Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial ProcedureRelease 119-102
§1654 Appearance Personally or by Counsel
Title 28 › PART V — PROCEDURE › CHAPTER 111 — GENERAL PROVISIONS › § 1654
Summary
People in federal courts may either represent themselves or be represented by a lawyer, as allowed by that court’s rules.
Full Legal Text
Title 28, §1654
Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
In all courts of the United States the parties may plead and conduct their own cases personally or by counsel as, by the rules of such courts, respectively, are permitted to manage and conduct causes therein.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical Revision Notes 1948 ActBased on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 394 (Mar. 3, 1911, ch. 231, § 272, 36 Stat. 1164). Words “as, by the rules of the said courts respectively, are permitted to manage and conduct causes therein,” after “counsel,” were omitted as surplusage. The revised section and section 2071 of this title effect no change in the procedure of the Tax Court before which certain accountants may be admitted as counsel for litigants under Rule 2 of the Tax Court. Changes were made in phraseology. 1949 ActThis section restores in section 1654 of title 28, U.S.C., language of the original law.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
1949—Act May 24, 1949, inserted “as, by the rules of such courts, respectively, are permitted to manage and conduct causes therein”.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
28 U.S.C. § 1654
Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102