| name | us-federal-courts |
| description | US federal court practice skill for federal jurisdiction and procedures. Use when the user needs assistance with federal court jurisdiction, federal rules of procedure, circuit-specific rules, SCOTUS practice, or federal court procedures. Triggers on keywords like "federal court", "federal jurisdiction", "FRCP", "circuit court", "SCOTUS", "Supreme Court", "district court", "federal rules", "diversity jurisdiction", "federal question". |
US Federal Courts
This skill provides expert guidance for practice in the United States federal court system.
Core Capabilities
1. Subject Matter Jurisdiction
- Federal question jurisdiction
- Diversity jurisdiction
- Supplemental jurisdiction
- Removal
2. Federal Procedure
- Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
- Federal Rules of Evidence
- Local rules
- Standing orders
3. Circuit Practice
- Circuit-specific rules
- En banc procedures
- Precedent analysis
- Circuit splits
4. Supreme Court Practice
- Certiorari petitions
- Merits briefing
- Original jurisdiction
- Emergency applications
Federal Court Structure
Court Hierarchy
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SUPREME COURT OF THE │
│ UNITED STATES │
│ (9 Justices, discretionary review) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ COURTS OF APPEALS (13) │
│ First through Eleventh Circuits │
│ D.C. Circuit │
│ Federal Circuit (specialized) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ DISTRICT COURTS (94) │
│ At least one per state │
│ Trial courts of general jurisdiction │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
┌─────────┴─────────┐
▼ ▼
┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐
│ BANKRUPTCY │ │ MAGISTRATE │
│ COURTS │ │ JUDGES │
│ (Article I) │ │ (28 U.S.C. 636) │
└─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘
Circuit Map
| Circuit | States/Territories |
|---|
| First | ME, MA, NH, RI, PR |
| Second | CT, NY, VT |
| Third | DE, NJ, PA, VI |
| Fourth | MD, NC, SC, VA, WV |
| Fifth | LA, MS, TX |
| Sixth | KY, MI, OH, TN |
| Seventh | IL, IN, WI |
| Eighth | AR, IA, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD |
| Ninth | AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA, Guam, N. Mariana |
| Tenth | CO, KS, NM, OK, UT, WY |
| Eleventh | AL, FL, GA |
| D.C. | Washington, D.C. |
| Federal | Patents, international trade, claims against US |
Subject Matter Jurisdiction
Federal Question (28 U.S.C. § 1331)
Requirement: Civil action arising under Constitution, laws, or treaties of United States
Well-Pleaded Complaint Rule:
- Federal issue must appear on face of complaint
- Cannot anticipate federal defense
- Federal ingredient must be essential to claim
Grable Analysis (state claims with federal elements):
- Federal issue necessarily raised
- Actually disputed
- Substantial
- Capable of resolution without disrupting federal-state balance
Diversity Jurisdiction (28 U.S.C. § 1332)
Requirements:
- Complete diversity between plaintiffs and defendants
- Amount in controversy exceeds $75,000
Citizenship Determination:
| Entity | Citizenship |
|---|
| Individual | Domicile |
| Corporation | State of incorporation AND principal place of business |
| LLC | Citizenship of all members |
| Partnership | Citizenship of all partners |
| Trust | Depends on state law (usually trustee) |
Amount in Controversy:
- Legal certainty test (amount not recoverable beyond doubt)
- Aggregation rules
- Injunctive relief valuation
Supplemental Jurisdiction (28 U.S.C. § 1367)
Permits: Claims that share common nucleus of operative fact
Limitations (§ 1367(b) in diversity cases):
- Claims by plaintiffs against persons made parties under Rule 14, 19, 20, 24
- Claims by persons proposed to be joined as plaintiffs under Rule 19
- Claims by persons seeking to intervene as plaintiffs under Rule 24
Discretionary Decline (§ 1367(c)):
- Novel or complex state law issue
- State claim substantially predominates
- District court has dismissed all federal claims
- Exceptional circumstances
Removal (28 U.S.C. § 1441)
Procedure:
- File notice of removal (30 days from service)
- Include all pleadings and orders
- File in district court for state court location
- Notify state court
- Notify all parties
Limitations:
- Diversity: No removal if any defendant is citizen of forum state
- One-year limit for diversity cases (unless bad faith)
- All defendants must join (unanimity rule)
Remand: Motion within 30 days (except subject matter jurisdiction)
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Key Rules Quick Reference
| Rule | Topic |
|---|
| 4 | Service of process |
| 8 | Pleading requirements |
| 9 | Particularity requirements |
| 11 | Representations and sanctions |
| 12 | Defenses and objections |
| 15 | Amended and supplemental pleadings |
| 23 | Class actions |
| 26 | Discovery scope and duty |
| 30 | Depositions |
| 33-36 | Written discovery |
| 37 | Discovery sanctions |
| 50 | Judgment as a matter of law |
| 56 | Summary judgment |
| 59 | New trial; altering judgment |
| 60 | Relief from judgment |
Pleading Standards
Notice Pleading (Rule 8):
- Short and plain statement of claim
- Showing pleader entitled to relief
Heightened Pleading (Rule 9(b)):
- Fraud: State with particularity
- Mistake: State with particularity
Plausibility (Twombly/Iqbal):
- Factual content allowing reasonable inference of liability
- More than speculative
- Not merely conceivable
Discovery Scope
Relevance (Rule 26(b)(1)):
- Relevant to any party's claim or defense
- Proportional to needs of case
Proportionality Factors:
- Importance of issues at stake
- Amount in controversy
- Parties' relative access to information
- Parties' resources
- Importance of discovery to resolving issues
- Whether burden outweighs benefit
Discovery Limits (Default)
| Discovery | Limit |
|---|
| Depositions | 10 per side |
| Deposition length | 7 hours/day |
| Interrogatories | 25 (including subparts) |
| Requests for admission | No numeric limit |
| Requests for production | No numeric limit |
Federal Rules of Evidence
Key Rules
| Rule | Topic |
|---|
| 401-403 | Relevance |
| 404-405 | Character evidence |
| 407-411 | Policy exclusions |
| 501-502 | Privileges |
| 601-615 | Witnesses |
| 701-706 | Opinion testimony |
| 801-807 | Hearsay |
| 901-903 | Authentication |
| 1001-1008 | Best evidence |
Hearsay Exceptions (Rule 803)
- Present sense impression
- Excited utterance
- State of mind
- Medical diagnosis/treatment
- Recorded recollection
- Business records
- Public records
- Learned treatises
- Reputation (character, personal/family history)
Hearsay Exceptions (Unavailable - Rule 804)
- Former testimony
- Dying declaration
- Statement against interest
- Statement of personal/family history
- Forfeiture by wrongdoing
Circuit-Specific Considerations
Circuit Splits to Know
- Document when circuits disagree
- Identify which circuits' law applies
- Consider Supreme Court resolution likelihood
- Use splits strategically in briefing
Local Rules Checklist
Supreme Court Practice
Certiorari Petition
Filing Deadline: 90 days from judgment (or denial of rehearing)
Petition Contents:
- Questions presented
- List of parties
- Table of contents and authorities
- Opinions below
- Jurisdiction
- Constitutional and statutory provisions
- Statement of the case
- Reasons for granting writ
- Conclusion
Page Limits: 9,000 words (or 40 pages)
Cert-Worthy Factors
- Circuit split
- Important federal question
- Lower court departed from Supreme Court precedent
- Lower court decided important question that should be settled
Merits Briefing
| Brief | Limit | Deadline |
|---|
| Petitioner | 15,000 words | 45 days after cert |
| Respondent | 15,000 words | 30 days after opening |
| Reply | 6,000 words | 30 days after respondent |
| Amicus | 9,000 words | 7 days after supported party |
Pro Hac Vice Admission
Typical Requirements
Integration with Other Skills
- litigation: Trial and motion practice
- court-filings: ECF procedures
- brief-writing: Federal appellate briefs
- legal-research: Federal precedent
- case-management: Federal deadlines
Reference Files
For detailed guidance:
references/jurisdiction-analysis.md - Jurisdiction determination guidereferences/circuit-guide.md - Circuit-by-circuit rulesreferences/scotus-practice.md - Supreme Court procedures
