Question for the Attorneys RE Federal Courts

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

The Constitution

Cases

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Sometimes I hear the news discussing cases and there are questions like standing, or the type of relief someone seeks, or what a court can and cannot do, and so forth.

What is the rule book or source used to spell ths out?

Is there an official source to look up, or a recommended text?

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So basically "what is the practice of law?"

Also there are some great handbooks out there issued annually that give developments and details per court.

Also each court has local rules on their website in case anything is done differently.

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So basically "what is the practice of law?"

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Yes, are there cliffs for that?

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All of that is Con Law and Civil Procedure. The Federal Judicial Center is a great resource for things like this. I haven’t ever bothered to look up standing, but they usually have good documents on a wide range of topics.

Google it and go to town. The FJC book on Section 1983 is my bible.

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Had never heard of the FJC. Thanks.

And pay those fees? I'm in a van down by the river. I can't afford that.

I think FJC will answer these questions, after taking a look at it. So thank you again for the poster above mentioning that.

Now I'll have a better idea of what people are talking about on some of these news stories.

"Standing" doesn't just apply to federal courts. It means that you must be a proper person to bring a suit. As an example, if your close friend is injured or killed in an accident, under law, you generally don't have "standing" to recover damages for it.

Federal courts cannot hear cases unless (1) a "federal question" [defined as something derivative from a federal law or the US Constitution] is involved or, (2) the value of the claim exceeds a proscribed jurisdictional amount AND the parties involved in the case all reside in different states (called "complete diversity").