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In this lesson, you will learn how to find local rules, where to find them, and the resources most local jurisdictions have available. You’ll also learn step-by-step to read a local rule and understand the content.
Finding, Using, and Citing Local Rules
- Where do I find local rules?
- Resources for federal-local rules
- Resources for state-local rules
- Local rules in the context
- ALWD Citation guide for local rules
- Citation rules in the context
Transcript
The best place to find local rules is the website of the court you\’ll appear before. How do you find these websites?
Well, a Google search will get you there. Other sources we\’ve covered in this course will also help you get there.
For instance, to find federal local rules, consult PACER, uscourts.gov or Justia at the web addresses listed here.
For states and municipalities, the best site is the National Center for State Courts. To make your court easier to find, it lists each state along with its courts and a court structure chart. Yale University also has a research guide that lists local rules, and then there\’s Justia, which gives you a path to local rules.
Let\’s look at a local rule in context. The scenario we\’ve been dealing with throughout this course about Preston, who sues psychologist Merrill for negligent infliction of emotional distress, is governed by a local rule.
The rule says, among other things, that after Merrill files his answer, the parties shall exchange copies of all available and relevant medical records.
That is the nitty gritty of what is to be expected in medical negligence cases in that specific court.
It\’s rarely necessary to include local rules in your motion. Still, it\’s good to know how to cite it. The Association of Legal Writing Directors provides a handbook of local court citation rules in each state. If their description of the rule is not enough, use other motions or appellate cases as examples.
This is a citation rule telling you to put the letter \’R\’ then a period and number of section of a rule after that.
This is how the rule might look in the text: state the rule, then put \’R\’ and rule number. It doesn\’t have to be perfect. Do the best you can here and move on.