Guides: Federal Court Rules Research Guide: Home & Quick Chart

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About this Guide

This guide covers important sources for finding federal court rules as well as materials that help in the interpretation of those rules (i.e., federal rules' legislative history, cases interpreting federal rules, secondary sources) and federal procedural forms.

For a quick list of sources where you can find the text of federal court rules themselves (without detailed descriptions of the sources, and without information on secondary sources, forms, or case law) see our Quick Reference Chart, below

For information on researching state court rules, see our State Research Guides.

Understanding Federal Court Rules

Court rules prescribe procedures for practice in the courts. They answer such questions as:

How is a suit filed in that court?
What evidence is admissible at trial?
What are grounds for appeal?

There are two basic types of federal court rules:

rules of general applicability, which apply in all of the federal courts at a given level (e.g., the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which apply in all U.S. District Courts; or the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, which apply in all U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal), and
local rules that apply only in the individual courts which have adopted them (e.g., the Local Rules of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, which apply only in that specific district court). These can either supplement or replace rules of general applicability in that court.

There are also separate rules for federal courts with special jurisdiction, such as military courts, the United States Tax Court, and the United States Court of International Trade.

Quick Reference Chart

This chart provides a quick guide to the most convenient sources of federal court rules in the Georgetown Law Library, on the Web, and on Lexis and Westlaw. This is not a comprehensive list of sources. For detailed guidance, refer to one of the other pages of this guide (refer to the Contents, top left).

Rules	Quick Locations
U.S. Supreme Court	Web: Court Rules (supremecourt.gov) Westlaw: Rules of the Supreme Court of the United States Lexis: USCS - Federal Rules Annotated (scroll to "Rules of the Supreme Court of the United States" to browse or add as search filter) Print: West's Federal Civil Judicial Procedure and Rules United States Code Annotated, refer to Title 28 rules volumes United States Code Service, refer to rules volumes after Title 50
Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure	Web: Rules of Appellate Procedure (uscourts.gov) Westlaw: Rules of Appellate Procedure Lexis: USCS - Federal Rules Annotated (scroll to "Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure" to browse or add as search filter) Print: West's Federal Civil Judicial Procedure and Rules United States Code Annotated, refer to Title 28 rules volumes United States Code Service, refer to rules volumes after Title 50
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure	Web: Rules of Civil Procedure (uscourts.gov) Westlaw: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for the U.S. District Courts Lexis: USCS - Federal Rules Annotated (scroll to "Federal Rules of Civil Procedure" to browse or add as search filter) Print: West's Federal Civil Judicial Procedure and Rules United States Code Annotated, refer to Title 28 rules volumes United States Code Service, refer to rules volumes after Title 50
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure	Web: Rules of Criminal Procedure (uscourts.gov) Westlaw: Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure for the U.S. District Courts Lexis: USCS - Federal Rules Annotated (scroll to "Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure" (not "Courts of Criminal Appeals," which actually pertains to military courts) to browse or add as search filter) Print: West's Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure United States Code Annotated, refer to Title 18 rules volumes United States Code Service, refer to rules volumes after Title 50
Federal Rules of Evidence	Web: Federal Rules of Evidence (uscourts.gov) Westlaw: Federal Rules of Evidence Lexis: USCS - Federal Rules Annotated (scroll to "Federal Rules of Evidence" to browse or add as search filter) Print: West's Federal Civil Judicial Procedure and Rules United States Code Annotated, refer to Title 28 rules volumes United States Code Service, refer to rules volumes after Title 50
Local Rules of Federal District Courts, Bankruptcy Courts, and Courts of Appeals	Web: Section 205 of the E-Government Act of 2002 (Pub. L. No. 107-347) requires that federal courts post local rules on their websites. Use the Court Website Links directory to locate the website of a specific federal court. Westlaw: Rules of each of the Courts of Appeals can be found with the USCA (scroll to list of circuits, located between Titles 28 and 29). To find the rules of a federal district or bankruptcy court, visit the Federal Local Court Rules page and select a state or territory, then a court. Lexis: Rules of the Courts of Appeals can be found in USCS - Federal Rules Annotated (scroll to list of circuits towards bottom of page). To find the rules of a federal district or bankruptcy court from the main page, select the "State" tab (in the Explore Content box), choose your state, and click the Table of Contents icon () beside "state and federal court rules" (or equivalent), which will be located under the "Statutes & Legislation" heading. You can now scroll to the specific court to browse its rules or add them as a search filter.
Supplemental Rules for Admiralty or Maritime Claims and Asset Forfeiture Actions	Web: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, FRCP Title XIII (Cornell LII) Westlaw: Supplemental Rules for Admiralty or Maritime Claims and Asset Forfeiture Actions (included with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure) Lexis: USCS - Federal Rules Annotated (scroll to "Supplemental Rules for Admiralty and Maritime..." to browse or add as search filter) Print: West's Federal Civil Judicial Procedure and Rules United States Code Annotated, refer to Title 28 rules volumes United States Code Service, refer to rules volumes after Title 50
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure	Web: Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (uscourts.gov) Westlaw: Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Lexis: USCS - Federal Rules Annotated (scroll to "Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure...", bottom of list, to browse or add as search filter) Print: United States Code Annotated, refer to Title 11 rules volumes United States Code Service, refer to rules volumes after Title 50
Rules of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims	Web: Rules and Forms (U.S. Court of Federal Claims) Westlaw: Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims Lexis: USCS - Federal Rules Annotated (scroll to "Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims" to browse or add as search filter) Print: United States Code Annotated, refer to Title 28 rules volumes United States Code Service, refer to rule volumes after Title 50
Rules of the U.S. Court of International Trade	Web: USCIT Rules, Forms, Guidelines, and Administrative Orders Westlaw: Rules of the United States Court of International Trade Lexis: USCS - Federal Rules Annotated (scroll to "Rules of the United States Court of International Trade" to browse or add as search filter) Print: United States Code Annotated, refer to Title 28 rules volumes United States Code Service, refer to rule volumes after Title 50
Rules of the U.S. Tax Court	Web: Rules of Practice and Procedure (U.S. Tax Court) Westlaw: Rules of Practice and Procedure of the United States Tax Court Lexis: USCS - Federal Rules Annotated (scroll to "Rules of Practice and Procedure of the United States Tax Court" to browse or add as search filter) Print: United States Code Annotated, refer to end of Title 26 United States Code Service, refer to rule volumes after Title 50
Rules of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces	Web: Rules of Practice and Procedure (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces) Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (USC Title 10 App.) (Cornell LII) Westlaw: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces Rules of Practice and Procedure (located in Title 10, Chapter 47, Subchapter IX - Post-Trial Procedure and Review of Courts-Martial) Lexis: USCS - Federal Rules Annotated (scroll to "United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces" to browse or add as search filter) Print: United States Code Annotated, refer to Title 10 following section 867 United States Code Service, refer to rules volumes after Title 50
Rules of the [Military] Courts of Criminal Appeals	Web: Courts of Criminal Appeals Rules of Practice and Procedure (32 CFR Part 150) (Cornell LII) Courts of Criminal Appeals (USC Title 10 App.) (Cornell LII) Westlaw: Subchapter IX - Post-Trial Procedure and Review of Courts-Martial) Researchers may also want to consult 32 CFR Part 150, as annotations differ. Lexis: USCS - Federal Rules Annotated (expand "Courts of Criminal Appeals" to reveal "Courts of Criminal Appeals Rules of Practice and Procedure," which you can then browse or add as search filter) Researchers may also want to consult 32 CFR Part 150, as annotations differ. Print: United States Code Annotated, refer to Title 10 following section 866 United States Code Service, refer to rule volumes after Title 50
Rules for Courts-Martial and Rules of Military Evidence	Web: Manual for Courts-Martial Military Rules of Evidence 2015 Amendments to the Manual for Courts-Martial (Federal Register) Lexis: Military Manual for Courts-Martial Westlaw : Manual for Courts-Martial Also potentially relevant may be Army Regulation 27-10 (AR 27-10).