Introduction
Use either a set of court rules in your law library, or sign on to Westlaw or Lexis to complete this exercise.
The rules that govern civil court actions are usually called the Rules of Civil Procedure. For instance, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (F.R.C.P.) govern trials in federal trial courts.
Court rules are the bridge between evidence and litigation. The evidence constitutes relevant facts. Court rules determine the procedure for how and if those facts will be used in the litigation.
Paralegal Perspectives . . .
RULES, RULES, RULES !
Court rules are not hard to research, but make sure you use the right index! This is a common mistake beginning paralegals make. Some books containing court rules actually contain multiple sets of rules. Some local. Some state wide. So first thing, make sure you are in the correct set of rules for your research situation. As a working paralegal you may want to obtain a soft bound set of rules to keep at your desk. West Publishing has a collection of state and federal court rules for most states. Consider investing in that volume and becoming very familiar with the contents, which will include federal trial court rules (local to that District), federal appellate court rules for that jurisdiction, and most local and state-wide rules for that state. |
