This research guide is intended to provide information about where to find the rules of court for the state courts of Arizona and the federal courts. Both print and online sources are included in this guide. The court rules provide the rules of procedure and the rules governing the conduct of people having contact with the court. Included is a list of secondary print sources that can be useful in researching the interpretation of the rules and to research how courts have applied the rules.
You may notice references to local, general, federal and state rules. “Local” rules refer to those court rules of conduct and procedure that are required by specific courts within a jurisdiction. For example, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has rules that only apply to that particular court and no other. “General” rules are those that are required of all courts within a particular jurisdiction. The Federal Rules of Evidence is one set of general rules which are required in all federal courts. You must be aware of all rules that apply in your court of concern.
The call numbers on this page link to library catalog records, which provide information about location, availability, and currency of each item in the Ross-Blakley Law Library.
Westlaw and LexisNexis links will take you to the specified database if you have a password. These links work better if you are already logged in. The College of Law provides Westlaw and LexisNexis passwords to its law faculty, staff, and students. Links to external websites will open in a new tab or window.
A. Print
Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated: KFA2430 1956 .A2 Published by Thomson West, the Arizona Revised Statutes in print contains the official text of the Arizona statutes. The ARS is fully annotated and includes notes of decisions, cross-references to other library resources, and law review citations. The library holds a number of copies; follow the call-number link above for location information.
The A.R.S. Annotated contains the following court rules:
Arizona Rules of Court, State: KFA2430 1956 .A2 State Rules Published by Thomson West, the Arizona Rules of Court, State is unannotated and includes the following general and Arizona state court rules:
B. Online
State of Arizona: Court Rules http://azrules.westgroup.com/home/azrules/default.wl It provides free access to the unannotated Arizona local and general state court rules. Provided and maintained by Thomson West. Requires registration before access is granted.
Arizona Court Rules Forum http://www.supreme.state.az.us/rules/ Includes links to current rules, amendments to the rules that do not appear in the current rules and rule change petitions pending before the Arizona Supreme Court. Also provides a guide for filing petitions and comments.
Federal Local Court Rules KF8820 .A193 2001 The Federal Local Court Rules is a 7 volume loose-leaf set located in the reserve collection of the law library. It is arranged alphabetically by state and contains the federal district court rules for the 94 districts in the federal court system. The final volume contains the rules for each of the 11 circuit Courts of Appeals.
Bankruptcy Code Rules & Forms KF1511.596 .A2 The Bankruptcy Code Rules & Forms is published by Thomson West and includes Title 11 of the US Code and related statutes, as well as amendments to Title 11. Also includes the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence. It includes the official Bankruptcy forms.
Arizona Rules of Court, Federal KFA2430 1956 .A2 Fed. Rules The Arizona Rules of Court, Federal contains the rules required in the federal courts which are located in the state of Arizona. The contents of this volume include:
U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/documents.nsf/FRAP+and+Circuit+Rules?OpenView Provides access to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (FRAP) & Local Circuit Rules. Provides the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (FRAP) amendments and the latest Ninth Circuit Local Rules amendments. The PDF version is available for download. There are links to other courts including the other circuit Courts of Appeals, District Courts and Bankruptcy Court within the circuit.
US District Court: District of Arizona http://www.azd.uscourts.gov/azd/courtinfo.nsf/local+rules+2004?openview The local rules and archive of past rules are available back to 2004. It includes the Local Rules of Civil Procedure, Local Rules of Criminal Procedure, Local Rules of Evidence, and Local Rules of Bankruptcy Appeal Procedure. It includes amendments to the local rules and archives.
US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona http://www.azb.uscourts.gov/default.aspx?PID=16 PDF downloads are available for all of the local rules and interim rules for the District of Arizona Bankruptcy Court. This site provides links to individual local rules in Web format and PDF downloads to all of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel Rules for the Ninth Circuit.
United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.) (Appendices to Title 28) Law Core Published by Thomson West, the set includes annotations to court decisions and detailed indexes. It includes the following court rules:
United States Code Service (U.S.C.S.) (Rules volumes) Law Core Published by LexisNexis, and also annotated, the rules volumes located after Title 50 in the USCS set provide comprehensive coverage for the following:
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure KF8816 .A1976 Published by Thomson West, this volume includes the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure along with annotations, analysis and commentary about the rules.
Federal Criminal Code and Rules KF9607 .F41 Published by Thomson West, this volume includes the following:
Federal Criminal Rules Handbook KF9607 .F442 Contains coverage of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure with analysis and discussion of how the rules may apply to various cases.
Federal Civil Judicial Procedure and Rules KF8816 .A194 Published by Thomson West, this volume includes the following rules:
Federal Rules of Evidence Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre/ It includes the text of the rules of evidence as followed in the federal civil and criminal courts.
United States Courts Federal Rulemaking http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/newrules4.html Contains rules published for comment, pending and completed rules amendments. Includes information about pending legislation which may affect the rules and includes information on the federal rule making process. Provides the following rules in PDF:
Also provides the following local court rules:
US Code: Title 28: Appendix http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title28a/28a_4_.html Information provided by the Government Printing Office (GPO). It includes the text of the Rules of Civil Procedure for the US District Courts, the Appendix of Forms, and the supplemental rules for certain admiralty and maritime claims.
Supreme Court of the US Court Rules http://www.supremecourtus.gov/ctrules/ctrules.html This website provides the rules for the United States Supreme Court. It includes information about revisions to the rules and information for counsel about the rules. It provides the current rules and the prior version of the rules.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/contents.html The court's website provides the Rules for the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit available to download in PDF. Some forms in PDF are also available. The court has nationwide jurisdiction on a variety of subjects. Appeals come from the federal district courts, the United States Court of Federal Claims, the United States Court of International Trade, and the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. For more information about the court, go to http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/about.html.
Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims http://www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/rules-united-states-court-federal-claims Rules are available to download in entirety or read individually on the web. Printer-friendly version is offered. Amongst the cases the court hears are those involving tax refunds, government contracts, environmental and natural resource issues, civilian and military pay questions and intellectual property, Indian tribe, and various statutory claims. For more information about the court, go to http://www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/about-court.
Rules of the US Court of International Trade http://www.cit.uscourts.gov/Rules/new-rules-forms.htm The site provides a complete list of the Rules of the US Court of International Trade. Can browse table of contents and click on individual section which is available in PDF. For more information about the court, go to http://www.cit.uscourts.gov/informational/about.htm.
Rules of the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims http://www.vetapp.uscourts.gov/court_procedures/ This site includes the court rules and procedures for the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. User is able to browse table of contents and read rules individually. It includes the rules on admission and practice in this court. The court has exclusive jurisdiction to provide judicial review of decisions of the Board of Veterans' Appeals. For more information about the court, go to http://www.vetapp.gov/.
Rules of the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces http://www.armfor.uscourts.gov/Rules.htm The website includes the current rules and pending changes. Rules are browsed in PDF with table of content links on left side menu. Click on links to read individual rules. The court has worldwide appellate jurisdiction over members of the US military. For more information about the court and its jurisdiction, go to http://www.armfor.uscourts.gov/Establis.htm.
Rules of the US Tax Court http://www.ustaxcourt.gov/notice.htm The website provides the rules of practice and procedure for the US Tax Court. There are links available to each title with the dates of amendments. The court has the jurisdiction to hear taxpayers' deficiency rulings. For more information about the court, go to http://www.ustaxcourt.gov/about.htm.
GPO Access http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/house/house10cp109.html Links to general rules in PDF and text. The Government Printing Office is charged with distributing information about the US government. For the homepage and links to other information provided by the GPO, go to http://www.gpoaccess.gov/index.html.
LLRX http://www.llrx.com/courtrules Links to over 1,400 sources for state and federal court rules, forms and dockets. You can browse to find the resource you need, or search by keyword.
Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/federal/usjudic.html Library of Congress research guide with excellent links to the federal courts websites. To access the homepage of the Law Library of Congress and for links to more of its collection go to http://www.loc.gov/law/.
Federal Appellate Practice: 9th Circuit KF9054 9th .F44 1999 This 2 volume set covers ninth circuit federal practice and procedure. It includes information on the appellate process, procedure, rules and general orders. It is updated semiannually with a cumulative supplement.
Federal Criminal Code and Rules KF9607 .F41 Provides commentary and interpretation of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Federal Rules of Evidence, Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rules of the U.S. Supreme Court, and Rules for the Alien Terrorist Removal Court of the United States, Title 18 of the US Code, the U.S. Constitution, and selected sections of USCA.
Federal Practice & Procedure KF8840 .W7 Most often referred to by its authors, Wright and Miller, provides in-depth analysis of each federal rule as applied by the courts. Also includes citations to cases, statutes and other relevant material.
Federal Rules of Evidence Digest KF8935 .F431 The digest provides citations to cases that have interpreted the Federal Rules of Evidence. Cases cited can be found in the West's® Federal Reporter® System and the Federal Rules of Evidence Service.
Federal Rules of Evidence Service KF8935 .F43 This service provides the selected text of cases that have construed the rules of evidence.
Federal Rules Digest KF8830.1 .F43 1973 This Thomson West digest contains cases interpreting and applying the federal rules. Citations are to cases in West's Federal Reporter.
Moore's Federal Practice KF8820 .A313 M63 1997 Moore's is considered one of the most authoritative treatises on federal practice. Included is the full text of the rules as well as analysis and interpretation of the rules through case law and comments.
Moore's Federal Rules Pamphlet KF8820 .A313 M64 The Pamphlet is 4 volumes, each devoted to a set of rules. Volume 1 covers civil rules including Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, the U.S. Supreme Court Rules and the Rules of Procedure of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. Volume 2 covers the Federal Rules of Evidence. Volume 3 covers the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and Federal Habeas Corpus Procedural Rules. Volume 4 covers the Federal Judicial Code. Each volume includes commentary and case annotations.
McCormick on Evidence KF8935 .M29 2006 McCormick provides in-depth analysis of the rules of evidence. Included is analysis of experimental and scientific evidence. Also analyzes and discusses the effect changes in modern technologies have on evidence.
The Law of Federal Courts KF8840 .W73 2002 This treatise explains the US federal court structure and procedure. Some topics covered include: federal questions, structure, jurisdiction, venue, diversity of citizenship, and procedure in federal courts.
Supreme Court Practice KF9057 .S8 2007 Published by BNA, this volume contains information on all aspects of practicing law before the US Supreme Court. The authors give advice on preparing petitions for certiorari, briefs and motions. It includes checklists for filing an action in the court. There is a discussion of how to file In Forma Pauperis. The authors provide an in-depth analysis of the rules.
A. Rules
B. Secondary Sources
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