It is sometimes necessary to determine how a court rule is to be interpreted or has been interpreted. There are a number of methods to accomplish this task, depending on the situation.
- Citations to court decisions interpreting the rules may be included in a state's annotated statutes (included beneath the statute on Wisconsin's legislative website).
- Case law research may be necessary to determine how a rule has been interpreted by the courts. In addition to checking a state's annotated statutes, a state's digest (such as West's KeyNumber Digest for a specific state), as well as databases such as Lexis or Westlaw should be checked or searched.
- Rules text may include an interpretation section on how the rules are to be interpreted generally.
- The recommending council or committee will sometimes provide notes printed following the rule text in a "Notes" section. Insight into why a rule was drafted or amended may be included. This may serve as persuasive authority for how a rule is to be interpreted.
