FJC Studies and Related Publications

Rules Committee Publications

Attorney Conduct

Working Papers of the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure: Special Studies of Federal Rules Governing Attorney Conduct (September 1997) (PDF)

Class Actions

Report to Congress on Class Action Settlements (February 2006) (PDF)

Working Papers of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules on Proposed Amendments to Civil Rule 23 (May 1, 1997), Vol. 1 (PDF)

Working Papers of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules on Proposed Amendments to Civil Rule 23 (May 1, 1997), Vol. 2 (PDF)

Working Papers of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules on Proposed Amendments to Civil Rule 23 (May 1, 1997), Vol. 3 (PDF)

Working Papers of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules on Proposed Amendments to Civil Rule 23 (May 1, 1997), Vol. 4 (PDF)

Costs

Taxation of Costs in Circuit Courts under FRAP 39 (April 2011) (PDF)

Discovery

Agenda Materials for Discovery Symposium, Vol. 1 (September 1997) (PDF)

Agenda Materials for Discovery Symposium, Vol. 2 (September 1997) (PDF)

Caselaw Study of Discovery Protective Orders Prepared by Andrea Kuperman, law clerk to Judge Lee H. Rosenthal (July 2010) (PDF)

Memorandum on Case Law Regarding Compelling Party Officers to Attend Trial in Distant Fora, Andrea Kuperman (November 2009) (PDF)

Memorandum on Laws Imposing Preservation Obligations, Kate David (December 15, 2010) (PDF)

Memorandum on Preservation and Sanctions (September 2011) (PDF)

Memorandum on Protection of Attorney-Expert Communications at Trial, Andrea Kuperman (December 2007) (PDF)

Memorandum re Case Law on Potential Preservation Rule (September 2010) (PDF) 

Survey of Issues Regarding Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45, Andrea Kuperman (March 2009) (PDF)

Survey re Criminal Rule 16 (April 2011) (PDF)

General Rulemaking Issues

Memorandum from Professor Frank R. Kennedy, Reporter, to Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules re Conforming Rule Making in Bankruptcy to Other Kinds of Rule Making in Federal Courts (November 10, 1960) (PDF)

Local Rules

Report on Local Rules Project (February 1, 2004) (PDF)

Report on Local Rules Project (June 21, 1990) (PDF)

Uniform Numbering System for Local Bankruptcy Court Rules (January 2012) (PDF)

Uniform Numbering System for Local Rules of Court (April 1996) (PDF)

Pleading

Caselaw Study on Post-Iqbal Cases (Rev. 11/23/11) (PDF)

Motions to Dismiss after Iqbal (March 2011) (PDF)

Privacy

Unredacted Social Security Numbers in Federal Court PACER Documents (Federal Judicial Center, 2015) (PDF)

Report to Congress on Privacy Rules (2009) (PDF)

Report to Congress on Privacy Rules (2011) (PDF)

Report to Congress on Privacy Rules (2022) (PDF)

Report to Congress on Privacy Rules (2024) (PDF)

Sealing

Memorandum on Statutes Requiring or Permitting Sealing (PDF)

Standing Orders

Guidelines on the Use of Standing Orders in Bankruptcy and District Courts (2009) (PDF)

Summary Judgment

Memorandum on Admissibility Requirements for Summary Judgment Affidavits, Andrea Kuperman (October 2008) (PDF)

Memorandum on Discretion to Deny Summary Judgment , Andrea Kuperman (January 2009) (PDF)

Memorandum on Use of "Deemed Admitted" Provisions in Local Summary Judgment Rules, Andrea Kuperman (April 2008) (PDF)

Law Review Publications

Bankruptcy Rules Made Easy (2001): A Guide to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that Apply in Bankruptcy, by Hon. Christopher M. Klein, 75 Am. Bankr. L. J. 35 (2001) (PDF)

The Citation of Unpublished Opinions in the Federal Courts of Appeal, by Professor Patrick J. Schiltz, 74 Fordham Law Review 23 (Oct. 2005) (PDF)

Public Comment on the Work of Federal Rules Committees, by Luther T. Munford (1998)* (PDF)

Renewal of the Federal Rulemaking Process, by Peter G. McCabe, 44 AM, U. L. Rev. 1655 (1995) (PDF)

Restyling the Civil Rules: Clarity Without Change, by Professor Edward H. Cooper, 79 Notre Dame L. Rev. 1761 (Oct. 2004)** (PDF)

* Copyright 1998 The American Law Institute. Reproduced with the permission of American Law Institute - American Bar Association Continuing Professional Education.

** Copyright 2004 University of Notre Dame; Edward H. Cooper. Posted with permission from copyright owners. Article obtained from Westlaw and posted with permission from West.

Administrative Office Publications

Guidelines for Drafting and Editing Court Rules, by Bryan A. Garner (1996) (PDF)

Notice on Statistical Information re Motions to Dismiss (June 2011) (PDF)

Federal Judicial Center Publications

Appellate Courts

Analysis of Briefing Requirements in the United States Courts of Appeals (October 2004) (PDF)

Bond Provisions under FRAP Rule 7 (2008) (PDF)

Citing Unpublished Federal Appellate Opinions Before 2007 (Mar. 2007) (PDF)

Citing Unpublished Opinions in Federal Appeals (2005) (PDF)

Attorney's Fees

Likely Consequences of Amendments to Rule 68, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (1995) (PDF)

Bankruptcy

Conference on Large Chapter 11 Cases (2004) (PDF)

Standards Governing Attorney Conduct in the Bankruptcy Courts (1999) (PDF)

Survey on the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (1996) (PDF)

Survey of Bankruptcy Judges Regarding Use of Rule 7026 Mandatory Disclosure in Adversary Proceedings (2004) (PDF)

Questionnaire on Use of Bankruptcy Rule 7026 (PDF)

Class Action

An Empirical Examination of Attorneys' Choice of Forum in Class Action Litigation (2005) (PDF)

An Empirical Study of Class Actions in Four Federal District Courts: Final Report to the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules (1996) (PDF)

Attorney Reports on the Impact of Amchem and Ortiz on Choice of a Federal or State Forum in Class Action Litigation (2004) (PDF)

Case Studies of Mass Tort Limited Fund Class Action Settlements and Bankruptcy Reorganizations (2000) (PDF)

Effects of Amchem/Ortiz on the Filing of Federal Class Actions: Report to the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules (September 9, 2002) (PDF)

Judicial Management of Mass Tort Bankruptcy Cases (2005) (PDF)

Individual Characteristics of Mass Torts Case Congregations (Appendix D of the Report of the Mass Torts Working Group) (January 1999) (PDF)

Interim Report on Class Action Fairness Study (May 22, 2006) (PDF)

Managing Class Action Litigation: A Pocket Guide for Judges (2005) (PDF)

Mass Tort Settlement Class Actions: Five Case Studies (1998) (PDF)

Progress Report on Class Action Study (November 2007) (PDF)

Second Interim Report on Class Action Fairness Study (September 7, 2006) (PDF)

Third Interim Report on Class Action Fairness Study (April 16, 2007) (PDF)

Fourth Interim Report on Class Action Fairness Study (April 2008) (PDF)

Preliminary Findings from Phase Two Class Action Fairness Study (2008) (PDF)

Complex Litigation

Manual for Complex Litigation, Fourth (2004) (PDF)

Mass Torts Problems and Proposals (Appendix C of the Report of the Mass Torts Working Group) (January 1999) (PDF)

Criminal Law

Crime Victims' Rights Act of 2004 and the Federal Court (October 24, 2005) (PDF)

Crime Victims' Rights Act of 2004 and the Federal Courts (rev. June 2, 2008) (PDF)

Discovery and Disclosure

A Qualitative Study of Issues Raised by the Discovery of Computer-Based Information in Civil Litigation (September 13, 2002) (PDF)

Annotated Bibliography of Electronic Discovery Case Law Review Articles (2002) (PDF)

Computer-Based Discovery in Federal Civil Litigation (published in Federal Courts Law Review, October 25, 2000) (PDF)

Managing Discovery of Electronic Information: A Pocket Guide for Judges (2007) (PDF)

National, Case-Based Civil Rules Survey (PDF)

Survey of Bankruptcy Judges Regarding Use of Rule 7026 Mandatory Disclosure in Adversary Proceedings (2004) (PDF)

Questionnaire on Use of Bankruptcy Rule 7026 (PDF)

Treatment of Brady v. Maryland Material in United States District and State Courts' Rules, Orders, and Policies (October 2004) (PDF)

Treatment of Brady v. Maryland Material in United States District and State Courts' Rules, Orders, and Policies (May 22, 2007) (PDF)

Evidence

Advisory Committee Notes to the Federal Rules of Evidence That May Require Clarification (1998) (PDF)

Case Law Divergence from the Federal Rules of Evidence (2000) (PDF)

Treatment of Brady v. Maryland Material in United States District and State Courts' Rules, Orders, and Policies (October 2004) (PDF)

Motions

Summary Judgment Practice under Local District Court Rules (2008) (PDF)

Trends in Summary Judgment Practice: 1975 - 2000 (PDF)

Research

Past and Potential Uses of Empirical Research in Civil Rulemaking (May 2002) (PDF)

Sanctions

Likely Consequences of Amendments to Rule 68, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (1995) (PDF)

Report of a Survey Concerning Rule 11, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (1995) (PDF)

Report of a Survey of United States District Judges' Experiences and Views Concerning Rule 11, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (2005) (PDF)

Sealing

Sealed Cases in Federal Courts (2009) (PDF)

Settlement

Likely Consequences of Amendments to Rule 68, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (1995) (PDF)

Sealed Settlement Agreements in Federal District Court (2004) (PDF)

Special Masters 

Special Masters' Incidence and Activity: A Report to the Judicial Conference's Advisory Committee on Civil Rules and Its Subcommittee on Special Masters (2000) (PDF)