• What are court rules?

Court rules govern the conduct of business before courts. They dictate how trials are conducted from commencement of an action through motions for post-judgment relief.

• What are the federal court rules?

Federal rules include: Federal Rules of Evidence, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, rules of the Supreme Court of the United States, Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, and Local Rules for Circuit Courts of Appeal and United States District Courts. Current rules in effect are at the official website of the U.S. Judiciary

There are also federal rules governing procedure in specialized courts, such as U.S. Court of Federal Claims, U.S. Court of International Trade, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals, Alien Terrorist Removal Court, Bankruptcy Courts (specialized U.S. District Courts), and the U.S. Tax Court.

Many state courts' rules of civil, criminal and/or evidence procedure are patterned after federal rules. Massachusetts, however, as not adopted evidence rules based on the Federal Rules of Evidence.

• What is the distinction between a rule and a regulation?

By convention, the term "regulation" usually refers to substantive rules promulgated by administrative agencies in the executive, rather than the judicial, branch of government.

• Rule-making authority

Enabling legislation: the Judicial Code
The United States Constitution, in Articles 1-3, created the judiciary branch and defined its powers. Congress delegated rule-making authority to courts. 28 U.S.C.A. §§ 2072-2075 (2000).

Promulgation.
District Courts may promulgate local court rules, generally after public notice and comment. Emergency rules may be created with after-the-fact notice and comment. The United States Supreme Court promulgates rules of general applicability for District Courts and Courts of Appeal. The Judicial Conference may appoint advisory committees, comprised of attorneys, judges and scholars, who submit rules to the Conference's Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure. Proposed rules are published in the Federal Register to initiate a 6-month public comment period. Title 28 of the U.S. Code created oversight of rule promulgation: (1) a judicial council for District Courts (one for each circuit); (2) a single Judicial Conference for other federal courts. Meetings of the Judicial Conference are usually public. The Judicial Conference may forward rules to the Supreme Court, which may order their promulgation. Rules must be submitted to Congress by May 1 of the year created and automatically take effect on December 1 of that year unless Congress acts to the contrary. See The Rulemaking Process: A Summary for the Bench and Bar, by Leonidas Ralph Mecham, Director, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

• NESL library resources:

One copy of United States Code Annotated, the most recent pamphlet editions (one-volume paperback editions) of federal rules, and federal local court rules for the District of Massachusetts (e.g., The Rules, KFM2929.A2) are on Reserve, as well as selected titles containing rules commentary and annotations, including CD-ROM titles (ex. Evidentiary Foundations: The Interactive Courtroom, Federal Practice & Procedure by Wright & Miller) and audio-format materials. Older rules pamphlet editions, duplicate and older sets of rules commentary, case finders (digests), case reporters (judicial opinions), and Shepard's citators (for updating rules) are in the main collection in print format as listed below, and in online databases as indicated. Consult NESL online catalog, Portia, for call numbers.

Title	Location
U.S.C.A. (Appendices to Title 28)	2nd Floor. Westlaw.
U.S.C.S. (Rules volumes)	1st & 2nd Floors. Lexis.
Federal Local Court Rules	Upper Mezzanine
Federal Register (posts proposed rules)	2nd Floor, microform. Lexis, Westlaw.
Massachusetts Rules of Court, Federal	1st Floor, Basement-State
Case reporters, including Federal Rules Decisions(includes cases not duplicated in F. Supp	1st & 2nd Floors. Westlaw, Lexis.
Bankruptcy Code Rules & Forms	Lower Mezzanine
Bankruptcy Rules, Practice Comments	Lower Mezzanine
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure	Upper Mezzanine, Westlaw, Lexis.
Federal Civil Judicial Procedure & Rules	Upper Mezzanine
O'Connor's Federal Rules, Civil Trials	Upper Mezzanine
Federal Procedure Rulels Service	Upper Mezzanine
Moore's Federal Practice	Upper Mezzanine, Lexis.
Federal Practice & Procedure, by Wright & Miller	Upper Mezzanine, Westlaw.
Federal Rules Service	Upper Mezzanine
The Law of Federal Courts	Upper Mezzanine
Federal Rules of Evidence with Advisory Committee Notes & Legislative History	Upper Mezzanine, Westlaw.
Federal Rules of Evidence Service	Upper Mezzanine.
Evidence in Trials at Common Law, by Wigmore	Upper Mezzanine, Lexis.
The New Wigmore	Upper Mezzanine.
Evidentiary Foundations, by Imwinkelreid	Upper Mezzanine
McCormick on Evidence	Upper Mezzanine, Westlaw.
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure	Upper Mezzanine, Lexis, Westlaw.
Orfield's Criminal Procedure under Federal Rules	Upper Mezzanine.
The Judicial Code of Rules of Procedure in the Federal Courts	Upper Mezzanine.





Research tips:

The federal judiciary's official website on the federal rules of practice is comprehensive and timely. http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/index.html It contains the text of the Rules Enabling Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2071-2077, legislation pending in the current session of Congress that may affect the rules, other proposed rules, pending rule changes, approved rules, descriptive information about the Judicial Conference and the rule-making process. Links to local court rules of the U.S. Courts of Appeals and District Courts are provided for all jurisdictions except the Rhode Island District Court. Local court rules of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panels in the 1st, 8th, 9th, and 10th circuits are also linked. There are also selected articles published by the Federal Judicial Center and selected law review articles. Note also: The Code of Conduct for United States Judges.

Lexis and Westlaw have individual databases for each set of current statutory federal court rules, but not local federal court rules.

Westlaw also has the database FRD-RULES, which contains federal rules which have been amended or changed (published in Federal Rules Decisions). Documents from the five advisory committees of the Judicial Conference are in Westlaw's US-RULESCOMM.

Update statutory rules and federal local court rules in Shepard's Federal Rules Citator. To find orders amending statutory rules on Westlaw, select database US-ORDERS. In Lexis, from the jurisdictional rule database you have selected, rule text is accompanied by a link to "review court orders which may amend this rule" at the top of the document.

To find proposed rules in print-format Federal Register, use Table of Contents entry "Judicial Conference of the United States".

Federal rules, the U.S. Code, and the Federal Register are also available on the web product LOIS, available to NESL faculty, students, and staff. See a Reference Librarian for NESL school code and then select your own individual user I.D. and password. This product is convenient for summer use and for use with student internships where Westlaw and Lexis contracts prohibit use. Other authorized patrons using NESL library may sign on with the assistance of the NESL Reference Librarian.

Case finding: relevant West topic and key numbers for use in West's Federal Practice Digests and on Westlaw include:

topic 106, key numbers 78-86	Courts - Rules of Court and Conduct of Business
topic 110, key numbers 304-572	Criminal Law - Evidence
topic 157	Evidence
topic 170A	Federal Court Procedure
topic 170 B	Federal Courts