Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
The origin of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure can be traced to 1934 when
the Congress, through the Rules Enabling Act of 1934 (ch. 651, 48 Stat. 1064
(1934)), delegated power to the U.S. Supreme Court to promulgate procedural
rules for the U.S. District Courts
(1).
The court appointed the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules which proposed the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. These rules were adopted by the U.S. Supreme
Court and became effective in 1938. They have been amended several times since
their initial adoption. The rules and any amendments to them are printed by the
Congress as House Documents.
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are organized along a time line,
beginning with the initial filing of a complaint and ending with the final
judgment in a case. They include pre-trial, trial, and post-trial procedures. A
subject index and selected forms appear at the end of the rules.
A. History
The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules prepares a brief note for every rule or
amendment when it is proposed. It is important always to read the committee note
at the end of each rule because the note provides an official explanation of the
rule's intent. Most publications of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure include
the Advisory Committee notes following each rule (e.g., United States
Code, United States Code Annotated, United States Code Service discussed
below). A few works provide a separate appendix with the text of all the
committee notes (e.g., Federal Practice and Procedure, Appendix
C). Recent proposals to amend the rules and their notes can be found in
Federal Rules Decisions discussed below).
B. Unannotated Rules
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are widely available in unannotated
form. This form is useful for quick reference to check rule requirements or to
verify citations to rules, but does not provide helpful explanations or
interpretations of the rules. "Deskbooks," softbound volumes typically including
all procedural rules related to the practice of law in one jurisdiction, are
heavily used by practitioners. Unannotated Federal Rules of Civil Procedure also
appear with statutory compilations or as supplements to treatises on civil
procedure.
- Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, with Forms. (US DOCUMENTS Y4.J89/
1-11:) Official annual compilation of the rules which includes a summary
of the Advisory Committee notes for each rule and a topical index. The rules are
also available on the Internet at http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/overview.htm.
- Federal Civil Judicial Procedure and Rules. (RESERVE
KF8816.A195) This annual "deskbook" includes the text of the rules, a
summary of the Advisory Committee notes for each rule, a topical index, and
several forms.
- United States Code. 2000 ed. (RESERVE KF62 2000x) The Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure appear in a "rules" volume right after Title 28. Each
rule is followed by an historical note from the Advisory Committee.
Recent rule changes appear in supplementation to United States Code
Service (PRIMARY KF62.1972.L38), United States Code Congressional and
Administrative News (PRIMARY KF48.W45), and United States Supreme
Court Reports (L.Ed.) (REPORTERS KF101.A313).
C. Annotated Rules
When an in-depth explanation of a rule is desired, it is useful to consult
annotated versions of the rules. Annotations often provide detailed explanations
for each rule. In some works, however, they consist only of brief citations to
other sources containing explanations and judicial interpretations of the rules.
The following treatises and encyclopedias on civil procedure provide substantive
annotations for the rules:
- Bender's Federal Practice Manual. (KF8816.A2) This 3 volume treatise
is arranged by rule number. It provides commentary and references to other
sources of information. A detailed subject index is provided.
- Cyclopedia of Federal Procedure. 3d ed. (KF8840.C93 1951) This
multi volume encyclopedic work is arranged in the order litigation proceeds
(e.g., pre-trial, trial, post-trial). It provides detailed commentary on
procedural requirements and references to cases along with a detailed subject
index. A table of rules leads to portions of the text which discuss each rule.
- Federal Practice and Procedure [Wright & Miller]. (RESERVE
KF8840.W74) This is a leading treatise on federal procedure law. It
contains a wealth of information about the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and
is an essential tool for anyone consulting the rules. Rules are discussed in
numerical order. Following the text of each rule, the authors provide
authoritative commentary on the intent of the rule and how it has been applied.
References to related cases and background sources are also provided.
Unannotated rules appear in separate pamphlet volumes. This work is
available electronically on Westlaw in the FPP database and on the Levee CD ROM
network.
- Federal Procedure. [L.Ed.] (KF 8840.F42) This multi volume
encyclopedia is arranged alphabetically under broad procedural topics. A table
of rules provides references to parts of the text which discuss a particular
rule. The work includes a detailed index and separate volumes with unannotated
rules.
- Moore's Federal Practice. 3d ed. (RESERVE KF8820.A313M63) This
work, like Federal Practice and Procedure above, provides a thorough and
authoritative analysis of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, rule by rule.
The text of each rule is followed by in-depth commentary and references to cases
and further commentary. The work includes a detailed index and separate volumes
reproduce the rules without annotations.
The following works do not
themselves provide commentary, but they do offer numerous references to
commentary and judicial interpretation of the rules found in other sources.
- United States Code Annotated. (PRIMARY KF62 1927 .W45; RESERVE KF62
1927 .W45) Separate volumes containing the rules follow Title 28 volumes.
After each rule and its Advisory Committee note, numerous references to case
interpretations, books, and articles discussing the rule are provided. The
rules found in this source are available on Westlaw in the US-RULES database.
- United States Code Service. (PRIMARY KF62 1972 .L38) Rules of
procedure are found in separate volumes at the end of this set. Each rule is
followed by an Advisory Committee note and references to secondary sources and
judicial opinions discussing the rule. The rules found in this source are
available on LexisNexis (Legal > Federal Legal - U.S. > United States Code
Service (USCS) Material).
D. Local Federal Rules
In addition to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, litigants must also
observe local procedural rules for individual federal courts. Sources that
provide local rules for each U.S. District Court include:
- Federal Local Court Rules. 3d. ed. (REPORTERS KF8820.A2xb) This
source is arranged alphabetically by state. Under each state, unannotated local
rules are provided for each U.S. District Court.
- Federal Procedure Rules Service. (KF8840.F43) This work
provides annual volumes containing local rules for the various U.S. District
Courts.
Deskbooks for individuals states (e.g., Minnesota
Rules of Court) also contain the local court rules for the U.S. District
Court(s) in that state.
Local federal court rules are also available on LexisNexis (Legal >
Federal Legal - U.S. > Court Rules > Federal Local Court Rules
Combined) and on Westlaw in the RULES-ALL database On the Internet, links
to them are available at http://www.llrx.com/courtrules.
E. Digests, Court Reports, and Citators
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure have been the object of considerable
scrutiny and interpretation by the federal courts. It is possible to locate
cases interpreting the rules through the West's Federal Digest and the
West's Supreme Court Digest (e.g., under the topic "federal civil
procedure"). A number of specialized reporters, digests, and citators focus
specifically on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
- Federal Rules Digest. 3d ed. (REPORTERS KF123.F443x) This
digest covers federal cases from 1954 - date. It is particularly helpful when
research concerns a specific rule since it is arranged by a classification
scheme, FINDEX, which uses the rules' own numbers.
- Federal Rules Service, 1st - 3d series. (REPORTERS KF121.F433x)
This chronological reporter provides the full text of cases discussing the
federal rules. The first series is arranged according to the FINDEX
classification scheme mentioned in the previous entry. Later volumes list cases
as they are decided in chronological order.
- Federal Rules Decisions. (REPORTERS KF121.F42x) In this
chronological reporter, cases from all federal courts are included. Each case
contains the standard topics and keynumbers used in the West digests. In
addition to cases, this work includes articles and new and proposed rules along
with Advisory Committee notes. It is indexed in Index to Legal Periodicals
and LegalTrac. This work is available on Westlaw in the FEDRDTP
database.
- Shepard's Federal Rules Citations. (REFERENCE KF8816.A23 S54)
This citator is designed to provide references to federal cases and secondary
sources which cite specific rules. It also documents changes to existing rules.
It is arranged by rule number.
- Shepard's United States Citations: Statutes--Court Rules. (REFERENCE
KF101.2.S54) This citator provides references to federal and regional
cases that cite particular rules. It also documents amendments to existing
rules.
F. Additional Sources
To find other works containing the full text of the Federal Rules of Civil
procedure, commentary about the rules, or references to cases interpreting the
rules, search MNCAT under the
following Library of Congress subject headings: court rules--united
states; civil procedure--united states. The following title search is
also useful: federal rules of civil procedure.
G. Internet Sources
An excellent site containing links to nearly all court rules available on the
Internet is http://www.llrx.com/courtrules
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