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Federal RulemakingWhat's New
The latest version of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and the Federal Rules of Evidence, which incorporates rules amendments that took effect on December 1, 2009, are now posted. Links to the new rules can be found on the home page under the heading, Rules and Forms in Effect. The PDF documents contain hyperlinks and bookmarks, making navigation much easier. The documents are also text-searchable. Also posted is a new, complete set of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. The Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives publishes the Federal Rules of Practice and Procedure, including the Bankruptcy Rules, once every six years in the United States Code. Annual supplements to the United States Code only contain the text of the amendments to the rules. To fill the gap, the House Judiciary Committee ever year publishes the complete set of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and Federal Rules of Evidence. But Committee does not publish the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. Last year, at the request of the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules, the Administrative Office began compiling a up-to-date document containing all the amendments to the Bankruptcy Rules in one convenient place. The compilation was created by painstakingly comparing five versions of the bankruptcy rules using the electronic comparison tools in Word and WordPerfect. Then, whenever a discrepancy arose in the rules being compared, the underlying official source documents were checked — either the orders of the Supreme Court or Congressional legislation — to resolve the discrepancy. The rules also underwent a stringent editorial, proofreading, and legal review process to ensure that the rules were as accurate as possible. The complete set of the Bankruptcy Rules, which includes rules amendments that took effect on December 1, 2009, is also posted under Rules and Forms in Effect. Standing Rules Committee Meeting: January 2010 At its January 7-8, 2010, meeting, the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure reviewed the activities of the Advisory Committees on Appellate, Bankruptcy, Civil, Criminal, and Evidence Rules. The Committee held discussions on, among other things, the 2010 Litigation Review Conference to be held at Duke Law School on May 10-11, 2010; pleading standards in the light of recent Supreme Court rulings in Iqbal and Twombly; potential amendments to Fed. R. Civ. P. 45; and the government’s discovery obligations in criminal cases and potential amendments to Fed. R. Crim. P. 16. The Committee did not approve any proposed rules amendments or new rules. The Committee also did not approve publishing for public comment any proposed rules amendments or new rules. The agenda materials for the meeting are posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/Agenda_Books.htm. The Committee’s report to the Judicial Conference will be posted later this winter at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/reports.htm. Rules Amendments Effective 12/1/09 Congress has taken no action on the amendments to the Federal Rules of Appellate, Bankruptcy, Civil, and Criminal Procedure, approved by the Supreme Court on March 26, 2009, which include revisions of time periods in 91 rules. The following amendments to the rules on the computation of time therefore will take effect on December 1, 2009:
The following non-time computation amendments and new rules under the Federal Rules of Appellate, Bankruptcy, Civil, and Criminal Procedure will also take effect on December 1, 2009:
In accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 2074(a) and the March 26, 2009, Supreme Court orders, they will govern all proceedings commenced on or after December 1, 2009, and “insofar as just and practicable” all proceedings then pending. The time-computation changes are intended to make the federal rules on calculating time periods simpler, clearer, and consistent. The principal simplifying innovation is to count all days, including intermediate weekends and holidays, in computing time periods under the procedural rules. The current rules exclude intermediate weekends and holidays for some short time periods, resulting in inconsistency and unnecessary complication. In addition, all the deadlines in the rules were reviewed and most short periods were extended to offset the shift in the time-computation rules and to ensure that each period is reasonable. Advisory Rules Committees Actions: Fall 2009 Meetings Evidence Rules Committee Reviewed Proposed Rules Amendments At its November 20, 2009, meeting, the Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules reviewed suggested changes to the proposed style amendments to the Federal Rules of Evidence, which are currently out for public comment. The advisory committee also considered, but declined to adopt, suggested rules amendments proposed by a physicians’ interest group. The advisory committee also discussed a circuit split on the admissibility — under the hearsay exception for prior testimony — of grand jury testimony that is favorable to the accused. Finally, the advisory committee considered the recent Supreme Court decision in Melendez-Dias v. Massachusetts, 557 U.S. ___ (June 25, 2009), and its potential impact on the Evidence Rules. Agenda materials for the meeting are posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/Agenda_Books.htm. Appellate Rules Committee Considered Possible Rules Amendments At its November 5-6, 2009, meeting, the Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules considered a possible rule amendment involving interlocutory appeals in tax cases, as well as matters involving the filing of amicus briefs, the definition of “state” and Indian tribes, and possible changes to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4. No action was taken on any of the items. The agenda materials for the meeting are posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/Agenda_Books.htm. Criminal Rules Committee Approved for Publication Proposed New Rule; At its October 13-14, 2009, meeting, the Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules approved for publication a proposed new rule clarifying the procedures for obtaining an “indicative ruling.” The proposed new rule is intended to parallel and complement Appellate Rule 12.1 and Civil Rule 62.1, which are scheduled to take effect on December 1, 2009. The advisory committee will recommend to the Standing Committee at its January 2010 meeting that the proposed new rule be published for comment in summer 2010. The advisory committee also considered a request from the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan to amend Criminal Rule 16 “requiring the disclosure of all exculpatory information to the defense.” The matter was referred to the newly reconstituted Subcommittee on Rule 16 for further study. Agenda materials for the meeting are posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/Agenda_Books.htm Civil Rules Committee Considered Rulemaking Issues At its October 8-9, 2009, meeting, the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules considered status reports from its Planning Committee on the 2010 Conference, Subcommittee on Rule 45, Joint Subcommittee on Civil and Appellate Rules, and Subcommittee on Discovery. The Advisory Committee also considered matters involving pleading standards, protective orders, forms, service of process, and class actions. Agenda materials for the meeting are posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/Agenda_Books.htm. Bankruptcy Rules Committee Considered Rulemaking Issues At its October 1-2, 2009, the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules agreed to transmit to the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts suggested revisions to certain AO Director's Procedural Forms. The advisory committee also considered several proposed rules amendments, which were referred to the appropriate subcommittees for further study. Finally, the advisory committee approved proposed revisions to the "Guidelines for Distinguishing Between Matters Appropriate for Standing Orders and Matters Appropriate for Local Rules and for Posting Standing Orders on a Court’s Web Site," recently approved by the Judicial Conference at its September 2009 session. Agenda materials for the meeting are posted at: http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/Agenda_Books.htm. Judicial Conference Approved Proposed Amendments: September 2009 Session On September 15, 2009, the Judicial Conference met and approved the recommendations of the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure and approved the following proposed rules and forms amendments and new rules: •Appellate Rules 1, 4, and 29, and Form 4;The Judicial Conference also approved the proposed Guidelines for Distinguishing Between Matters Appropriate for Standing Orders and Matters Appropriate for Local Rules and for Posting Standing Orders on a Court’s Web Site and their transmission to the courts. The proposed amendments — with the exception of the Bankruptcy Official Forms — will be transmitted to the Supreme Court with a recommendation that they be approved and transmitted to Congress in accordance with the Rules Enabling Act. The revisions to Exhibit D of Official Form 1 and to Official Form 23 will take effect on December 1, 2009, in accordance with Bankruptcy Rule 9009. The Committee’s report and appendices containing the proposed amendments may be accessed by clicking on this link, http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/Reports/Combined_ST_Report_Sept_2009.pdf. The report and appendices may also be found on this page, http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/reports.htm. Changes to Interim Bankruptcy Rule 1007-I: Effective December 1, 2009 On November 18, 2008, the Executive Committee, on behalf of the Judicial Conference, approved two items to take effect on December 19, 2008: 1) revisions to Official Bankruptcy Form 22A; and 2) distribution to the district courts of proposed Interim Bankruptcy Rule 1007-I with a recommendation that it be adopted through a local rule or standing order. The revisions to the Official Form were technical and necessary to conform to changes made by the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008 (Pub. Law No. 110-438), which amended the Bankruptcy Code to exclude, in cases commenced in the three-year period after the effective date of the Act, certain members of the National Guard and Reserves from means testing in chapter 7 cases. Interim Rule 1007-I included time deadlines contained in Rule 1007, which will be revised effective December 1, 2009, unless Congress acts to the contrary, as part of a comprehensive package of changes to time periods in all the federal rules of practice and procedure. Courts that adopted Interim Rule 1007-I are being urged to consider revising the interim rule, making it consistent with the changed time deadlines in Rule 1007. Interim Bankruptcy Rule 1007-I is posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/bankform/index.html. The time computation rules amendments, which are scheduled to take effect on December 1, 2009, are contained in the advisory rules committees' reports and are posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/supct0309.html. Proposed Amendments Published for Comment : August 12, 2009 At its January and June 2009 meetings, the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure approved the recommendations of the Advisory Committees on Bankruptcy, Criminal, and Evidence Rules and approved for publication the following proposed rules and forms amendments and new rules:
The proposed amendments to the rules and may be accessed by clicking on the link, http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/newrules1.htm. The proposed amendments and new rules may also be accessed by clicking on the link titled “Proposed Rules Amendments Published for Comment” in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. The public comment period for the proposed amendments and new rules ends on February 16, 2010. Standing Rules Committee's Report to Judicial Conference: September 2009 At its June 1-2, 2009, meeting, the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure adopted the recommendations of the Advisory Committees on Appellate, Bankruptcy, Civil, Criminal, and Evidence Rules and approved the following proposed rules and forms amendments and new rule:
(Following its June 1-2, 2009, meeting, the Committee approved by email ballot technical amendments to Illustrative Civil Form 52 and Exhibit D to Bankruptcy Official Form 1.) The Committee will transmit the proposed rules and forms amendments to the Judicial Conference with a recommendation that they be approved and transmitted to the Supreme Court in accordance with law. (If approved by the Judicial Conference, the amendments to Bankruptcy Official Forms 1 and 23 will not be transmitted to the Supreme Court and will take effect on December 1, 2009, in accordance with Bankruptcy Rule 9009.) The Committee's September 2009 report to the Judicial Conference is now posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/jc0909.html and at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/reports.htm. Standing Rules Committee Approved Proposed Rules Amendments: June 2009 At its June 1-2, 2009, meeting, the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure adopted the recommendations of the Advisory Committees on Appellate, Bankruptcy, Civil, Criminal, and Evidence Rules and approved the following proposed rules amendments and new rules:
The Committee will now transmit the proposed new rules and amendments to the Judicial Conference with a recommendation that they be approved and transmitted to the Supreme Court. The proposed new rules and amendments will be available shortly and will be posted on the “Pending Rules Amendments Awaiting Final Action” page at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/newrules6.htm#proposed0809. The Committee also adopted the recommendations of the Advisory Committees on Bankruptcy, Civil, Criminal, and Evidence Rules and approved publishing for public comment the following proposed rules amendments and new rules:
The proposed amendments, which are expected to be published in August 2009, will be posted on the web site. The agenda materials for the meeting are posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/Agenda_Books.htm. The Committee’s report to the Judicial Conference will be posted later this summer at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/reports.htm. President Signed H.R. 1626 (Time-Computation Legislation) Into Law: May 7, 2009 On May 7, 2009, the President signed H.R. 1626, which amends 28 statutory deadlines making them consistent with time-computation amendments to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure approved by the Supreme Court on March 26, 2009. The House had approved H.R. 1626 on April 22, 2009. The Senate had approved H.R. 1626 on April 27, 2009. The effective date of the legislation is December 1, 2009, consistent with the expected effective date of the federal rules amendments. Advisory Committee Meetings : Spring 2009 Meetings Evidence Rules Committee Approved Proposed Rules Amendments At its April 23-24, 2009, meeting, the Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules approved a proposed amendment to Evidence Rule 804(b)(3), extending the corroborating circumstances requirement to all proffered declarations against penal interest, which was published for comment in August 2008. The advisory committee will forward its recommendation to the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure for consideration at its June 2009 meeting that the proposed rule amendment be transmitted to the Judicial Conference for consideration at its September 2009 session. If approved by the Judicial Conference, Supreme Court, and if Congress does not act otherwise, the proposed amendment is scheduled to take effect on December 1, 2010. The advisory committee also approved for publication proposed restyled Evidence Rules 801-1104. (The advisory committee had earlier approved for publication proposed restyled Evidence Rules 101-706.) The proposed style amendments are part of a larger project to restyle the entire Federal Rules of Evidence to make them simpler and easier to read without changing substantive meaning. The advisory committee will recommend to the Standing Committee that all the style amendments be published for comment in summer 2009. If approved, the proposed amendments will be posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/newrules1.htm. Agenda materials for the meeting are posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/Agenda_Books.htm.
At its April 20-21, 2009, meeting, the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules approved a proposed amendment to Civil Rule 8(c) deleting “discharge in bankruptcy” from the list of affirmative defenses, which was published for comment in August 2007. The advisory committee also approved, with slight modifications, proposed amendments to Civil Rules 26 (discovery of expert witnesses) and 56 (summary judgment), which were published for comment in August 2008. The advisory committee will forward its recommendation to the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure for consideration at its June 2009 meeting that the proposed rules amendments be transmitted to the Judicial Conference for consideration at its September 2009 session. If approved by the Judicial Conference, Supreme Court, and if Congress does not act otherwise, the proposed amendments are scheduled to take effect on December 1, 2010. Agenda materials for the meeting are posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/Agenda_Books.htm. Appellate Rules Committee Approved Proposed Rules and Form Amendments At its April 16-17, 2009, meeting, the Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules approved proposed amendments to Appellate Rules 1 (definition of “state”) and 29 (conforming amendment in light of the proposed definition of “state” and requiring amicus brief disclosure), and revisions to Appellate Form 4, which were published for comment in August 2008. The advisory committee will forward its recommendation to the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure for consideration at its June 2009 meeting that the proposed rules and form amendments be transmitted to the Judicial Conference for consideration at its September 2009 session. If approved by the Judicial Conference, Supreme Court, and if Congress does not act otherwise, the proposed amendments are scheduled to take effect on December 1, 2010. Agenda materials for the meeting are posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/Agenda_Books.htmCriminal Rules Committee Held Public Hearing and At its April 6-7, 2009, meeting, the Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules held a public hearing on proposed amendments to Criminal Rules 5, 12.3, 15, 21, and 32.1, which were published for comment in August 2008. An audio recording of the hearing ("podcast"), a list of witnesses appearing at the hearing, and statements of the witnesses are posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/podcast.cfm. A transcript of the hearing is also posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/proposed0809.html. Following the hearing, the advisory committee approved the proposed amendments to Criminal Rules 12.3, 15, 21, and 32.1, but declined to approve the proposed amendment to Criminal Rule 5. The advisory committee will forward its recommendation to the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure for consideration at its June 2009 meeting that the proposed rules amendments be transmitted to the Judicial Conference for consideration at its September 2009 session. If approved by the Judicial Conference, Supreme Court, and if Congress does not act otherwise, the proposed amendments will take effect on December 1, 2010. The advisory committee also approved the recommendations of its Subcommittee on Technology and approved for publication proposed amendments to Criminal Rule 1, 3, 4, 9, 32.1, 40, 41, 43, and 49, which incorporate emerging technology into the Criminal Rules. The advisory committee also approved for publication proposed amendments to Criminal Rules 12 (requiring that any motion challenging the sufficiency of an indictment be made pre-trial) and 34 (conforming amendment to Criminal Rule 12). The advisory committee will recommend to the Standing Committee that the amendments be published for comment in summer 2009. If approved, the proposed amendments will be posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/newrules1.htm. Agenda materials for the meeting are posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/Agenda_Books.htm. Bankruptcy Rules Committee Approved Proposed Rules and Forms Amendments At its March 26-27, 2009, meeting, the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules approved without modification proposed amendments to Bankruptcy Rules 1007, 1014, 1015, 1018, 1019, 5009, 9001, and new Rule 5012, which were published for comment in August 2008. The advisory committee approved, with slight modifications, proposed amendments to Bankruptcy Rules 4004 and 7001. (The advisory committee withheld proposed new Bankruptcy Rule 1004.2 because it expects to recommend that an additional amendment to the new rule be published for public comment in August 2009.) The advisory committee will forward its recommendation to the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure for consideration at its June 2009 meeting that the proposed rules amendments and new rule be transmitted to the Judicial Conference for consideration at its September 2009 session. If approved by the Judicial Conference, Supreme Court, and if Congress does not act otherwise, the proposed amendments and new rule are scheduled to take effect on December 1, 2010. The advisory also approved a conforming amendment to Official Bankruptcy Form 23, which is expected to take effect on December 1, 2010, concurrent with the anticipated effective date of the proposed amendment to Bankruptcy Rule 1007. Also approved was an amendment to Bankruptcy Rule 4001— with an expected effective date of December 2010 — making it consistent with similar time computation rules amendments scheduled to take effect in December 2009. Finally, the advisory committee endorsed the work of its Subcommittee on Privacy, Public Access, and Appeals on amending the Part VIII rules of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure governing bankruptcy appeals. The next special open meeting of the subcommittee is scheduled for September 30, 2009, in conjunction with the advisory committee’s October 1-2, 2009, meeting. Agenda materials for the meeting are posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/Agenda_Books.htm. Supreme Court Approved Rules : New Rules and Amendments Approved 3/26/09 On March 26, 2009, the Supreme Court of the United States approved the following proposed amendments on the computation of time under the Federal Rules of Appellate, Bankruptcy, Civil, and Criminal Procedure:
The Supreme Court also approved the following proposed non-time computation rules amendments and new rules:
The rules amendments will be transmitted to Congress in accordance with the Rules Enabling Act , and will take effect on December 1, 2009, unless Congress enacts legislation to reject, modify, or defer the amendments. The amendments may be accessed at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/supct0309.html. Judicial Conference Action : March 2009 Session On March 17, 2009, the Judicial Conference of the United States met to consider, among other things, the report of the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure. The Committee presented no action items to the Conference, but did report on pending rules projects. The Committee’s report is posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/Reports/ST01-2009.pdf. The report may also be found on this page, http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/reports.htm. Public Comment Period Ends: Rules Published August 2008 The public comment period ended on February 17, 2009, for the following proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Appellate, Bankruptcy, Civil, and Criminal Procedure, and the Federal Rules of Evidence, which were published for comment in August 2008:
The text of the proposed amendments and explanatory committee notes are contained in the advisory committee reports posted at: http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/proposed0810.html The comments submitted on the amendments, audio recordings of the public hearings, transcripts of the public hearings, and other information are posted at: http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/proposed0809.html Third Civil Rules Hearing: 2/2/09 On February 2, 2009, the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules held its third public hearing on proposed amendments to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 26 and 56. Audio recordings of the hearing are posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/podcast.cfm. You may listen to the hearing by clicking on the individual links or you may subscribe for free to receive future podcasts of select Rules Committee proceedings. Second Civil Rules Hearing: 1/14/09 On January 14, 2009, the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules held its second public hearing on proposed amendments to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 26 and 56. Audio recordings of the hearing are posted at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/podcast.cfm. You may listen to the hearing by clicking on the individual links or you may subscribe for free to receive future podcasts of select Rules Committee proceedings, including the third and final public hearing on proposed amendments to Civil Rules 26 and 56. "Quick Links" of Frequently Used Rules Committee Records: Available Now We have created a new feature on the Federal Rulemaking web site called "Quick Links." This new feature contains links to frequently used Rules Committee records and information. The purpose of "Quick Links" is to gather in one place these links for faster, more efficient access. Our "Quick Links" are divided into two categories: (1) links relating to the Federal Rules, including current rules and forms in effect, proposed rules amendments that take effect in the future, and comments received on proposed rules amendments; and (2) links relating to the Rules Committees, such as the committee reports, committee minutes, committee agenda materials, and schedule of upcoming committee meetings and hearings. We have posted the "Quick Links" for the Bankruptcy Rules at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/bkrules.html. We will soon add similar links for the remaining Federal Rules of Practice, Procedure, and Evidence. New Interim Bankruptcy Rule 1007-I and Revised Official Form 22A: Effective December 19, 2008 On November 18, 2008, the Executive Committee on behalf of the Judicial Conference approved technical amendments to Official Bankruptcy Form 22A and the transmission of new Interim Rule 1007-I to the district courts with a recommendation that it be adopted through local rule or standing order to implement the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-438. (The Act excludes certain members of the National Guard and Reserves from means testing in chapter 7 bankruptcy cases, which are commenced in the three-year period beginning December 19, 2008.) The Interim Rule and the amended form can be found at http://www.uscourts.gov/bankform/index.html. |
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