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Trial Advocacy Materials @ Pence Law Library: Court Rules

What are Court Rules?

  • Cover all types of things such as: 
    • Filing Deadlines
    • Proper Formatting
    • Delivery Method
    • Timing
  • Control the operation of the courts and the conduct of litigants
  • Govern jurisdiction of courts – subject matter and other issues 
  • Format/procedure/time limitations
  • Attorney conduct too/pro hac vice appearances
  • Don’t forget local rules of court

Types of Court Rules

Rules of Civil Procedure
Govern the conduct of civil cases at the trial level
Rules of Evidence Govern whether information may be considered by the fact finder
Rules of Criminal Procedure Govern the conduct of criminal cases at the trial level
Rules of Appellate Procedure Govern the conduct of cases before an appellate court
Local Court Rules Govern the procedure in a particular local court and supplement other court rules

 

Sources for Court Rules

Print Appendixes to Titles 11, 18 and 28 of the U.S. Code
Cornell Legal Information Institute http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/Court_rules
LLRX Court Rules, Forms & Dockets http://www.llrx.com/courtrules
U.S. Courts Local District Court Rules https://www.uscourts.gov/rules-policies

 

Finding Annotated Court Rules

 Appendixes to Titles 11, 18 and 28 
All of the federal court rules with case annotations and references to secondary sources and (in the U.S.C.A.) to other West publications.

Strategies for finding history and secondary information for Federal and State Court Rules

  • Legaltrac/HeinOnline/Lexis and Westlaw -  Include name of jur and keywords associated with issue: "missouri and hearsay" or "illinois and physician and privilege".
  • Keycite and Shepard’s: Shepard’s provides references only for evidence provisions that are part of the statutes, not court rules. Keycite contains citing references identifies law review articles and practice materials.
  • Keyrules (Westlaw) Provides analysis of applicable rules and judicial holdings, as well as a checklist of tasks, forms, and timing considerations. Available for Federal Rules and selected states.
  •  Consult practice materials in your jurisdiction

Court Rules Research