us-federal-courts

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):

1. Federal issue necessarily raised
2. Actually disputed
3. Substantial
4. 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:

1. File notice of removal (30 days from service)
2. Include all pleadings and orders
3. File in district court for state court location
4. Notify state court
5. 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:

1. Importance of issues at stake
2. Amount in controversy
3. Parties' relative access to information
4. Parties' resources
5. Importance of discovery to resolving issues
6. 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)

1. Present sense impression
2. Excited utterance
3. State of mind
4. Medical diagnosis/treatment
5. Recorded recollection
6. Business records
7. Public records
8. Learned treatises
9. 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

• Page/word limits
• Filing deadlines
• Format requirements
• Mandatory disclosures
• Meet and confer requirements
• Mediation/ADR requirements
• Proposed orders
• Courtesy copies

Supreme Court Practice

Certiorari Petition

Filing Deadline: 90 days from judgment (or denial of rehearing)

Petition Contents:

1. Questions presented
2. List of parties
3. Table of contents and authorities
4. Opinions below
5. Jurisdiction
6. Constitutional and statutory provisions
7. Statement of the case
8. Reasons for granting writ
9. Conclusion

Page Limits: 9,000 words (or 40 pages)

Cert-Worthy Factors

1. Circuit split
2. Important federal question
3. Lower court departed from Supreme Court precedent
4. 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

• Member in good standing in another bar
• Motion for admission
• Certificate of good standing
• Association with local counsel (some courts)
• Admission fee
• Compliance with local rules

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 guide
• references/circuit-guide.md - Circuit-by-circuit rules
• references/scotus-practice.md - Supreme Court procedures