to file a brief
3
7.7
- phrasal verb
- /faɪl ə brif/
- Formal
:
presentar un escrito
- Verizon filed a brief as part of its lawsuit to overturn the FCC's rules that pertain to 'net neutrality.'
- filed a brief supporting
- file a brief with the court
- file a brief in the case
Examples
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After gathering evidence, the lawyers filed a brief arguing for their client's innocence.
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It filed a brief alleging that the provisions of the claims process unduly favored Smith Barney.
Academic text (1999) -
In late June, he filed a brief in U.S. District Court at Little Rock, Ark.
Academic text (1994) -
Update: The American Civil Liberties Union has also filed a brief to support Carter.
Blog text (22) -
The United States Supreme Court, in turn, invited the United States Solicitor General to file a brief stating the views of the United States on the petition.
Academic text (1992) -
Cato also recently filed a brief urging the court to hear another case of eminent domain.
Blog text (9) -
The German government filed a brief supporting Shell prior to the first hearing in February, and we later learned that their position was encouraged by a German industrialist.
Blog text (5) -
A year later, defense attorneys filed a brief in federal court declaring him a torture victim of the CIA's enhanced interrogation program.
Blog text (8) -
The legal battle between major broadcast networks and TV startup Aereo continues to unwind, as Aereo has filed a brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Blog text (22) -
The Open Internet Coalition, a mix of the most influential technology companies in the world, sans Apple and Microsoft, has filed a brief with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) arguing in favor of its current rules concerning net neutrality.
Blog text (14)
Synonyms
∞
3.7
To officially give a document to a court or other authority
325
3.7
To give a form or application for someone to consider
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'file' (to officially lodge/register paperwork) + 'a' (article) + 'brief' (a written legal document), so the phrase simply means to submit that document. This verb + object pattern is a regular, cross-linguistic way to express submitting paperwork, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
The phrase file a brief comes from the old practice of putting a short paper into the court's official papers: file means to put a paper into a legal 'file', and brief comes from a word for something 'short'. So to file a brief means 'to officially give a short written legal argument to a court'.