Washington Law Review
Abstract
During these times of renewed interest in the defects in our judicial procedure, probably the most sweeping and far-reaching reform proposed is to give the rule-making power to our courts. The exact form of the proposal differs with the conditions in various jurisdictions, but the proposed acts generally provide that the highest appellate court of the jurisdiction shall regulate and prescribe, by rule, the forms for and the kind and character of the entire pleading, practice and procedure to be used in all suits, actions, appeals and proceedings of whatever nature in any of the courts of the state, superseding any statutes in conflict therewith,-as, for example, the very recent enactment in the State of Washington. It will be seen at once that such a proposal breaks away from "code practice" under which the courts of most states in the Union have operated since about 1850. For that reason as well as because of the need which gives rise to it, it seems proper that the bench and bar of those states where regulation is by procedural code should familiarize themselves with the history of the proposal, existing enactments, any legal or constitutional questions involved, and its advantages or disadvantages.
First Page
163
Recommended Citation
Charles H. Paul,
The Rule-Making Power of the Courts,
1 Wash. L. Rev.
163
(1926).
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr/vol1/iss3/2