Proposed Amendments to the Federal Rules and Forms Published for Public Comment: August 2011
Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure
- Appellate Rule 13 — adds a new subdivision (b) to make clear that permissive interlocutory appeals from the Tax Court are governed by Appellate Rule 5; revises existing provisions of Rule 13, governing appeals as of right, and places them in a new subdivision (a); deletes the definition of district court and district clerk; and amends the caption of Title III to reflect broadened application.
- Appellate Rule 14 — complements amendments to Appellate Rule 13 and addresses the applicability of the Appellate Rules to both appeals as of right and appeals by permission; and adds a definition of district court and district clerk.
- Appellate Rule 24 — makes revisions that more accurately reflect the status of the Tax Court as a judicial entity.
- Appellate Rule 28 — consolidates subdivisions (a)(6) and (a)(7) into a new subdivision that provides for just one statement, instead of separate statements of the case and of the facts.
- Appellate Rule 28.1 — reflects the amendment to Appellate Rule 28.
- Form 4 — substitutes a new question for two questions that seek information unnecessary to the determination of whether to allow a party to proceed in forma pauperis.
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure
- Bankruptcy Rule 1007 — relieves individual debtors of the obligation to file Official Form 23 if the provider of a personal financial management course notifies the court that the debtor has completed the course.
- Bankruptcy Rule 3007 — allows the use of a negative-notice procedure for claim objections and clarifies the manner for serving them.
- Bankruptcy Rule 5009 — reflects the amendment to Bankruptcy Rule 1007 by providing that the Clerk of Court is not required to send notice to a debtor if a course provider has already provided notice that the debtor completed a personal financial management course.
- Bankruptcy Rule 9006 — makes various changes to draw attention to the fact that the rule prescribes default deadlines for serving motions and written responses; and applies deadlines to any written response to a motion.
- Bankruptcy Rules 9013 and 9014 — conform to the amendments to Bankruptcy Rule 9006.
- Official Form 6C — reflects the Supreme Court’s decision in Schwab v. Reilly by permitting the debtor to state the value of the claimed exemption as the “full fair market value of the exempted property.”
- Official Form 7 — makes the definition of “insider” consistent with the definition in the Bankruptcy Code.
- Official Forms 22A and 22C — align the allowable deduction for telecommunication expenses with the IRS list of Other Necessary Expenses; also amends Form 22C to conform to the Supreme Court’s decision in Hamilton v. Lanning, by directing an above-median-income Chapter 13 debtor to list any changes in the reported income and expenses that have already occurred or are virtually certain to occur during the 12 months following the filing of the petition.
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
- Civil Rule 37 — makes technical and conforming amendments to those in Civil Rule 45.
- Civil Rule 45 — makes various changes to simplify the rule, including directing that the court where the action is pending is the “issuing court” and collecting in one new subsection all provisions about where compliance can be required; rejects the line of cases that found authority to compel parties or party officers to travel more than 100 miles from outside the state to testify at trial; and introduces limited authority for a court to transfer a subpoena-related motion to the court that issued the subpoena.
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
- Criminal Rule 11 — expands plea colloquy to advise a defendant of possible immigration consequences.
- Criminal Rule 12 — clarifies which motions must be raised before trial, if the basis for the motion is then reasonably available and a trial on the merits is not necessary to determine the motion; addresses the consequences of such a motion; and provides that Rule 52 does not apply to consideration of an untimely motion.
- Criminal Rule 34 — makes conforming amendments to those in Criminal Rule 12.
Federal Rules of Evidence
- Rule 803 — aligns Rule 803(10) with Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts by adding a notice-and-demand procedure that would require production of the person who prepared the certificate stating the absence of a public record only if the defendant, after receiving notice from the government, makes a timely pretrial demand for production of the witness.
Memorandum to the Bench, Bar, and Public on Proposed Amendments to the Federal Rules of Appellate, Bankruptcy, Civil, and Criminal Procedure, and the Federal Rules of Evidence August 2011 (pdf)
Brochure Summarizing Proposed Amendments to the Federal Rules August 2011 (pdf)
Reports of the Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules*
Report of the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules*
Report of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules*
Reports of the Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules*
Report of the Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules*
* The reports of the advisory rules committees contain the proposed rules and forms amendments.
Comments Submitted on Proposed Appellate Procedure Rules and Forms Amendments
Comments Submitted on Proposed Bankruptcy Procedure Rules and Forms Amendments
Comments Submitted on Proposed Civil Procedure Rules Amendments
Comments Submitted on Proposed Criminal Procedure Rules Amendments
Comments Submitted on Proposed Evidence Rules Amendment
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Suggestions on Submitting Effective Comments
Practical Checklist (pdf) **
** Copyright 1998 The American Law Institute. Reproduced with the permission from author and American Law Institute - American Bar Association Continuing Professional Education.