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Rule 11: Final Report to the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules of the Judicial Conference of the United States

Elizabeth C. Wiggins, Thomas E. Willging, Donna J. Stienstra, Michael E. Barnsback
January 1, 1991

Report on an empirical study of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11. The Research Division of the FJC undertook the study to assist the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules in its evaluation of the rule. The study has three major components: (1) a survey of all federal district judges about their experiences with Rule 11; (2) an analysis of all district and appellate opinions published between 1984 and 1989 that address Rules 11 issues; and (3) a study of Rule 11 activity in five district courts. The district court study includes a separate analysis of the application of Rule 11 to civil rights cases in these five courts.