# Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure The rules governing federal criminal cases from complaint through appeal, adopted in 1946 under the [[Rules Enabling Act]] and amended on the annual cycle mapped in [[How a Federal Rule of Procedure Is Made]]. Rules of continuing relevance to the vault: **Rule 6** (the grand jury and its secrecy), **Rule 11** (guilty pleas, the disposition in the overwhelming majority of federal cases), **Rule 16** (discovery), **Rule 41** (search and seizure) and **Rule 42(a)(2)** (criminal contempt, and the court's power to appoint a prosecutor when the government declines). The Standing Committee recommended an amendment to Rule 17 to the Judicial Conference in September 2026. *Stub — expand with the 1946 adoption, the 1975 and 2002 restyling, and the interaction with the [[Speedy Trial Act]].* ## See also - [[How a Federal Rule of Procedure Is Made]] - [[How a Federal Prosecution Begins and Ends]] - [[Rules Enabling Act]] - [[Federal Rules of Evidence]]