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Trial Motions in Federal Court Toolkit
Practical Law Toolkit w-009-0424 (Approx. 7 pages)
Trial Motions in Federal Court Toolkit
by Practical Law Litigation
| Maintained • USA (National/Federal) |
Resources to help counsel prepare, file, and serve common trial-related motions in federal civil litigation, including motions in limine, Daubert motions, pre-verdict motions for judgment as a matter of law under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 50(a), and motions for a mistrial.
Parties may file several motions to raise issues during a civil trial in federal court, including:
- Motions in limine, which typically seek to exclude or limit inadmissible evidence under the Federal Rules of Evidence because the evidence is irrelevant or unfairly prejudicial.
- Motions for a mistrial, which typically seek to end a trial before a jury verdict due to prejudicial misconduct or error and which courts may grant or deny under their inherent authority.
- Motions for judgment as a matter of law under FRCP 50(a), which challenge the evidentiary basis for a claim or defense and which counsel must make before the case is submitted to the jury (for resources on preparing a renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law under FRCP 50(b) once a jury reaches or fails to reach a verdict, as well as motions for a new trial and other post-judgment motions, see Post-Judgment Motion Toolkit (Federal)).
The resources in this Toolkit provide guidance on preparing, serving, and filing these and other common trial-related motions in federal civil litigation.
Counsel should check all relevant rules and any applicable scheduling orders that may set out deadlines to file these types of motions. For a list of common motion deadlines, see Common Deadlines in Federal Litigation Chart. For more on preparing for all aspects of trial in federal court, see Trial Toolkit (Federal).