THE FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE: A Policy Evaluation

The success rate of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is evaluated in the light of 42 years of experience under them and of alternative modes of adjucating civil disputes. The intentions of the rules' framers are explored as are hypotheses as to why they have been only partially successful. On the basis of this analysis, the author argues that adversary presentation and prosecution must be modified in the direction of a system of direct inquiry by the court and of active judicial management of disputes to settlement or trial.