NCJ Number
133855
Date Published
1991
Length
328 pages
Annotation
Rule 11 of the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure was examined by means of a survey of all Federal district judges about their experiences with the rule; an analysis of all district and appellate court opinions regarding the rule published between 1984 and 1989; and a study of Rule 11 activity in five district courts, focusing particularly on civil rights cases.
Abstract
The amended Rule 11 took effect in August 1983 and pertains to the court's imposition of sanctions against attorneys or parties to a lawsuit who file groundless pleadings, motions, or other papers. The survey of judges took place in November 1989 and received responses from 583 of the 751 judges. Results revealed that most judges think that the benefits of Rule 11 are greater than any additional requirements on judge time. In addition, groundless litigation presents only a small problem on the court dockets; while Rule 11 has been moderately effective in deterring groundless papers, several other methods are more effective than Rule 11 in handling such litigation. Judges impose few sanctions under Rule 11, and 80 percent favor retaining the rule. The study of Rule 11 activity in districts in Arizona, District of Columbia, Georgia, Michigan, and Texas showed variations in the numbers of motions before each judge and in the types of cases involved, but did not indicate the causes of the variations. Tables, footnotes, survey instrument and details of responses, and summaries of results from each of the five court districts are included.