Title 28 — Judiciary and Judicial ProcedureRelease 119-73
§2072 Rules of procedure and evidence; power to prescribe
Title 28 › Part PART V— - PROCEDURE › Chapter CHAPTER 131— - RULES OF COURTS › § 2072
Summary
Gives the Supreme Court power to set rules on procedure and evidence for federal district and appellate courts. The rules cannot change legal rights, override conflicting laws once effective, and may define finality for appeals under section 1291.
Full Legal Text
Title 28, §2072
Judiciary and Judicial Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(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)Such rules may define when a ruling of a district court is final for the purposes of appeal under section 1291 of this title.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Prior Provisions
A prior section 2072, acts
June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 961;
May 24, 1949, ch. 139, § 103, 63 Stat. 104;
July 18, 1949, ch. 343, § 2, 63 Stat. 446;
May 10, 1950, ch. 174, § 2, 64 Stat. 158;
July 7, 1958, Pub. L. 85–508, § 12(m), 72 Stat. 348; Nov. 6, 1966, Pub. L. 89–773, § 1, 80 Stat. 1323, authorized the Supreme Court to prescribe rules of civil procedure, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 100–702, §§ 401(a), 407, effective Dec. 1, 1988.
Amendments
1990—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101–650 added subsec. (c).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Change of Name
Words “magistrate judges” substituted for “magistrates” in subsec. (a) pursuant to section 321 of Pub. L. 101–650, set out as a note under section 631 of this title.
Effective Date
Section effective Dec. 1, 1988, see section 407 of Pub. L. 100–702, set out as an
Effective Date
of 1988 Amendment note under section 2071 of this title. Applicability to Virgin IslandsRules of civil procedure promulgated under this section as applicable to the District Court of the Virgin Islands, see section 1615 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions. Court Rules Admiralty RulesThe Rules of Practice in Admiralty and Maritime Cases, promulgated by the Supreme Court on Dec. 20, 1920, effective Mar. 7, 1921, as revised, amended, and supplemented, were rescinded, effective
July 1, 1966, in accordance with the general unification of civil and admiralty procedure which became effective
July 1, 1966. 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.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
28 U.S.C. § 2072
Title 28 — Judiciary and Judicial Procedure
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73