Rules of court are a set of procedural regulations adopted by courts which must be followed by parties and their lawyers on matters within the court’s jurisdiction. These rules are often classified into different categories, such as criminal procedure, civil procedure, evidence rules, and appellate procedure. Federal court rules are adopted by the district courts based on the Federal Rules of Procedure, and most states have their own state court rules which apply state-wide. Many county, district and municipal court judges also have “local rules” of court. Local court rules specify the time allowed to file papers, the format of documents, the number of copies to be filed, the procedure to file a motion, fees for filing various documents and other matters.
[Last updated in September of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]