Public Law 119-73 (01/23/2026)

28 U.S.C. § 2072

Rules of procedure and evidence; power to prescribe

(a)
The Supreme Court shall have the power to prescribe general rules of practice and procedure and rules of evidence for cases in the United States district courts (including proceedings before magistrate judges thereof) and courts of appeals.
(b)
Such rules shall not abridge, enlarge or modify any substantive right. All laws in conflict with such rules shall be of no further force or effect after such rules have taken effect.
(c)
section 1291 of this title Such rules may define when a ruling of a district court is final for the purposes of appeal under .

Pub. L. 100–702, title IV, § 401(a)102 Stat. 4648Pub. L. 101–650, title III104 Stat. 5115(Added , , ; amended , §§ 315, 321, , , 5117.)

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

June 25, 1948, ch. 64662 Stat. 961May 24, 1949, ch. 139, § 10363 Stat. 104July 18, 1949, ch. 343, § 263 Stat. 446May 10, 1950, ch. 174, § 264 Stat. 158Pub. L. 85–508, § 12(m)72 Stat. 348Pub. L. 89–773, § 180 Stat. 1323Pub. L. 100–702A prior section 2072, acts , ; , ; , ; , ; , , ; , , , authorized the Supreme Court to prescribe rules of civil procedure, prior to repeal by , §§ 401(a), 407, effective .

Amendments

Pub. L. 101–6501990—Subsec. (c). added subsec. (c).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

section 321 of Pub. L. 101–650section 631 of this titleWords “magistrate judges” substituted for “magistrates” in subsec. (a) pursuant to , set out as a note under .

Effective Date

section 407 of Pub. L. 100–702section 2071 of this titleSection effective , see , set out as an Effective Date of 1988 Amendment note under .

Applicability to Virgin Islands

section 1615 of Title 48Rules of civil procedure promulgated under this section as applicable to the District Court of the Virgin Islands, see , Territories and Insular Possessions.

Court Rules

Admiralty Rules

The Rules of Practice in Admiralty and Maritime Cases, promulgated by the Supreme Court on , effective , as revised, amended, and supplemented, were rescinded, effective , in accordance with the general unification of civil and admiralty procedure which became effective . Provision for certain distinctly maritime remedies were preserved however, in the Supplemental Rules for Certain Admiralty and Maritime Claims, Rules A to F, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Appendix to this title. The Supplemental Rules for Certain Admiralty and Maritime Claims were subsequently renamed the Supplemental Rules for Admiralty or Maritime Claims and Asset Forfeiture Actions.