The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are guidelines used by US district courts to determine civil cases. They were established in 1938 and have undergone significant revisions, with the 2007 version containing 11 chapters and 86 rules. Reading the rules is recommended for anyone involved in a federal civil process.
The federal rules of civil procedure are a set of practices and guidelines used by district courts in the United States to determine civil cases. They are technically exclusive to federal-level courts, although many US states have adopted nearly identical rules of procedure for civil procedure. Changes or additions to federal rules of civil procedure go through a dual approval process by the US Supreme Court and the US Congress.
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, or FRCP, were established in 1938 and have undergone significant revisions since inception. Between 1938 and 2006 no less than ten major revisions were adopted. In 2007, a historic decision made it possible to stylistically update almost the entire text, making it easier for modern lawyers to clearly understand the rules.
Prior to the creation and adoption of the FRCP, filing a lawsuit in federal civil court was a complicated and risky process. In a system called the common law charge, plaintiffs had to formulate the demands of the case extremely carefully, as the omission of a necessary word or phrase in the plea could result in the entire case being set aside permanently. A major goal of federal civil procedure rules was to relax these stringent and often incomprehensible standards.
Although revisions may alter the document over time, the 2007 version of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure contains 11 chapters and 86 rules, although due to revisions there are no rules numbered 74-76. The 11 chapters cover every aspect of a civil trial in the federal court system, providing comprehensive guidance on procedural rules for both litigants and the presiding judge.
The first chapter serves primarily as a preamble to the rest of the document, stating the mission of the federal rules of civil procedure and that the document covers all federal cases known as civil actions. The FRCP then proceeds expeditiously through the entire timeline of a civil suit, from the filing of the suit through to the remedies allowed after the judgment. The last three chapters cover special circumstances, behavior of the court and clerks, and a more in-depth section defining where the FRCP applies.
Reading the federal civil procedure rules is often recommended for anyone involved in a federal civil process. Since the 2007 language update, the wording of the FRCP is often quite easy to understand. Reading the document can give anyone interested in federal court rules of procedure a clear overview of how trials are conducted, managed, and adjudicated. Several versions of the FRCP are readable online, while some websites also provide helpful summaries and explanations of the finer points.
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