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. Latest print version received is 2003; current version is now available at http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS65510. 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. 2006 ed. (RESERVE KF62 2006x) The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure appear in the volume containing 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.A21) 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.
- 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. This sources is also available on LexisNexis; the file name is MOORES.
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) > Federal Rules Annotated); the file name is RULES.
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 local rules for the various U.S. District Courts within the 8th Circuit.
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. > Find Statutes, Administrative Materials & Court Rules > Federal Local Trial Court Rules Combined) and on Westlaw in the US-RULES 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.
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.
Another good source for the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School.
Law School:
Login
| Public Web | Inside.Law | Intranet
