The rules are initially drafted by an Advisory Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States, which consists of appointed judges, U.S. Department of Justice representatives, practicing lawyers, and legal scholars.
The explanatory notes of the drafting Advisory Committee are published with the final adopted rules, and are frequently used as an authority on their interpretation.
[3] Early Supreme Court cases also fully endorsed congressional authority to enact rules of procedure,[4] and declined the opportunity to directly claim such authority for the courts under Article III of the United States Constitution.
In 1933, Congress authorized the Supreme Court to prescribe rules of criminal appellate procedure, which included any proceeding after the entry of a verdict or plea.
The full set, denominated the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, then took effect on March 21, 1946.