Courts and administrative agencies make rules about how to handle your case and yourself when you appear before them. The law calls these rules “procedure.” Finding out about procedure is very important when you are representing yourself because the procedure tells you what you need to do and when you need to do it.

The federal courts and New Jersey both make their own rules. New Jersey courts publish their rules in the New Jersey Court Rules. The federal courts publish their rules in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.