty `Header` so a `word/header1.xml` part exists, and keep the `lineNumbers` section property from above), then rewrite the header XML and repack: ```bash python scripts/office/unpack.py out.docx unpacked/ # ... inject the rule into unpacked/word/header*.xml (helper below) ... python scripts/office/pack.py unpacked/ out.docx --original out.docx ``` Inside each `unpacked/word/header*.xml`, declare the VML namespace on the root `` and add the two runs — one `v:rect` per `` per `` — inside the header paragraph. A document can have several header parts (first-page / even / default, or one per section); add the runs to **each** distinct `word/header*.xml`, giving every `v:rect` a unique `id`. This stdlib helper (no `python-docx`) does it and is idempotent: ```python import pathlib, re def _runs(i): outer = ('') % i return outer + (outer.replace('VRuleOuter%d' % i, 'VRuleInner%d' % i) .replace('margin-left:60pt', 'margin-left:67pt')) word = pathlib.Path('unpacked/word') # 1. Double rule: one set of shapes per distinct header part (unique ids). for i, hdr in enumerate(sorted(word.glob('header*.xml'))): xml = hdr.read_text(encoding='utf-8') if 'VRuleOuter' in xml: # idempotent continue if 'xmlns:v=' not in xml: xml = re.sub(r'(', _runs(i) + '', 1) # first header para hdr.write_text(xml, encoding='utf-8') # 2. Keep line numbers off header/footer text. for f in list(word.glob('header*.xml')) + list(word.glob('footer*.xml')): xml = f.read_text(encoding='utf-8') xml = re.sub(r'(]*)?>)(?!)', r'\1', xml) xml = re.sub(r'(]*)?>)(?!', xml) f.write_text(xml, encoding='utf-8') ``` The `` line-numbering element is already emitted by docx-js's `lineNumbers` section property (above), so the patch only touches the header / footer parts. **Geometry** (US Letter, 1-inch margins, line-number `distance` 360 twips = ¼″): body text starts at 72 pt and the line-number gutter at ~54 pt, so the two rules at `margin-left` **60 pt** and **67 pt** sit ~7 pt apart, clear of both. The gap is the difference of the two values; `margin-top:21.6pt` + `height:748.8pt` spans the full page height; `width:0.75pt` is the line weight. Verify with `python scripts/office/validate.py out.docx` then `python scripts/office/soffice.py --headless --convert-to pdf out.docx`; confirm two thin parallel lines with a clear gap between the numbers and the text on **every** page and that the header / footer text is not line-numbered. Then open the `.docx` in Microsoft Word, where VML renders slightly differently and the output must still be correct. ## Caption — Trial Rule 10(A) Indiana uses a single-column caption with the parties stacked on the left and the document title stacked on the right separated by a closing parenthesis chain `)`. The cause number is set off immediately below the right column or beneath the document title. ``` STATE OF INDIANA IN THE [COURT NAME] COURT [COUNTY NAME] COUNTY, INDIANA [PARTY A NAME], ) ) Plaintiff, ) Cause No. [NN]D[NN]-YYMM-[CT]-NNNNNN ) v. ) ) [PARTY B NAME], ) ) Defendant. ) ``` Key conventions: - Court name line uses the canonical court designation: "Marion Superior Court," "Lake Circuit Court," "Allen Superior Court 3," etc. (See `in-marion`, `in-lake`, `in-county-courts` for the exact form per court.) - County line: "[COUNTY NAME] COUNTY, INDIANA" in all caps. - Parties: stacked, left-justified, in normal case (not all caps). Role designation ("Plaintiff," "Defendant," "Petitioner," "Respondent") indented under the party name. - Use **"v."** (no "vs.") between parties — Indiana citation convention. - Cause number: Indiana cause numbers follow the format `[County 2-digit]D[Court 2-digit]-YYMM-[Case Type]-NNNNNN`, e.g., `49D01-2503-PL-001234` (Marion County 49, Superior 1 ("D01" for the first division per the IOJA naming convention; Circuit Court of Marion County is `49C01`), filed March 2025, Plaintiff case type "PL," sequence 1234). The Odyssey portal generates this automatically; do not invent one when drafting a complaint. The "STATE OF INDIANA" line is conventional but not strictly required by T.R. 10(A). Most populous-county local rules include it, and Marion Superior follows the practice. ## Document title Just below the caption, centered and in ALL CAPS or bold title case, give the document title: - "COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES" - "DEFENDANT'S ANSWER, AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES, AND COUNTERCLAIM" - "DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS UNDER TRIAL RULE 12(B)(6)" - "MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS" - "DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO CORRECT ERROR (TRIAL RULE 59)" For motions, follow the motion title with a colon-separated description of the relief sought when appropriate. ## Signature block — Trial Rule 11(A) Every paper filed in an Indiana court must be signed at the end by counsel of record or by the party if self-represented. T.R. 11(A) requires the signer's name, address, telephone, and **Attorney Number** ("Atty. No." — assigned by the Indiana Supreme Court Roll of Attorneys) for represented parties. Pro se signature block (T.R. 11(A); see `in-pro-se`): ``` Respectfully submitted, _______________________________ [PARTY NAME], Pro Se [Street Address] [City, IN ZIP] Telephone: (___) ___-____ Email: ________________________ ``` Counsel signature block: ``` Respectfully submitted, _______________________________ [ATTORNEY NAME], Atty. No. [#####-##] [FIRM NAME] [Street Address] [City, IN ZIP] Telephone: (___) ___-____ Email: ________________________ Attorney for [Party] ``` ## Verification — Trial Rule 11(B) Where a verified pleading or declaration is required by rule (e.g., T.R. 65 preliminary injunction declarations) or by statute (e.g., IC 34-26-5 protective-order petitions), the signer must affirm: > "I affirm, under the penalties for perjury, that the foregoing > representations are true." > /s/ [Name] > [Date] The phrase derives from IC 35-44.1-2-1 (perjury) and is the Indiana statutory equivalent to a notarized oath under T.R. 11(B) and IC 34-37-2-2. **Do not** import the California "I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California ..." formulation; Indiana courts have rejected non- conforming verifications. ## Distribution / certificate of service Every filing other than the initial complaint must include a **Certificate of Service** at the end stating how every party was served. T.R. 5(B) is the underlying authority; the Odyssey system auto-generates a Service Contacts certificate for e-filed documents, but the working convention is to include the certificate of service in the document body for the chambers copy and for hardcopy back-up: ``` CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that on [DATE], a copy of the foregoing was served on all counsel of record via the Indiana E-Filing System and on the following non-registered party by U.S. Mail, postage prepaid: [Name] [Address] _______________________________ [SIGNER NAME], [Pro Se / Atty. No.] ``` ## Exhibits Indiana practice uses **lettered exhibits** (Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C ...) for documentary attachments, paralleling the Bluebook/federal convention. Number exhibits sequentially in the order they are first referenced. Each exhibit should be tabbed (in hardcopy) or bookmarked in the PDF (e-filed) so the court can navigate to it. The Odyssey portal requires each exhibit to be uploaded as a separate sub-document or appended to the main document as a single PDF with a Table of Contents. Marion LR49-TR5-203 prefers the single combined PDF with bookmarks for civil filings. ## Paragraph numbering — Trial Rule 10(B) T.R. 10(B) requires: > "All averments of claim or defense shall be made in numbered > paragraphs, the contents of each of which shall be limited as > far as practicable to a statement of a single set of > circumstances; and a paragraph may be referred to by number in > all succeeding pleadings." Practical rules: - Number every substantive paragraph of a complaint, answer, counterclaim, third-party complaint, declaration, or affidavit. - Number arguments in a memorandum (`1.`, `2.`, ... within each section heading) when each numbered point states a discrete legal proposition. - Number paragraphs in a motion's body when the motion sets out a factual basis; the prayer for relief is typically not numbered. - Cross-reference earlier paragraphs by number when incorporating by reference: "Defendant incorporates the allegations in Paragraphs 1-14 of the Complaint by reference." ## Citation format Indiana follows the **Indiana Supreme Court Rule on Citation** (part of the Indiana Rules of Admission, Discipline, and Citation, the "ARD"). Common forms: - **Indiana Supreme Court**: *Hughley v. State*, 15 N.E.3d 1000 (Ind. 2014) - **Indiana Court of Appeals**: *Goossens v. Goossens*, 829 N.E.2d 36 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005) - **Trial Rules**: Ind. Trial R. 56(C) (preferred) or T.R. 56(C) (shortcut used in this skill bundle) - **Evidence Rules**: Ind. Evid. R. 803(6) or IRE 803(6) - **Indiana Code**: IC 34-11-2-9 (no "§" symbol in Indiana citation; some practitioners use "IC § 34-11-2-9" — both are accepted) - **Indiana Constitution**: Ind. Const. art. 1, § 12 - **Federal cases**: *Iqbal*, 556 U.S. 662 (2009) - **Federal statutes**: 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a)(1) - **Federal regulations**: 12 C.F.R. § 1006.30 **Distinctive Indiana style choices**: - Year in parentheses **after** the reporter citation: *Smith v. Jones*, 123 N.E.3d 456 (Ind. 2023) — same as Bluebook - Reporter abbreviations: **N.E.3d** (third series) for current cases; N.E.2d for 1936-2003 cases; N.E. for pre-1936 cases - Italicize case names. Indiana does **not** italicize "Id." or "Ibid." - Use "*Id.*" for the immediately preceding cite (no signal needed); use "*Id.* at [pin]" for a different page in the same source - Indiana cases include the parallel "Ind." Reporter cite for older cases (pre-1981): *State v. Adams*, 274 Ind. 366, 412 N.E.2d 1213 (1980) — but the parallel cite is dropping out of modern practice - "art." and "§" used in constitutional citations: Ind. Const. art. 1, § 12 ## The four document templates For complete scaffolds, see: - `in-draft-motion` — motion with memorandum of law and proposed order - `in-draft-declaration` — declaration or affidavit with T.R. 11(B) verification - `in-draft-note` — proposed Notice of Setting / Notice of Hearing / Notice of Trial (Indiana does not use "Note for Motion Calendar" as Washington does; the analog is a Notice of Hearing) - `in-draft-order` — proposed order for judge signature ## e-Filing — Indiana Odyssey Indiana has a **statewide unified e-filing system** (the only state besides Illinois that runs e-filing through Tyler Odyssey statewide). Mandatory for represented parties in every county since 2018; self-represented filers may e-file optionally. - Portal: https://efile.courts.in.gov - Accepted format: PDF only for filed documents (the .docx is the working copy) - File size limit: 25 MB per document; multi-document filings can go up to 100 MB total - Document codes: select from a dropdown matching the document title (the dropdown labels mirror T.R. 7 motion types) - Service Contacts: configure for the case at first filing; every subsequent filing serves all listed contacts automatically Compare to other states: Indiana's unified Odyssey portal is **different from California's per-county vendor mix** (Odyssey eFileCA + File & ServeXpress + county portals) and is closer to Colorado's CCEFS in being a single statewide gateway. ## Compose with court-specific skills This skill is **always** layered with one of: - `in-marion` — Marion Superior Court / Marion County Small Claims - `in-lake` — Lake Superior Court (Crown Point / Hammond / East Chicago) - `in-county-courts` — every other county - `in-pro-se` — for self-represented filers The court-specific skill adds local rule variations, courtroom divisions, chambers practice, and venue-specific filing quirks. ## References - `references/trial-rule-5-summary.md` — concise summary of T.R. 5 - `references/trial-rule-10-caption.md` — caption layout with examples for each county - `references/cause-number-format.md` — the Indiana case-number taxonomy - `references/docx-generation.md` — `.docx` library patterns for Indiana captions and footers - `references/templates/` — the four document templates **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** Generated content is a drafting aid; verify against current rules and case law before filing.